Bombay Dyeing is a name that needs no introduction to anyone familiar with the textile industry of India. It is a household name that has resonated across several generations of Indians. A key part of the multi-directional Wadia Group, which has got interests in chemicals, agro-products, foods, light engineering, textiles, electronics, plantations, laminates, consultancy, architecture, health aviation, hospitals and real estate, the Wadia Group continues to be counted among the top names in the Indian industry even after over 250 years since its inception.
Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Polyester Division
One area where Bombay Dyeing has been silently marching ahead, charting out its own distinct growth path, is polyester. Bombay Dyeing’s polyester division which is engaged in the manufacture of 100% Virgin polyester staple fiber (PSF) has made a mark for itself in the textile industry with its range of high-quality products. Bombay Dyeing is one of the seven producers of PSF in the country with a market share of about 15%. The PSF Division achieved a turnover of Rs. 1,439.28 crores during the year ended March 31, 2019, as compared to Rs. 1,251.95 crores in the previous year.
We met Mr. Rajnesh Datt, Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Polyester Division, for an exclusive interview. A senior technocrat with around 30 years of experience, Mr. Datt has been with Bombay Dyeing since 2012, after earlier stints with the Thapar Group (JCT Ltd.) and Indo Rama Synthetics. Mr. Datt gave detailed insights into the history of Bombay Dyeing, its polyester division, manufacturing facility and what makes its products stand out, among others.
The edited excerpts:
We began the interaction by asking Mr. Datt to throw some light on the history of Bombay Dyeing. Going into details, he said: “Bombay Dyeing is part of the Wadia Group that was started way back in 1736. Very soon we will be completing 300 years. The group started with building warships, which were supplied to the Royal Family of England, as well as the US and other countries. You will be surprised to know that the present national anthem of the US was composed on our ship in 1810. The Nanking Treaty ceding Honk Kong to China was also signed on one of our ships in 1898. It has indeed been a very long and successful journey.”
The group companies include, Britannia, Bombay Burmah, Bombay Dyeing – Home & You division, Go Air, National Peroxide Ltd., and so on.
Speaking specifically about Bombay Dyeing, Mr. Datt observed that the company was officially incorporated in 1879, although it was already dealing with textiles before that. “With respect to textiles we now have the Bombay Dyeing – Home & You division and the polyester division,” he added.
PSF division
Bombay Dyeing entered the PSF business in 2006. The PSF plant at Patalganga in Raigad district was started with technological knowhow from Invista (erstwhile DuPont) and Chemtex, USA, which had developed the NGSSS (Next Generation Staple Spinning System).
Mr. Datt explained: “Our manufacturing plant is located around 75 km from Mumbai. It is also just 35 km away from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Trucks take about an hour from our factory to reach the port. The factory was actually established somewhere in the 1980s to manufacture DMT (dimethyl terephthalate), when it was considered a premium product. By 2004, however, its use started declining and got replaced by PSF. So we put up a brand-new plant with new civil work in 2007”.
Going into details regarding the capacity of the plant, Mr. Datt said: “The mother of a PTA plant is CP, otherwise called as continuous polymerization. Our CP capacity is around 500 MT per day. But then you need to remember that we produce many specialty items. Whenever we are running specialty products our capacity is around 450 MT per day. Otherwise our daily production crosses 500 MT per day. It also depends on the market conditions. For example, our annual capacity is nearly 160,000 MT. However, there have been times when we have produced more than 15,000 MT in a month.”
According to Mr. Datt, there is demand for nearly 70,000 MT per month for PSF in the Indian market. The Indian manufacturers are exporting about 25,000 MT per month. “If you take into account the installed capacity, there is an excess supply scenario prevailing here, resulting in a few companies not running to capacity,” he pointed out.
The company produces a wide range of specialty products, including micro fibers, super micro fibers, trilobal, super high tenacity, optically white, optical white super high tenacity, micro super high tenacity, black and black super high tenacity.
Application areas
Speaking about the application areas of these specialty products Mr. Datt said: “The biggest application is for making relatively coarser counts, i.e., 30 or below, which is used for suitings used for making trousers that we wear. Then there are finer counts, 40 and above, which are used for shirtings, again a major segment. Then super high tenacity products are used for producing sewing threads. Certain black products are used to make shoe laces for very high-quality shoes. They are also used in garments. Black fiber is also used in the production of automotive products such as the flooring in a car or the thick black fiber used in the bonnet of a car for noise insulation purposes.”
“They are also used for hygiene-based products, including diapers, face wipes, tissues, etc., which is enabled through a special process known as hydro entanglement. But if you were to talk about India, the biggest application is still for spinning mills,” he added.
With respect to yarns, Mr. Datt stated that Bombay Dyeing enjoyed a leadership position in South India. “Wherever people are producing yarn for suitings and shirting in spinning mills, they have been proudly saying that their yarn is being produced out of Bombay Dyeing fiber.”
