May 28 2015 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)
City gets rival as Surat dons denims
Kalpesh Damor & Melvyn Reggie Thomas
AhmedabadSura
TNN


Diamond City Catches Up Rapidly As Four Denim Plants Come Up
Gujarat's denim capital is facing competition from the diamond city. With production of over 400 million metres per annum, Ahmedabad is the undisputed leader in denim.However, Surat is catching up fast ­ four new denim plants with a capacity of about 100 million metres have come up over 18 months. Another half-a-dozen textile makers are expected to set up large denim facilities over the next few years.
Companies such as Ultra Denim, R&B Denims, Anubha Industries and Srirajlakshmi Denim have chosen Surat, the country's largest man-made fabric hub meeting over 40% of the fabric demand annually. “We started with 20 million metres annual ca pacity at Palsana. Expansion is going on for 30 million square metres. Surat is a promising hub for textiles and we intend to start garment manufac turing from denim fabrics in the next couple of years,“ said Amit Dalmia, director, R&B Denims.

Anubha Industires has 10 million metres capacity and million metres capacity and plans to increase. Rajasthan based Sri Rajlakshmi Denim has operationalized a plant at Palsana with planned capacity of 30 million metres. Ultra Denim has invested Rs 100 crore to set up a 30 million metres unit near Surat, which is expected to start operations in two months. Industry says there has always been an opportunity for new players. The capacity addition will continue, they say . “Despite being textile trading hub, denim was missing in Surat. But the business is developing and city-based players are exploring new growth trajectories,“ said a textile trader from Surat, which has the advantage of being a trading hub for textiles.

Internationally , the number of denim-making units in US has come down. This offers a huge opportunity for denim makers in India. “Margins in denim may have shrunk but it is still a profitable business, which has lured many players,“ added a textile player.

Gujarat government's textile policy also promotes weaving and spinning by providing incentives. Also, power subsidy is given to textile players to boost investment in the sector.

“Surat is very prosperous for textiles. Surat already has the advantage of weaving and spinning capacities. As a result, Surat-based entrepreneurs do not have to go somewhere else,“ said DK Nair, secretary , Confederation of Indian Textile Industry.