Welspun: An Ongoing Story of Growth

Welspun India Limited
Advanced Textiles Division
Welspun House, Kamala City
Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013, India
+91-22-66136935
[email protected]
www.welspun.com                                                                         

Beginning as a polyester yarn texturizing unit in Palghar, Maharashtra, India, in 1985, Welspun has grown to a diversified group of companies under a single umbrella. The group holds a global leadership position in line pipes and home textiles, maintaining a marquee client list that includes Fortune 100 companies in the oil and gas sector—such as TransCanada, Chevron and others—and in the retail sector—such as JC Penney, Macy’s, Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

The $3.5 billion Welspun Group is one of India’s fastest growing conglomerates. With a strong presence in more than 50 countries, more than 24,000 employees and 10,000 stockholders, Welspun is an amalgamation of expertise, resources, opportunities and engineering excellence.

Considering the broad potential and numerous applications of nonwovens, Welspun began working on a customized production line, and after three years the company developed a patented production line for manufacturing high-end spunlace and composites products. Welspun has a machine configuration exclusivity agreement with Truetzschler (Fleissner) for the next 10 years, says Rajesh R. Mandawewala, managing director, Welspun Group.

Welspun is equipped to produce roll goods for a variety of applications, including wipes, automotive headliners and pillars, artificial leather substrates, battery separators, coating substrates, interlinings, filters, medical disposables and carpet backing fabrics, among others.

“We are adding cross lapping and multi-layering capabilities and expanding our capacity from 6,000 metric tons to 13,000 metric tons per annum. Besides spunlace applications, we are also contemplating market entry for a few innovative products, which will be launched soon. The blue print for further expansion of our nonwoven business is getting ready.”

Mandawewala emphasized the importance of innovation in today’s competitive business environment. “Historically, the nonwoven industry always offers space for innovative new players. Creativity and product innovation add value and create new applications. Welspun has understood the importance of innovation in the nonwoven businesses. Hence, besides scaling up our capacities, Welspun will make efforts to create intellectual property rights by working on new concepts and developing new products.”

The company is focusing on development of flushable/bio-degradable products, he adds. Welspun has already developed expertise for handling natural fibers like cotton, jute and eco-friendly fibers like bamboo, Tencel and others.

“The growing middle class in emerging markets opens vast opportunities for consumer products,” Mandawewala says. “We are also focusing on development of engineered spunlace products for industrial applications. The fast-growing automotive sector offers very lucrative opportunities.”

Equipped with a flexible production line that allows the company to manufacture different products, Welspun will look to enter new market segments, according to Mandawewala, targeting top-level businesses as potential partners. The company is also evaluating other nonwoven technologies in addition to spunlace.

“Welspun enters new business spaces keeping an eye on being a dominant international player. In this journey, we are open to joining hands for strategic partnerships with world leaders and technology providers to join us in this growth story.”