Green fibre project to enhance global competitiveness
Sustainability in the textile industry has gone beyond just using organic materials and eco-friendly processes. For Sutlej, technological innovation is at the heart of every product and process and that stands as the key ingredient to its success in making it one of the most respected business houses in the country, contributing immensely to the growth of modern India. Sutlej is focusing on manufacturing processes that advance sustainability and is setting standards to care for the environment through technological advancements
A veteran of the textile industry whose roots date back to pre-Independence India and the flagship textile company of the illustrious K K Birla Group is, today, strengthening its legacy to build a sustainable business with a prudent balance of financial robustness and social responsibilities while stepping into the world of décor where fabric, texture and colour come together to tell a story – the story of Sutlej. Speaking about the company, C S Nopany, Executive Chairman, Sutlej Textiles and Industries Limited, says, “At Sutlej we strengthened proactively not just over the last year or two but have been engaged in reinventing ahead of the curve as an organisational discipline for the last couple of decades.”
“The result is that we consistently invested in enhancing our capacities. In a business influenced by a host of variables, we recognised that these initiatives would protect us during difficult times. We believed that this reinventing and broad basing would give us the platform to maintain our ideology of growth and diversification,” he adds. In a business where consumer preferences are evolving and the world is putting a bigger emphasis on ‘clean and green’ products, there is a need to rebound with speed. The faster a company capitalises on upcoming opportunities, the more a company can grow and have benefits in the following ways: diversify the business with new revenue streams, strengthen its business sustainability and reinforce the brand. “At Sutlej, we strengthened our capacity to rebound by strengthening digitalization in our manufacturing, quality, marketing and controls. This improved our decision-making process and enhanced the overall customer experience,” Nopany states.
ESG at Sutlej
At Sutlej a culture of environment social governance (ESG) represents the heart of its business. The company believes that this commitment is critical considering that they manufacture a product that consumes water, natural resources, fossil fuels and electricity, any moderation in which will enhance its responsibility and profitability. Its environment component ensures that they consume environmentally responsible resources, utilise an optimal quantum of finite fossil fuels, recycle waste, moderate its carbon footprint and build resistance to climate change.
The social component addresses a proactive investment in talent, relationships (customer and vendors) and social responsibility. The governance component indicates how they will do business, indicating strategic clarity, explaining conduct codes, highlighting Board of Directors’ composition and indicating an alignment with UNGC principles and extensive de-risking, among others. This comprehensive platform – environment, social and governance or ESG – makes it possible to strengthen the sustainability framework, generate long-term growth across market cycles and enhance value for all stakeholders.
Green Fibre to Enhance Global Competitiveness
Striving to be a global textile frontrunner, Sutlej aims to optimize environment-friendly operations and reduce its carbon footprint by investing in green technologies and sustainable practices. Undertaking a transformation path, the company has set up a ‘green fibre’ plant at an investment of Rs 225 crore to manufacture polyester staple fibre (PSF) by recycling PET bottles. The plant has a capacity to produce 120 metric tonnes per day of raw white, black and dope dyed recycled PSF and will recycle 7 million pet bottles at peak capacity. The plant commenced commercial production on March 1, 2021.
Speaking about the company’s latest venture, Updeep Singh, President and CEO, Sutlej Textiles and Industries Limited, says, “The increasing convenience of PET bottles has created a challenge for humankind as they contaminate cities, villages, local water bodies and oceans. It is estimated that one million PET drinking bottles are purchased every minute, indicating the dangers to the planet. Sutlej embarked upon addressing this looming ecological problem and instituted the manufacture of polyester yarns by utilising PET waste. The model of this business was directed to utilising waste at one end while generating wealth on the other.”
“The backward integration will enhance resource traceability, a growing requirement in the global textiles sector. The initiative also addressed a growing trend of consumers to use garments utilising a proportion of recycled fibre, necessitating the upstream use of yarns utilising environment-friendly fibre. As a larger number of marquee garment brands, across the world, replace synthetic fibres with ‘greener’ alternatives, there is a wider traction for the company’s green fibre business,” he adds.
Specialised Yarns
Sutlej has always been at the forefront of innovation in yarn manufacturing. The company has evolved its focus on specialised yarn (cotton blended yarn and mélange yarn), offering natural and manmade yarns in various blends (grey, dyed and mixture) across count ranges (6-50). Sutlej has since emerged as one of the most respected spun dyed and mélange yarn manufacturers in India. The company is present across the yarn value chain (cotton to polyester to viscose to acrylic to modal to lycra to teflon to linen).
