TRUE STORIES
The VARDHMAN Group:
The perfect human–machine
interface
VARDHMAN
Company’s core business:
Yarn spinner, sewing thread
producer, weaver, acrylic
fiber producer, dyer for fiber,
tops and yarn
Location:
Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), India
Annual production/capacity:
over 550,000 spindles, 432 looms,
dyeing machinery
Number of employees:
20,000
Benefits/and use of the
XO-Steaming Process:
Increasing moisture level, yarn
quality improvement for knitting
and weaving yarn, stabilization and
twist setting of sewing thread,
conditioning of cotton lycra yarns
The VARDHMAN Group of India:
an undisputed market leader in the
yarn production sector
The VARDHMAN Group of India has a corporate philosophy
that attaches great value to
first class production facilities
equipped with the latest technology.
In the mid-1980s, the VARDHMAN
Group commenced its yarn-conditioning activities and from the outset, worked closely with the Swiss
XORELLA AG, which developed this
technology and is the leader in the
related market. Now, the Group is
to expand its spindle capacity from
550,000 to about 800,000 and
XORELLA conditioning equipment
of the latest generation has been
ordered for this purpose.
India is currently the object of much
discussion and textiles are not the
only national industry that is booming. Sales are rising and massive
sums are being invested in a trend
that also applies to the VARDHMAN
Group, which is located in Ludhiana
in the north of the country. Spinning
mill capacity is to be considerably
enlarged and the newest XORELLA
machines have been ordered.
Market position
The VARDHMAN Group is an undisputed market leader in India and
can point to impressive corporate
data. It has the largest spinning capacity in the country and is the biggest producer of cotton, synthetic
fibre and mixed yarns, as well as a
large dyer of fibres and yarns. The
VARDHMAN Group is also one of
India’s biggest exporters of cotton
yarns, the Indian hand-knitting yarn
market leader and the second largest producer of sewing threads.
Total company sales amount to
around USD 500 million and some
20% of all yarns are exported to
countries such as the USA, the EU
states, Canada, China, Japan, Korea,
Mexico, Brazil, etc. VARDHMAN has
a 6% share of Indian yarn exports.
And how does Mr. S.P. Oswal see
the yarn market at present? “We
are well established in the market
and cotton yarns are selling well. At
the moment we are operating with
550,000 spindles, which we intend
to increase to 800,000 by March
2008. India is a good market for
us and there are relatively few yarn
imports. The market is sure to grow
further, but is set to become somewhat quieter.”
India en route to the top
India is among the leading group
of cotton-producing countries, although increasing amounts are
also being invested in synthetic
fibre production. However, as Mr.
S.P. Oswal makes clear, “India
has to raise its yields. Today, with
around 9 million hectare under cultivation, yield currently amounts
to 470 kg/hr, while good yield
amounts to some 700 kg/hr. If India succeeds in raising this yield
figure, and it must succeed, we
will become the No. 1 in the cotton
field. The preconditions are ideal
with a huge domestic market and
rising per capita income among the
population. In addition, the share of
exports in the Indian textile industry only amounts to 35% and here,
too, there is tangible potential for
expansion. These are just some of
the reasons why investment in the
Indian textile industry is constantly
increasing.”
Conditioned yarns are vital
The VARDHMAN Group commenced
its yarn-conditioning activities in
the mid-1980s and from the outset, worked closely with the Swiss
XORELLA AG, which developed
this technology and is the leader in
the related market. Mr. S.P. Oswal,
“Every yarn has to be conditioned
as otherwise problems arise. The
Indian climate is too hot to allow
any retained moisture. However,
using XORELLA conditioning machines, we are able to increase
the moisture level by 1.5–2.0% and
thus attain yarn quality with excellent running characteristics for
the subsequent production phases.
Yarn conditioning is a must, yarns
containing ‘Lycra’ being otherwise
impossible to process.”
With the exception of polyester and
acrylics, 99% of all yarns are conditioned. As already mentioned,
spinning capacity is to be further
expanded and six new XORELLA
SELECT machines have been ordered for this purpose. Up to now,
the VARDHMAN Group worked with
round machines, but now cubical
systems have been purchased.
As Mr. S.P. Oswal explains, “Above
all, cubical machines offer the advantages of rational working processes. We can run in complete
pallets and this saves us a great
deal of manual work during the
preparations for steaming and unloading for the downstream production stages.”
The future
The VARDHMAN Group has an excellent reputation and perhaps you
can tell us how this was achieved?
Mr. S.P. Oswal, “Here, I must go
back in time. We have been in business for 40 years and our customers are aware of our commitment
to quality. Conversely, we know the
requirements of our clientele and
customer proximity plays an outstanding role in our organisation.
Every employee dealing directly
with customers is conscious of this
fact. Moreover, I would say that ten
years ago, machinery formed 90%
of production. Today, I believe the
human factor accounts for 70% and
this is why we have a positive image
among our customers.
We have to continue on this path
and develop even better and new
products. I do not expect further
strong growth in yarn trading except in the domestic market and
therefore, we must attempt to export more clothing. In addition, we
must ask ourselves if we should
import yarns from China, because
today they make up 15–20% of the
market.”
How do you plan to maintain the
positive status quo?
Mr. S.P. Oswal, “On the one hand,
we are investing in capacity. In
2005, our sales amounted to around
USD 500 million and our target for
2012 is 1,000 million or USD 1 billion. I have already mentioned the
increase in the number of spindles,
but we also wish to raise the number of looms in the weaving mills
from 432 to 800. You have seen the
new building at the Arisht Spinning
Mills in Baddi and we are confident
of attaining further growth. Our domestic sales alone are rising continually by 9% per year.
However, in my opinion, this is only
one side of the coin. As I have also
stated, our personnel is of equal
importance. Today, customers do
not ‘merely’ wish to purchase
yarns, but are looking for a complete range of services. If the customer has a problem, we are immediately on hand to solve it. This is
our mind-set, which involves a total
commitment to customer proximity. It is this that creates our positive market image and is something
that no one can take from us.”
XORELLA AG
Hardstrasse 41
CH-5430 Wettingen
Switzerland
XORELLA (HK) Ltd.
8/F., 22–28 Cheung Tat Road
Tsing Yi, Hong Kong
[email protected]
www.xorella.com
www.fongs.com