Customised speciality finish is our strength: MS Vijayan

Resil Chemicals is an innovation-driven, diversified chemical and performance materials manufacturer. In textiles, Resil provides cutting-edge solutions for the complete range of speciality finishes and auxiliaries. With a heritage of more than 25 years of product development and innovation for the textile industry, Resil is today one of Asia’s leading innovative formulators of silicone for textiles. The product range covers finishing, pre-treatment and speciality processes. Resil was one of the first companies to begin a process of transformation by exploring the power of silicones in diverse industries. The company has developed into new markets and now serves agriculture, paper, leather, personal care and many other speciality chemical industries. Resil Chemicals has a whole new range of products based on emerging technologies such as antimicrobials for various industrial applications (mainly textiles, plastics, and leather).

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) Government of India, has chosen Resil an an Industrial partner for textile finishing under the Nano Mission programme in Collaboration with eminent research institutes. Resil Chemicals has also won a prestigious National Award from the Technology Development Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for the successful commercialisation of an indigenous technology, N9 Pure Silverâ„¢.

The brand is synonymous with freshness, hygiene and protection and has been accepted and used by renowned global manufacturers such as Marks & Spencer, DIM and Walmart as an ingredient brand in their products to communicate the use of a premium, safe and novel silver technology, thereby acting as a value added differentiator. The product is now also available with brands like DIM, Louis Phillipe, Urbana, UTC, Towels (UK), George Shirts (Bharti Walmart), Raymond, Amante, among others.

Conventional silvers, being expensive have not found wide spread use in applications. However the unique particulate silver developed by Resil Chemicals and marketed under the brand N9 Pure Silverâ„¢ is cost effective and environmentally safe due to its effectiveness at very low dosages. N9 Pure Silverâ„¢ helps move products up the value chain, creating opportunities towards premium category segments. This novel product has applications in numerous industries such as cosmetics, textiles, jute, plastics, leather and rubber and even in swimming pools and spas.

Resil has introduced three of its intelligent garment technologies – Coolit™, Neu Dri™ and Soladel™. These technologies turn your everyday garments into a treat for the senses, leaving them cool, dry and clean. Coolit™ is a sustainable cooling technology that responds dynamically to body temperature and perspiration keeping people cool even when on the move. For cotton clothes, Coolit™ facilitates an endothermic reaction that absorbs body heat, generating a cooling effect of up to three degree Celsius w Neu Dri™ was developed as a dynamic drying technology that rapidly wicks perspiration from the skin and transfers moisture to the fabric’s surface, leaving the wearer dry, comfortable, cool and confident. In addition to evaporation, NeuDri™ has excellent soil release, softening, and anti-static properties that ensure your sportswear are not only comfortable, but also supple and functional when in contact with sweat and moisture leaving the wearer feeling cool and comfortable. Clothes can now be enabled to clean naturally which helps to reduce use of harsh chemicals. Soladel™ uses the power of the sun light to peel off any kind of organic dirt, easing the washing process, and preventing your favorite clothes from getting ruined. This textile treatment acts in a manner similar to photosynthesis, effectively breaking down organic dirt molecules and releasing them from the surface of the fabric.

Consumers have other pain points too when it came to the wearer comfort-feeling cool, feeling dry and clean. In one of the research conducted by Resil chemicals it was found out that one of the biggest challenges for physically active customers is sweat, especially with increasing temperature and humidity. Physical activity generates perspiration, causing discomfort and chafing; most active wear garments being Polyester-based fabrics which block the evaporation of sweat, resulting in its condensation between the skin and the garment. Resil Chemicals intelligent product offerings will prove to be very useful for everyone and Resil being the pioneer in innovative textile technology and with its anti odour garment technology N9 pure silver will definitely be the next landmark in the textile industry.

MS Vijayan, Joint Managing Director, Resil Chemicals Pvt Ltd, interacted with the Editor of Indian Textile Journal, about his company’s profile and achievements through email. 

Excerpts: Resil Chemicals has achieved the distinction of being awarded partnership in Dept of S&T’s Nano mission and also awards. Please trace the growth of the company since its inception, to the present-day status of such a big achievement.

Resil Chemicals is an innovation-driven and diversified specialty chemicals and high-performance materials manufacturer for industries ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Our success has been that, using various technologies, we have been able to make customised products for individual customers and niche applications.

From a small manufacturing unit in 1994 with just five employees, today we are a 300 member organisation with four internationally certified manufacturing facilities with over 20,000 metric tonnes of specialty chemical production per year. Resil now exports to more than 10 countries and has diversified into emerging technology based products such as hand sanitizers, disinfectants and car care products.

Resil was a pioneer for silicones in textiles; we were the first to not only supply the full range of textile finishing and auxiliary chemicals, but also manufacture customised silicones for textiles. Today, we are also one of Asia’s largest formulators of customised silicones.

