After having completed its expansion project of Rs. 300 crore in 2015 to expand its spinning, weaving, printing and finishing capacity, the company is planning targeted capital expansion in the next financial year to increase its capacity in weaving, printing and to set up machines for special finishes such as brushing and peaching
Morarjee Textiles Limited is a part of the Ashok Piramal Group which is presently headed by Urvi Piramal, wife of late Ashok Piramal. The company is a leader in the production of premium cotton shirting fabrics and high-fashion printed fabrics. It was initially known as Morarjee Goculdas Spinning and Weaving Co. Ltd. and was incorporated in 1871, making it one of the oldest textile companies in India. Morarjee Textiles is among the first five companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The textile business was demerged in 1995 from this company and renamed Morarjee Textiles Limited.
In fact, the company was the first in India to enter the high-value yarn dyed shirting segment through a joint venture with Manifattura di Valle Brembana of Italy in 1996. Later, Morarjee Textiles bought over MVB’s 50% stake. The products manufactured are of premium quality including high-end 2 | 160, 2 | 180 and 2 | 200 count fabric. Under the printed fashion division, Morarjee Textiles makes premium voiles and high-fashion printed fabrics. The company is a global player in premium shirting and high-fashion printed fabric and boasts of all the popular apparel brands as its clients.
“The products we offer are premium yarn dyed shirting fabrics, prints and printed voiles and guthra. These also include superlative shirt fabrics and premium voile, satin, lawn and prints for the global market,” informs Harsh Piramal, Vice Chairman, Morarjee Textiles. The fashion section of the prints division at Morarjee Textiles is a curation of satin, cambric, poplin, lawn and silk prints manufactured to cater to the high-fashion segment in the fabric industry. The yarn dyed shirting fabrics or ‘Prima Linea’ is a collection inspired by the purist and an eternal favourite. This collection is a compilation of designs that boast a timeless appeal while catering to those with a classy sartorial attitude.
Morarjee Textile’s ‘Snovit’ collection boasts a range of white fabrics that are suited for every occasion. This collection celebrates a wide category of linens, slubs and thread counts of up to 200 | 2 in pure, diving and chic whites. The company caters to the Middle East and African subcontinent along with the conversion centres in Europe and the Fast East for its traditional ensembles. “We import the best raw materials that are used in spinning the fine count yarns. Over the years, we have mastered the art of giving special finishes to products by producing world-class cotton-rich fabrics for these regions,” Pirmal says.
“Our special design team works on the African and Middle Eastern designs in order to create the best fabrics that suit the African taste. Our drive for constant innovation breathes new life into these traditional garments,” he adds. In yarn, with its 72,000 spindles the company has the capacity to manufacture over 4,600 MT annually. “We specialise in making high-value single, doubled and gassed single yarn with the count ranging from 30s to 2 | 200s with 100%. The yarn division supplies yarn to cater to our in-house requirements for making high-quality yarn dyed fabrics, voile fabrics and fabrics meant for printing. We also produce value-added products like organic cotton, BCI, Supima, high-twist voile yarns and gassed super fine yarns. This division procures quality cotton from both domestic and imports from Australia, Egypt and the US.”
Manufacturing Infrastructure
The manufacturing unit is located at MIDC, Butibori Industrial Area, Nagpur. Its state-of-the-art vertical manufacturing facilities are spread across 100 acres. In spinning its current capacity is 72,000 spindles with a yarn manufacturing capacity of 4,600 MT annually. Its weaving capacity is of 400 looms with annual production capability of 254 lakh metres. In the segment of printing and processing, the current annual processing capacity is of 326 lakh metres. Finishing involves an FFI inspection machine that helps identify defects through visual surface inspection and making rolls as per customers’ length requirements. The gradation of the fabric roll is as per the 4 Point System. The company uses a finishing stenter machine for soft, stiff and specialty finishes and heat-setting as also a sanforiser machine
Capacity Expansion
Speaking about recent and future investments by the company, Piramal says, “Morarjee Textiles completed an expansion project of Rs 300 crore in 2015 to expand its spinning, weaving, printing and finishing capacity. This included setting up a state-of-the-art spinning mill with 40,000 spindles. The company is planning targeted capital expansion in the next financial year to increase its capacity in weaving, printing and in setting up machines for special finishes such as brushing and peaching.”
