Trident Group – Innovation-driven global leadership in home textiles backed by world class manufacturing

Known for its innovation-driven global leadership in home textiles backed by world-class manufacturing, Trident Group has also created new benchmarks in production while ensuring that sustainability is always at the core of their operations

The year 2020 marks a milestone – a decade which was witness to India’s growing importance in the global textile industry, particularly in the home textile industry. For Trident Group (Trident), the last decade has been nothing short of incredible. The company undertook a never-before-seen growth journey through various expansions. The most significant was its foray into bed linen with the commissioning of their new integrated bed-sheeting project in Budhni. Trident also made significant investments in the production of the finest yarns, use of special fibres, and new weaving techniques – all part of its world-class production infrastructure.

Rajinder Gupta, Chairman, Trident Group

Elaborating on this impressive journey, Rajinder Gupta, Chairman, Trident Group, says, “From increasing capacities to refreshing designs, to partnering with the best in technology, we were constantly committed to continuous innovation and driving future values. Excellence in quality coupled with differentiated growth strategies has led to strong strategic partnerships across the global arena.” Trident Limited is the flagship company of the USD 1 billion Indian business conglomerate and global player, Trident Group, headquartered in Ludhiana. Flagged off on a humble note in 1990, Trident has evolved over the years into one of the world’s largest integrated home textile manufacturers under the visionary leadership of its founder and Group Chairman Rajinder Gupta.

The company is engaged in the business of manufacturing a wide variety of yarn, bed and bath linen, paper, chemicals and captive power. Trident’s state-of-the-industry manufacturing facilities are strategically located in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. The company is one of the world’s largest exporters of home textile products, enjoying significant market share. Fiercely consumer-centric, Trident’s relentless pursuit to be the best, not just the biggest, in the spaces they compete in has led to the creation of a globally sustainable business model.

Home Textiles

Home textiles is a major segment of the global textile industry, which includes a wide range of categories such as furnishing fabrics, curtains, carpets, kitchen accessories, bedspreads, and bed and bath linen, among other home furnishings. The global home textile market has been valued at USD 142 billion in CY 2018. The current projections indicate that India, China and Pakistan take the top spots as the key suppliers, whereas the US and Europe are the biggest end consumers, constituting nearly 60% of the home textiles’ imports. The global home textile market is projected to reach USD 180.2 billion by the end of 2025 at a CAGR of 3% during 2019-2025.

The key factors driving robust growth rate in the Asia-Pacific region include surging per capita expenditure, availability of potential consumers, increasing investments by major regional players, and improving lifestyles of consumers, among others. Trident prides itself upon being one of the largest vertically integrated companies in the home textile industry across the globe. The segment’s revenue is driven by two business divisions – bath and bed linen. Says Gupta: “Trident has been a pioneer in manufacturing home textiles. Each of our products is thoughtfully designed, developed and curated. We are world-renowned for offering quality products at extremely competitive prices. Our product range is a mix of sustainability, wellness, performance, technology, and luxury. We have a wide array of products that cater to the unique demands of different cross-sections of our customer base.”

“At Trident, we believe in mindful manufacturing – from sourcing eco-friendly raw materials to using careful manufacturing methods, we are driven by sustainable practices. With constant research and innovation, we have always taken note of what the customer demands and have fulfilled that with our special offerings,” he adds. The company stands tall as a global leader from a terry towel capacity perspective. Impressively so, it is one of the leading suppliers of bath linen to the US’ market.

Its state-of-the-art production facilities include spinning, wide-width air jet and Jacquard weaving, soft flow dyeing, and fully automated cutting and sewing for bath linen. Trident is focused on innovations that would bring out the best-in-class quality to suit the most exacting global standards, and most discriminating global consumer. Another shining jewel in Trident’s crown is the bed linen segment. A wide product portfolio and unmatched design capabilities make it a complete bedding solution provider.

Emphasis on Innovation

Trident has been granted a patent for ‘Air Rich®’ yarn and fabric and its method of manufacturing by the United States Patent & Trademark Office. The Air Rich® fabrics and yarns have high breathability, quick absorbency, and quick dry attributes. The invention is directed at producing Air Rich® fabrics and yarns which can be used to create towels that get softer and fluffier wash after wash, to bed-sheets that are light, cool and comfortable. Elaborating about the company’s policy on innovation, Gupta informs, “The most notable, and commercially successful, innovation Trident is known for is the development of our Air Rich® spinning process. It creates a yarn with many tiny air pockets.”

“On the towel products these pockets keep the yarn from continuing to twist and become harsh after many wash cycles – ‘starts soft, stays soft’ as we say.  In sheets it creates a wonderfully soft, breathable fabric that is a pleasure to sleep on. It has been extremely successful, and based on online reviews online, well-loved by the consumers. Years of research and hard work went into the development of this one-of-its-kind technology that creates incredibly soft and smooth yarns with exceptional functional attributes,” he adds.

“Apart from this, we are pioneering the world of textiles with our innovative fibre and processes. We are using unique yarns created from natural sources such as the hemp plant. They are not only sustainable but are also great for everyday wellbeing of the consumer. We are experimenting with a variety of finishes that are bringing a revolution in the textile industry,” Gupta states.

