Tirupur-based Esstee Exports India Private Limited has steadily carved a niche for itself in the global apparel market through its diverse portfolio of ready-to-market fashion merchandise, strong focus on quality, and increasing emphasis on sustainability-driven manufacturing practices.
Now, as the company prepares to showcase its latest product portfolio at Bharat Tex 2026 in New Delhi, Esstee Exports is looking to strengthen its positioning further through advanced fabric developments and large-volume production capabilities.
In an exclusive interaction, N. Thirukkumaran, Director, Esstee Exports India Private Limited, shared insights into the company’s recent performance, ongoing modernization initiatives, Bharat Tex showcase plans, and his outlook for the Indian textile industry.
Challenging Year for the Industry
Reflecting on FY 2025-26, Thirukkumaran observed that global geopolitical developments and economic uncertainties had significantly impacted market sentiment across the textile and apparel sector.
“The global geopolitical situation has created sluggishness across markets. First, the turbulence caused by the announcement of US tariffs impacted buyer confidence, and from the fag end of the second quarter we witnessed nearly a 10 percent dip in sales,” he said.
According to him, the ongoing West Asia crisis has further added pressure on global trade and supply chains.
“The West Asia crisis has become another major dampener. Rising oil prices, increased transit time, and shipping delays are affecting industries across the world. These disruptions are impacting the entire supply chain ecosystem,” he noted.
Despite the temporary slowdown, Thirukkumaran remains optimistic about the future and believes the industry is likely to regain momentum in FY 2026-27.
“We are hopeful that things will improve in the coming financial year, especially with several FTAs expected to come into force and, hopefully, a resolution to the ongoing geopolitical tensions,” he added.
Driving Efficiency Through Automation
Operating five manufacturing units, Esstee Exports has been aggressively focusing on improving productivity and operational efficiency through automation and digitization initiatives.
“Automation is becoming extremely important because workforce availability is going to be one of the biggest challenges for the industry in the coming years,” Thirukkumaran explained. “One of the biggest advantages of automation is that it helps ‘deskills’ work to a large extent. By automating processes, we can reduce dependency on manual intervention while improving consistency and efficiency.”
The company’s modernization journey has now moved beyond machinery upgrades into the realm of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing solutions.
IoT & AI-Based Digitalisation Initiative
One of the company’s most ambitious initiatives has been the development of a robust IoT and AI-enabled software platform designed to monitor production efficiencies in real time and instantly identify bottlenecks across operations.
“The software and IoT device have been developed in-house by Esstee Exports, and we plan to officially launch them in the market during the second week of June,” said Thirukkumaran.
Explaining how the system works, he noted that industrial benchmarks are fixed for every operation, enabling continuous performance monitoring.
“For instance, if a process is expected to run at a certain efficiency level and falls below the industrial norm, the system immediately generates alerts. This minimizes manual intervention and helps management take corrective action quickly,” he explained.
The company is also partnering with another technology firm to facilitate real-time transmission of production data to all stakeholders involved in the manufacturing process.
“Our objective is complete digitization of operations — right from cutting to packing,” he said.
To scale this initiative commercially, the company has launched a separate venture called Texplus Technologies LLP, through which it plans to offer these solutions to the wider textile and apparel manufacturing industry.
“We believe the industry as a whole can benefit from these technologies, especially in improving efficiency, transparency, and productivity,” he remarked.
Sustainability Remains a Core Focus
Alongside technology adoption, sustainability continues to remain a major pillar of Esstee Exports’ growth strategy. As part of its sustainability initiatives, two of the company’s manufacturing units have already received LEED Platinum certification.
The company is also increasingly focusing on sustainable products, man-made fibres and structured fabrics that combine innovation with commercial viability.
Bharat Tex 2026 Showcase
At Bharat Tex 2026, Esstee Exports plans to showcase a range of innovative fabric developments that are currently dominated by China but are still not widely manufactured in India.
“A significant opportunity lies in fabrics that are currently being sourced from China. We are actively bringing many of those concepts into our portfolio and manufacturing them locally in India for multiple clients,” Thirukkumaran shared.
According to him, visitors at Bharat Tex will get an opportunity to witness technically differentiated products that are presently being developed by only a handful of Indian manufacturers.
“We are developing innovative interlock fabrics using combinations such as poly-viscose and polyester blends. In some constructions, the face side may use viscose while the loop side uses polyester, or vice versa,” he explained.
The company is also using filament polyester in loop structures to optimize pricing and improve competitiveness in the international market.
“Cost innovation has become extremely important because Indian manufacturers need to compete with Chinese pricing. These are highly structured and technically differentiated fabrics which are still not prevalent in India,” he added.
Positive Outlook on Bharat Tex
Speaking about his expectations from Bharat Tex 2026, Thirukkumaran said the previous edition had delivered encouraging business opportunities for the company.
“The second edition of Bharat Tex was very successful for us. We secured a valuable client from Hungary and also generated promising business opportunities from Russia, although volumes are still at an early stage,” he said.
He expects the upcoming edition to attract even larger global participation and become a stronger platform for Indian textile manufacturers.
“The event has evolved significantly in terms of arrangements and organization, and every edition is improving further. I expect the third edition to attract even more visitors and become even more successful,” he observed.
He also appreciated the efforts of the Government of India and industry bodies in organizing the mega textile event.
“I would like to thank the Government of India, the Ministry of Commerce and Textiles, AEPC Chairman Dr. Sakthivel and everyone involved in organizing such a large-scale international event,” he said.
Future Plans and Industry Outlook
Sharing the company’s future roadmap, Thirukkumaran revealed that Esstee Exports is now looking beyond fashion products and aiming to enter larger-volume business segments.
“Our future strategy is to diversify into larger-volume business opportunities at sharper pricing,” he said. “To remain globally competitive, companies need to reduce overheads and improve operational efficiency. Large-volume manufacturing is one of the best ways to achieve that.”
He added that the company’s AI and IoT-driven systems would play a crucial role in supporting this transition.
“We are confident that in the coming months we will secure some major, large-volume clients,” he said.
As General Secretary of the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA), Thirukkumaran also expressed strong confidence in the long-term growth prospects of the Indian textile industry.
“I believe the future of the Indian textile industry is extremely bright over the next decade. The current challenges are temporary disruptions caused by geopolitical situations,” he concluded. “India remains in a very strong position globally, and the long-term outlook continues to be positive.”