Brand ViroShield
Morarjee Textiles has introduced new nightwear and loungewear products, promoting antiviral and antibacterial finish fabrics. The company has been in the news in recent times for launching its ‘ViroShield’ range of protective finishes in collaboration with Australia-based Health Guard Corporation. Sharing more details, Piramal says, “ViroShield meets antiviral efficacy of 99.99% of all corona virus as per ISO 18184 antiviral test and bacteriostatic efficacy test ISO 20743. The fabrics have a special chemical molecule which destroys the envelope cell wall of the virus and as a result the virus dies. Thus, it helps in minimising the chance of re-transmission of pathogens by killing viruses and bacteria upon contact with the fabric.”
Market Reach
While 78% of the company’s business comes from the domestic market, the rest 22% is derived from exports. Its customer base is spread across 44 countries around the globe and is growing with a client list of the best international and domestic brands. Today, Morarjee Textiles offers premium cotton shirting fabrics to most of the leading Indian and international brands. The company makes premium voiles and high-fashion printed fabrics for the Middle East, Far East, North African and European markets. Some of its international customers include Hugo, Jack n Jones, Next, Brooks’s Brothers, Dudalina, Zara, Robert Talbott, Prada, United Colors, etc. Some of its domestic customers include Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Stella Moda, Blue Blend, Future Enterprises, Ajio, BIBA, Cantabill, Indian Terrain, John Player, MAX and Delta Clothing.
Competitive Edge
As regards the competitive advantages offered by the company, Piramal remarks, “Morarjee Textiles is known for the finish and softness of its fabric which is unmatched in the market. We are also focused on design, quality, time and consistency. Our core values are integrity and respect along with passion for excellence, customer focus, team work and accountability. Our competitive advantage lies in innovative design, product development and flexible service offering.” As many as 2,067 employees work with the company of which 230 are women employees.
Sustainability Initiatives
The company is known for its strong sustainability focus. Elaborating on the same, Piramal states, “Morarjee Textiles has integrated sustainability into the established integrated management system. We are committed to prevention and control of water wastage, air and land pollution. To create a roadmap for this initiative, we have developed our own environment policy. Morarjee Textiles strives to minimise negative impact on the environment by applying innovative thinking for every step of the manufacturing process. Building eco-friendly practices in daily processes is a part of our culture. This culture inspires us to try to make more from fewer resources and minimise waste in every form.”
“We attempt to contribute to a better environment by reducing water consumption, minimising wastage and using renewable energy resources over conventional ones. We take corporate responsibility as a way of life and aim to achieve zero waste in the next 10 years. With our responsible stewardship of biodiversity of land, soil, air and water, we use BCI cotton which require 14% less water and 23% less pesticides and also use organic cotton as per customer requirements,” he adds. The core philosophy is to sustain all the natural resources and make the most of what is available without creating a polluting impact.
Technology Adoption
Going into details regarding the company’s adoption of automation and Industry 4.0, Piramal elaorates, “The whole view of Industry 4.0 at Morarjee Textiles is to have end-to-end automation and digitisation in every section of the manufacturing plant. We have implemented initiatives to help automate the machines and integrate the machine data back to the data warehouse with a focus on digitising total quality management (TQM), supply chain management (SCM) and the warehouse section. We have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) to eliminate manual interventions in data preparation, review and analysis and created a data warehouse by connecting multiple data sources and applications to integrate machine data for future and present analysis.”
Road Ahead
According to Piramal the company’s future growth plans and vision for 2025 and beyond include:
• The company expects to increase its fabric production to 40 million TPA from the current 32 million TPA.
• The company is planning on entering the technical textile segment in the medium term in order to be part of the growth story in that sector.