In business there are followers who tread an existing path and there are go-getters who create their own destiny. Dr. S K Sundaraman is one such leader who dared to think different. A doctor by qualification who inherited a spinning mill, he realised quite early in his career that he would need to look at value-added and diversified products for growth and better margins in the textile industry. He ventured into unchartered territory and pioneered the production of products like dry-fit sheets, which have become highly successful in the marketplace. Shiva Texyarn is a high-quality cotton yarn manufacturer.
In 2011 the company started producing value-added technical textile products. “Currently Shiva Texyarn is engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing of cotton yarn and value-added technical textile products. Our business divisions include spinning, processing, coating, lamination, bags, garments and windmills. The spinning mill is located at Tirupur. The company owns 55 windmills. The wind electricity thus generated is primarily consumed by the textile divisions,” says Dr. Sundararaman, Managing Director, Shiva Texyarn.
Manufacturing Competence
Shiva Texyarn manufactures cotton yarn, laminated fabrics including outdoor clothing fabric- breathable shells, mattress protectors, medical textiles, products for industrial applications, military applications, coated fabric for cotton banners and art and digital canvas, special garments for military use, NBC suits, rucksacks, haversack bags, micro fibre high-absorbent towels, PPEs, masks and corona virus-related products. It currently has a capacity of 52,416 spindles in its cotton yarn business. In the technical textile division, the company has a lamination division to laminate fabric with a capacity of 6 lakh metres per month.
It also has a coating division with a capacity of 9 lakh metres per month and garments division with 500 heavy-duty stitching sewing machines to make special garments. The other supporting facilities include processing division, carbon division and windmills for captive power generation. Shiva Texyarn is known for its robust infrastructure and technology-savvy approach. The company has been regularly investing in the automation and digitisation of machinery and processes. It employs 1,700 people including 750 women employees.
Spirit of Innovation
The company has built up a reputation for innovation and technology focus, which gives it the competitive edge. “Shiva Texyarn has laminating and coating technology, which is advantageous for creating new products for multiple applications. The current product line which includes micro fibre towels, cotton banners and reusable diapers is highly innovative and has got high potential for further growth,” Dr. Sundararaman points out. This is also the reason why customers prefer to work with Shiva Texyarn as most of the products are unique and not many have the knowledge or expertise to manufacture them.
Dr. Sundararaman further mentions that the company’s revenue share from domestic sales is almost 85% while that of exports is 15%. The break-up in terms of segments is spinning at 65% and technical textiles at 35%. Its top customers for spinning are knit garment manufacturers at Tirupur, woven fabric manufacturers at Erode and Salem and the export market of Bangladesh. Its non-spinning retail baby product, ‘Quick Dry’, contributes 12% while the balance 23% is supplied to defence and corporate customers like Decathlon and Amazon, among others. Shiva Texyarn has been equally focussed on manufacturing sustainable products. In the yarn business it has been increasing the production of organic and BCI cotton yarn.
The company is aggressively promoting cotton banners as an alternate material for PVC flex banners, which can significantly reduce pollution. Another innovative product has been reusable diapers with high absorbency and fast drying qualities, making them environment-friendly. Shiva Texyarn is currently executing new projects at an investment of Rs 20 crore which would commence commercial production in the year 2022. The company has been witnessing steady growth in turnover and profits over the years. “As a mid-term plan, by 2025 we want to reach a revenue target of Rs 500 crore in top-line,” reveals Dr. Sundararaman.