The company’s strong presence in the South Indian market can be gauged from the fact that it has got three of its six regional offices located here in Coimbatore, Madurai and Erode in Tamil Nadu. The other three regional offices are located in Ludhiana, Delhi and Mumbai.
Global presence
Speaking about the company’s domestic consumption and export ratio, Mr. Datt said: “Our annual average is 67-33. It keeps fluctuating. Sometimes it is 70-30. At times it could be 60-40. Right now we are present in all the continents barring Australia. We have our presence all over the globe except Australia and New Zealand where there is no spinning industry. You can hear the brand name ‘Bombay Dyeing’ even in far-flung areas of the world.”
It is a well-known fact that a majority of the Indian spinning mills are 100% cotton units and that polyester is not run much in large capacities. Given this scenario, how has Bombay Dyeing’s polyester division been able to make a dent in the market?
Replying to this Mr. Datt explained: “We are very happy to say that India is the biggest producer and user of cotton. All of us should take pride in this fact. India produces 5 lakh tons of cotton per month. India exports 1 lakh ton of cotton per month and consumes 4 lakh tons of cotton per month. As long as our farmers are happy to grow cotton, we should support them. After all they are the backbone of our economy. However, tomorrow if there is higher pressure on land or water, then there is no alternative for the farmers. They may then like to shift to other crops, where less water is required. We are also seeing that because of land and water pressure growth in the cotton cultivation area has not happened. It’s stagnant. So, PSF is now the alternative to the world. Yes, Viscose is a good fiber too, though it comes at a higher price. Whatever growth will be there will be of PSF. It may not be huge, but it will be steady. Businesses in this line need to be patient and not be over ambitious.”
Continuing further on the topic he added: “If you talk of the recent situation, because of the trade war between the US and China the latter has imposed a 25% anti-dumping duty on cotton from the former. As a result, the use of cotton from the US has dropped from 90% to 57% in the country, which is a huge drop. As a result, cotton all over the world is in a weak state. In fact, in the last 2 months or so, I have seen around 20-odd small spinning units shifting from cotton to PSF. Many such units have been transferring completely. The shift has been gradually happening for the last 3-4 years. People are finding it more comfortable to run PSF. However, this does not mean that cotton consumption is going down. However, whatever growth happens, it will be there in the PSF market segment.”
The company has always been a firm believer in offering value-added services to its clients. Referring to the initiatives, Mr. Datt said: “We have regional offices spread throughout the country, where the primary responsibility is to guide the customer in terms of what to do, what fiber to use, guiding them on the fiber that is suitable for their type of machinery, telling them about what is happening in the industry, etc. This is an ongoing process for us.”
Is there any plan to add capacity in the near future? Answering this question, he said: “Yes, there is a plan. We plan to make a small line of super specialty products. We are awaiting the final nod from the management. The civil work is already completed. Whenever we start it will take around 6 months to complete.”
Firm focus on textile industry
Given the fact that the Wadia Group has interests in other sectors, does it mean that the focus on textiles is getting reduced? Replying to this Mr. Datt observed it is not so. “You need to identify what is the need of the hour, what can work today and what is the right time to focus on any particular industry. That is what we are doing. To give you an example, Go Air had about 20 aircraft 6 years ago. Today it has about 60 aircraft. All of them are flying full. So, as industrialists have to focus on the right industry at the right time. If you look at textiles, now is the time for growth in the industry because the biggest producer and supplier in the world, China is facing several issues. Power is not cheap. Ageing manpower is another problem that they have. Their wages are now touching $500 per person per month as compared to $150 in India and $90 in Bangladesh. The world now needs another dependable supplier, and that of course is India. Our management understands the significance of this industry and they will take required initiatives at the right time,” he said.
With competition in polyester domain gradually intensifying, what are the key factors that make Bombay Dyeing stand out from the crowd? Responding to this question Mr. Datt said: “There are a few factors. One is our consistent pricing policy. The second is that we are the only producers who manufacture only PSF. As a result, customers are assured of good quality. Spinning mills are happy because their productivity goes up. Their cost of production comes down. That’s a big attraction. Another key reason is that we have a very, very honest approach (that follows from the Wadia Group culture) in everything we do. We give the first preference to quality. Almost every one of our customers will testify to this fact.”
The company has its team spread throughout the country. He said: “As mentioned earlier we have around 22 people spread throughout the country, out of which around 15 are located in our southern regional offices, giving you an indication of our strong presence in the region. We have another 10 people located at our Patalganga plant.”
Mr. Datt felt that the gradual growth of the polyester market segment is bound to continue in the near future too. “Our growth rate in the recent past has been around 2½% to 3%. This will continue. Because of the situation in China, we may also witness a slightly better growth going forward. Over a period of a few years, we may be touching 5%,” he stated signing off on a positive note.