Sustainability Approach

Sustainability has become the most important mantra in textile manufacturing today. At Trident, sustainability in the entire manufacturing process and the final product manufactured has become a way of life, and is no longer an option. Trident Group is a collaboration of many hearts reaching out to protect and preserve the environment. “Preservation of nature is our paramount responsibility, and we embrace sustainability as a core business vertical paving various ways in order to secure a safe and healthy environment,” Gupta states.

“From developing environment-friendly products such as paper from agricultural residue, producing organic yarn to managing non-utilised resources, practicing rainwater harvesting and moving towards green manufacturing, we, at Trident, do every bit to ‘nurture nature’. Instead of cutting trees, we make paper from wheat straw, saving 1.8 million trees per year. We make towels and bed-sheets from sustainable raw materials and processes. We practice zero liquid discharge and recover 1.9 billion litres of water every year. All this and more, just to safeguard the environment,” Gupta adds. Further, under the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Trident has partnered with 17,498 farmers to minimise pesticide usage in cotton cultivation practices, save water during irrigation, and upgrade their economic stature.

Another important issue in recent times has been the traceability of raw material with manufacturers adopting DNA tagging to establish the origin of raw material. “In 2016, there was a well-reported issue at a major US retailer regarding one of their key suppliers and the use of premium cotton. At that point the associations responsible for the promotion of premium cotton put methods in place to track the movement and purity of their particular cotton. We at Trident likewise developed a very stringent traceability protocol through our SAP system. Every retailer who has perused our protocol and toured our facility to see the protocol in action has been very comfortable with our approach,” Gupta informs

World-Class Manufacturing

Since its inception, Trident has dedicated itself to making superior cotton yarns that have set industry benchmarks higher for innovation. The company possesses the largest spinning installation at a single campus in India. It is a prominent manufacturer of premium quality yarn with a versatile range of products to offer such as ring-spun cotton, compact cotton, blended and melange yarns, among others. The manufacturing unit is equipped with latest technology such as blow room from Trutzchler, ring frame from Zinser and Murata, compact attachments of Suessen, and testing technologies like UT 5, etc.

Trident’s existing capacity is 543,744 spindles and 6,464 rotors with current capacity utilisation at 99%. The company has now proposed expansion of spinning capacity, and it will be investing Rs 1,140 crore towards installation of 162,432 spindles and 3,600 rotors, including other balancing equipment, to manufacture about 48,482 TPA of 100% cotton yarn at its existing plant in Budni, Madhya Pradesh. The proposed project, expected to begin commercial production by January 2021, will help strengthen Trident’s existing home textile business and further expand its market presence. In the terry towel unit, Trident has an installed capacity of 688 looms to produce 90,000 MT per annum or 360 million pieces of terry towels annually. In the bed linen unit it has an installed capacity of 500 looms with a capability to produce 43.2 million metres or 6.6 million sheet sets annually.

Heimtextil 2020

Talking about Trident’s participation at Heimtextil, Gupta states “We are very excited and happy as Heimtextil celebrates its golden jubilee this year. During all these years, it has emerged as one of the biggest platforms globally where home textile exhibitors from across the world come and showcase their products.” He further adds, “We have been working very hard on our products, and we want our home linen to reach more and more people across the world. Heimtex has played a major role in making this happen. We have been showcasing our diverse range of products at the show for years. For us, participating in the event has always been a gratifying experience in terms of exchanging ideas, providing a glimpse of our range to our overseas clients, and the generation of fresh opportunities for business and partnerships. We have been among the prominent exhibitors at the show and we are happy that hundreds of visitors look forward to visiting our stall,”

Future Growth

Indian companies are increasingly playing a larger role in the global home textile segment. And as Gupta puts it, “We manufacture for some of the most recognisable OEM fashion brands in the industry. We also have a huge presence in the retailers’ ‘owned brands’ space. These two areas make up the lion’s share of our business. In recent years we have been cultivating great partnerships with sourcing companies who operate in the licensed brands’ arena. Our designers and marketing members work with their PD teams to create on-trend ‘branded’ products that the sourcing company in turn sells to the retailers. It’s a win-win on the branding front.”

In his concluding remarks Gupta states, “The growth-driven companies of the future in the home textile segment will be companies that stay relentlessly focused on exceeding consumer expectations from a product, price, and social leadership perspective. The new consumers are looking for companies that care about the things they do – circularity in the product cycle, good water and land management practices, quality, and value. As a fully integrated company, we are advantaged to have the greatest control over the issues that impact the consumers the most.”

Trident Limited has been granted patent for ‘Terry fabric weave and resulting terry fabric’ by European Patent Office. The present invention relates to Terry Fabric weaves, method for weaving Terry fabric comprising such weaves and resulting Terry fabrics. In particular, the invention relates to terry fabrics having improved material effectiveness, pull resistance, absorbency, softness and uniformity of texture. The grant of this patent provides further recognition of the quality of the innovation being carried out by Trident.