This versatility has made it possible to blend diverse raw materials and generate innovative products, treatments and finishes. The company has also enhanced spindle age from 1,55,456 in 2005 to 4,20,407 in 2021. Sutlej has consistently invested in enhancing its capacities (spindles, looms and ancillaries). With an increased focus on the knitwear segment, the company is witnessing an increasing demand in the post-pandemic scenario.
Home Furnishings
Sutlej extended from the manufacture of specialised yarns to the manufacture of home furnishings in 2006. The new business was synergic as it leveraged the same distribution network in India and abroad and broad-based the company’s risk profile from a complete dependence on yarn to home furnishing fabrics. The company has a capacity to manufacture 9.6 million metres per annum of home furnishings.
Launch of Nesterra
Broadening its mission to bring in a state-of-the-art premium décor brand that inherits a strong legacy of over 75 years in textile as well as addressing the requirements of India’s retail sector, Sutlej launched Nesterra in 2020 (marketed wholesale) that has revolutionised the decor space with its indulgent rich colour palettes and contemporary designs of home furnishings from upholstery to drapery for the modern-day consumer. Nesterra stitches together a world of décor “featuring you” that draws inspiration from nature and the global realm, curating elements from different cultures and experiences, seamlessly patching them together to create a tapestry of colour, emotions, and stories you can call your own.
Expressing his delight on the new launch and category that Sutlej has entered, Updeep Singh says, “Nesterra was launched to graduate Sutlej’s home textiles product range. The Nesterra brand will capitalise on our proprietary yarns and manufacture fabric from cutting-edge weaving looms. Within a short span of time, Nesterra has begun earning the respect for weaving quality, consistency, aesthetic designs and timely service in India’s retail sector.” With an aim to leverage the rich attributes of the brand, Nesterra hopes to carve out a niche of premium quality and diverse selection that epitomizes your personality in your home, thereby positioning itself as a leader in the furnishings space.
The company also extended its presence in the USA through acquisition of the design, sales and distribution business along with the brand of American Silk Mills. American Silk Mills enjoys a rich legacy of designing, weaving and sourcing innovative textiles with high-end aesthetic. Its products include luxury silk, fine jacquards, as well as the Brussels®, Sensuede® and Enduro Silk® brands.
Tracing History
With roots dating back to pre-Independence India, the company since its inception has set industry benchmarks for innovation, dedicated itself to making superior spun yarns and has one of the largest product portfolios of spun-dyed and cotton blended and cotton mélange and dyed yarns. Over the years, the company has emerged as one of India’s largest integrated textile manufacturing companies, producing synthetic, natural, mélange and blended yarns, all types of spun yarns, home textile furnishing and polyester staple fibre by recycling pet bottles.
A one-stop shop for all kinds of spun dyed yarns, the company manufactures from natural or manmade fibres across any blend and any shade in the count range of 6s-50s. With units located across Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, over the years the company has exponentially scaled its capacities. Sutlej’s total spinning capacity was around 4.21 lakh spindles at the close of 2020-21; daily effective production was 284 tons of dyed synthetic and blended yarns, cotton mélange and cotton blended mélange and dyed yarns, as well as yarn from specialty fibres (Modal, Tencel, Bamboo, Coolmax, fancy yarns like Siro Spun, Siro Compact, Lycra Twisted, Core Spun, Double Core Yarn, etc.) in single ply, double ply and multi-fold.
Moreover, from a national dominance to a global takeover and superiority, the company enjoys enduring relationships with an extensive network of agents and dealers across India and the international markets. The company exports products across major developed and emerging economies which are around 60 countries having established a strong reputation among textile fabric manufacturers in key markets like USA, EU, UK, Turkey, Bangladesh, Latin America, Africa, etc. Sutlej’s prominent marquee clients both direct and indirect today comprise of Jockey, Westside, Marks & Spencer, Arvind, Raymond, Donear NXG, Siyaram’s, Arrow, and Grasim Bhiwani (GBTL), among others.
The New Face of Sutlej
“At Sutlej, there is one aspect of our business in which we are investing larger resources than in our manufacturing equipment or infrastructure – in our culture. A modernizing Sutlej is progressively younger. A digitalizing Sutlej is seeking to replace most manual non-manufacturing interventions (marketing and business controls) with cutting-edge technologies. A sensitized Sutlej has largely replaced legacy process with an environment-friendly mindset (products, process and resources) that is determined to make the world cleaner and greener. A restless Sutlej is questioning status quo,” sums up Updeep Singh.