By Arun Rao
Ahmedabad based Urja Products Pvt Ltd is into production of technical textiles, particularly industrial textiles and is a pioneer in weaving fabrics from Aramid, Carbon, Fiberglass, Quartz, Silica to name a few.
From Nutan Mills to Urja Products: A Family’s Textile Journey
“My grandfather graduated from UDCT/ICT in Paints and Varnish. He ventured into conventional textiles because of our association with the Lalbhai Group and managed The Nutan Mills for several decades. When cotton textile mills across the country started seeing downward trend in 1960s, he ventured into weaving Fiberglass fabrics and so was born Unnati Industries in 1969 as one of the first weavers of Fiberglass fabrics in India,” Mr. Anshul Nanavaty, Director at Urja Products told The Textile Magazine.
“Unnati Industries is also one of the first companies to coat PTFE on fiberglass fabrics which are now used in multiple applications. In the early 1990s, Urja Products was set up with an intention to manufacture Silica fabrics in India. Later, Unnati Industries merged into Urja Products Private Limited which now manufactures several technical textile fabrics for various applications,” Mr. Anshul Nanavaty, added.
A Facility Built for Speciality Fabrics
“Some yarns need to be twisted for a few fabric qualities before weaving and so we have Twisting machines, Sectional warping machines, Shuttle and Rapier looms, Coating and Laminating lines, Stitching machines and a wide range of other machines which are used for converting our fabrics into various tailor-made products,” Mr. Janak Nanavaty, Managing Director at Urja Products added.
Weaving of Fiberglass fabrics has to be done at low RPM so even the modern looms are run at just 200 to 250 RPM. Coating lines too run at very controlled speeds of 0.1 to 1 metre per minute as against hundreds of meters per minute in conventional fabric coating lines. Additionally, Urja Products also has 100 stitching machines in its recently automated stitching plant, while also using AI for fabric inspection.Urja has a strength of close to 300 employees at its manufacturing location at Ahmedabad.
Seven Industrial Fabric Segments, Endless Applications
Currently Urja Products is catering to almost a dozen different applications from its range of technical textile fabrics. The fabrics that Urja Products weaves include Fiberglass, Carbon, Cotton, Aramid, Basalt, Nylon, Quartz, High Silica, Ceramic, to name a few. These textiles are further coated with chemicals like PTFE, Epoxy or Phenolic resins, Melamine formaldehydes, FR or WR treatments, silicone pressure sensitive adhesives and Rubbers like silicone neoprene viton, etc. These fabrics are further converted into various end products depending on their applications. Urja’s products find applications in insulation, filtration, engineering and boiler parts, plastic packaging, conveyor belting, composites, structural strengthening, ballistics, defense, aerospace, etc.
Solutions for Steel Plants, Refineries and Beyond
With regards to Insulation division, the company converts its range of high temperature fabrics into products like insulation pads, furnace curtains, welding and fire blankets, electrical cable protection sleeves, launder lids etc. These are done by using specialized fabrics with a combination of wool and an appropriate stitching thread.
With regard to PTFE division, Urja converts PTFE coated Fiberglass fabrics into Adhesive Tapes used for plastic pouch packaging and also into conveyor belts. PTFE conveyor belts are used in multiple industries like; production of food, garments, solar panels, soap packaging, UV curing in stationery printing, collar & cuff fusing machines, shrink wrap machine, magnetic separators, etc.
“With regards to Non-Metallic (Fabric) Expansion Joints division, Urja is one of the few companies approved by boiler manufacturers and is a supplier to refineries, petrochemical units, fertilizer plants, cement plants etc. Wherever there is high temperature, expansion joints need to absorb thermal expansion in the duct line. This is where our products come in the picture. We are approved by companies like, BHEL, NTPC, EIL, TATA etc,” Mr Janak Nanavaty noted.
With regards to the Filtration division, Urja manufactures Fiberglass fabrics used to filter metals like Aluminum at 750 Deg C. Fiberglass fabrics are further stitched to create shapes that are more in demand in critical applications. Urja has recently added Ceramic Foam Filters for filtration of molten metal at high temperatures.
Urja Products is also into manufacturing of fourth generation materials like, Aramid, Basalt, Carbon, Fiberglass, Quartz etc. These products are used in Ballistic, Composites and similar industries.
Urja Products also manufactures fire blankets which are mandatory in hotels in China and western countries. If there is a fire, the person can drape the fire blankets and walk and escape through the fire which protects the body from the flames and heat. These fabrics are also made from fiberglass fabrics.
60 Year Legacy Built on Research
“Our company is sixty years young and has been built on foundations of quality and innovation. We are pioneers in most of the products we produce. Our capability in producing these products is more than any other Indian company. We have a R&D laboratory and also an in-house testing facility which is equipped for testing fabrics at high temperature. All our raw materials like fiberglass yarns are first tested before they are used. We also have a patent on one of our production processes” Mr. Anshul Nanavaty observed while informing about why their products should be the first choice of customers.
Driven by Customization
Mr.Janak Nanavaty further said. “Our company has been built on the concept of customization. It could be in terms of different weaving patterns or in terms of blending different fibers for different applications. We also offer various coating and lamination options. We also do the latest stealth coating on fabrics and constantly improvise to meet customer requirements.”
Sustainability as a Business Value
In sustainability initiatives, the company is percolating rain water back into the ground. So, all the rain water that falls in its 20,000 sq meters built up area facility is pushed back into the ground which helps to replenish ground water. Urja Products has also installed solar power capacity which meets 35% of its electricity needs.
Domestic Stronghold, Global Footprint
The domestic market accounts for 65% of Urja Products’ revenue and the rest of revenues are generated by exporting to more than 40 countries like the US, the countries of the European Union, Brazil, Russia, South Korea, etc.
In expansion plans, the company has recently acquired land in Hyderabad and is putting up a plant to manufacture composites products from Aramid, Carbon and Fiberglass.
Ease of Doing Business
“We believe the government is doing its best to boost prospects of technical textiles industry in India. News of a new TUF scheme is being heard and the government is trying to take care of all the anomalies of previous schemes. However, approximately 1,000 cases are still pending and most of the genuine companies with legitimate claims are still knocking the doors of TXC,” Mr Janak Nanavaty observed, while sharing his expectations from the government.
