Every apparel is unique in its own sense, and this doesn’t happen on its own. Garments go through various stages of processing and finishing to achieve perfection. Resil Chemicals is one such company that not only facilitates but pioneers in producing finishing chemical products for the textile industry. In a vivacious discussion with The Textile Magazine, Mr. Ganesh Srinivasan, Executive Director (Innovation), Resil Chemicals, outlines the long journey of the company.
Started in the early 1990s, Resil Chemicals was initially manufacturing textile finishing chemicals. Its core technology was silicones, which was quite unknown at the time, but garment exports in the 1990s were growing and Resil Chemicals was one of the few companies which took advantage of the expanding export market.
“We developed products based on silicones, replacing conventional organic softeners and invested a lot for creating new finishes and new product lines. That caught on, and silicone being more eco-friendly than other finishing chemicals, added to its merit. The garment industry, even in those days, looked for sustainability and novelty. So that helped us to get a foothold in the garment industry for silicones,” said Mr. Ganesh Srinivasan.
At present, the company has three manufacturing units focusing on silicone-based products, organic chemistries and car-care products. Apart from the textile industry, there are three major verticals under industrial specialty chemicals for the company, which include products for agriculture, cosmetics and antifoam for pharmaceutical applications. The textile industry is still the major vertical for the company.
There is tremendous amount of innovation and product development in the textile sector. However, textile companies and brands face challenges in adopting environmentally sustainable solutions at higher cost. Mr. Srinivasan answered in the affirmative and said: “Focusing on the garment industry, every season needs new solutions. What is new today is the most common question asked in the garment and apparel industry. To answer the same, Resil has a pipeline of products keeping in mind that development also takes time.”
For most big brands, the approach to newer technology and fashion is seasonal. Indian brands largely focus only on two seasons – summer and winter – unlike the Western markets which have four seasons, and each season requires a different fabric and finish. For example, summer requires more cooling from the fabric or faster evaporation, but winter requires thermal management. “Thus keeping in mind the variation in requirements with respect to the upcoming seasons, we have to develop our product offerings”, he added.
But this kind of rigorous demand for novelty comes with its own set of challenges. Mr. Srinivasan explained: “Every few months customers and brands demand novelty. So what we develop as a new product won’t be new in the next few months. That is our challenge, not the fact that companies are unwilling to experiment with products”.
To meet this demand, Resil Chemicals also offers a combination of features in one product, like water repellant plus anti-odour and so on.
The constant fashion changes have always drawn people to question the sustainability practices in the industry. Mr. Srinivasan said: “Sustainability is the priority for the textile industry right now. There is a lot of care and precaution that needs to be taken by every stakeholder in the apparel chain. Every raw material ingredient we procure goes through rigorous scrutiny. Also, we only liaise with the vendors who comply with the prescribed global standards. It is important because, these days, regulation and sustainability aren’t choices, it is the norm of the day.”
He further explained that from design to final disposal, the company needs to keep the sustainability aspect in mind. At Resil, all products go through MRSL certifications and later commercialized.
The company is at par, if not ahead, of its global competitors in terms of international recognition and certification. Resil Chemicals is an ISO 9001 company, with an integrated management system (IMS) featuring quality management, occupational health and safety assessment series (OHSAS) and environmental management (EMS). Apart from these, they have Social Accountability (SA) 8000 standards. The company, which also plans to implement the ISO 27000, has also won the CII IPR Award 2017 for Trademark.
All this requires a tremendous drive for innovation. What is the driving force for innovation that makes the company so unique?
Mr. Srinivasan said: “Innovation is my passion area, and there I believe there are five tenets of innovation. The first and foremost tenet is the ‘customer’. Understanding his needs should be a priority before developing any product. One needs to get creative about what to offer. Hence, a ‘creative’ mind is fundamental. The second tenant for innovation, and the third is ‘collaboration’.”
He added: “No one can work individually. We need to work with institutes, customers and all stakeholders for innovation to happen. It helps to gain perspective.”
Once the product is developed, the fourth essential tenet is ‘communication’. “Regardless of what you may have developed, the offering dissipates if your consumer is unable to see the same and understand its potential impact. Communication is essential to see the benefits of the product,” he disclosed.
And finally, ‘community’. It is important to understand how a certain product will impact society and this aspect helps to take a decision for the larger interest of society.
With such strong pillars to help the creative juices flow, it is not surprising that Resil has actually produced quite a few remarkable products.
They developed a technology on antimicrobial, which they called N9 Pure Silver, a silver-based technology, which is a benchmark technology when it comes to sustainability and also from the perspective of the user. Resil Chemicals won the prestigious national award from the Technology Development Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for the successful commercialisation of indigenous technology, N9 Pure Silver.
Mr. Srinivasan further said: “We developed this product from scratch, and scaled up production, and commercialised it. Today more than 150 brands have adopted this technology, globally.”
Despite such technological advancements, the textile chemical industry is a highly competitive one with many global and domestic players who have a strong presence in India. How is Resil positioned in such a competitive environment?
Mr. Srinivasan explained: “There are two kinds of competition, global, and local. What sets us apart from the global competitors, the first is customised solutions, and the second is service. Global competitors are huge conglomerates, and often don’t offer customised solutions, and in addition, they do not undertake small volumes. We, on the other hand, are very flexible in our manufacturing. Also, what we have noticed is that most of the MNC’s are unable to offer good services, mainly because the cost of servicing from a global outfit is very high. We have a large sales and service team, who are constantly in touch with the customers and ensure quality services.”
It is these two aspects that have put Resil Chemicals on the world map, and differentiates itself from competition.
Indian textile chemical companies, on the other hand, seem to lag behind in R&D. Mr. Srinivasan said: “Many companies don’t invest in R&D. We have an edge over them because of constant innovative projects which are inclusive and sustainable.”
Since India is one of the fastest growing markets, he feels that there is a tremendous opportunity for companies to grow and capture international markets. Considering that the textile industry is one of the highest employers in the country, it will only have added importance for the economy.
“It is not just the responsibility of companies to care for the planet. Even consumers must understand their buying needs. Our country has the potential to beat a lot of international competitors, but it mustn’t be at the cost of sustainability,” he concluded.