What are the latest innovations of Resil Chemicals? What are their applications and benefits? Give us some highlights on products like N9 Pure Silverâ„¢.

Resil’s strength lies in its expertise of formulation technology and application research. The thought process behind N9 Pure Silver™ began seven years ago. With this innovative antibacterial product, the company forayed into the hygiene and wellness segment and patented this technology. It’s been a good starting point since then, Resil has been creating niche functional finishes for the hygiene and wellness segment.

 N9 Pure Silverâ„¢ is a family of silver-based antibacterial and hygiene solutions. It is based on a revolutionary Silver-based technology that, on contact, neutralizes odour-causing bacteria, keeping the treated product fresher for longer. It is a finish that can be applied onto fabrics or garments. This breakthrough technology delivers outstanding odour control performance, combined with impeccable environmental credentials and safety profile.

To extend our array, Resil’s formulation of intelligent garment technologies; Coolit™, Neu Dri™ and Soladel™, turn your everyday garments into a treat for the senses, leaving them cool, dry and clean.

Coolitâ„¢ is a sustainable cooling technology that responds dynamically to body temperature and perspiration keeping people cool even when on the move. For cotton clothes, Coolitâ„¢ facilitates an endothermic reaction that absorbs body heat, generating a cooling effect of up to three degree Celsius when in contact with sweat and moisture leaving the wearer feeling cool and comfortable.

Neu Dri™ was developed as a dynamic drying technology that rapidly wicks perspiration from the skin and transfers moisture to the fabric’s surface, leaving the wearer dry, comfortable, cool and confident. In addition to evaporation, NeuDri™ has excellent soil release, softening, and anti-static properties that ensure your sportswear are not only comfortable, but also supple and functional.

Clothes can now be enabled to clean naturally which helps to reduce use of harsh chemicals” Soladel™ uses the power of the sun light to peel off any kind of organic dirt, easing the washing process, and preventing your favorite clothes from getting ruined. This textile treatment acts in a manner similar to photosynthesis, effectively breaking down organic dirt molecules and releasing them from the surface of the fabric.

If Resil Chemicals is in export market, give us some details about the development of overseas markets over the years.

While India is a robust market, we are bulling about Bangladesh and South East Asia. We have a sales office in Dhaka and work with top exporters and buying houses in Bangladesh. In the textiles segment, we also supply to nine other countries in Asia.

Today, processing is a key link in the Concepts of Sustainability and the attendant values like recycling, reuse & ecology. What are your company’s contribution to these?

Resil is a certified as an Integrated Management Systems plant and quality, environmental and health and safety standards. We have integrated ISO 9001 (QMS), ISO 14001 (EMS) and ISO 18001 (OHSAS). Our products were GOTS-certified long before GOTS became an industry requirement.

Your group’s products are for the high growth-potential areas. What are your plans for the future — expansion & diversification –in this market?

Having a strong backbone of being an innovation driven company, Resil also focuses on new intelligent, environmental friendly textile finishing and auxiliary products that will revolutionise and set an inventive thought process in the textile chemicals market. 

To cover increasing demand, Resil has just opened its fourth and largest state of the art unit. We are looking to expand into new international markets; we have a full-fledged sales operation in Bangladesh and have made inroads into Sri Lanka, Turkey, Philippines and Thailand. We are a strong believer in the India story and India will remain our primary focus for the next few years.

How competitive your products are compared to other producers of such products in Asia? How do you tackle cheap imports of similar products from China & other countries?

Competition is always a challenge, but we compete on quality. Resil is always been an innovative driven textile chemical and auxiliary manufacturer, and to differ from our competition we focus to deliver quality in our products. Resil’s array of highly customisable products not only caters to the customer requirements but does so keeping sustainability, ease of application, end customer beneficial and price as major touch points to deliver.

Finishing chemicals, a key area of your company’s production is a vital aspect contributing to the final quality of products. What is the USP of your specific products in this area?

We are the pioneers in innovative textile finishing technology. We were the pioneers in the use of silicones for finishing, and we quickly moved on to the full range of finishing ranging including water replants, wrinkle free, moisture management etc apart from softeners. Most of our products are customised solutions tailor made to our individual customer requirements- that’s our USP! We don’t give a standard product with standard features and offer them- we make highly customised finish solutions. For example, after developing conventional finishes we soon realized that customers had other pain points too when it came to wearer comfort – feeling cool, feeling dry and clean. Thus we developed our award-winning N9 Pure Silver, Coolit, Soladel and Neudri solutions to solve these pain points. Resil’s formulation of intelligent garment technologies; Coolitâ„¢, Neu Driâ„¢ and Soladelâ„¢, turn your everyday garments into a treat for the senses, leaving them cool, dry and clean.

N9 Pure Silverâ„¢ is a family of silver-based antibacterial and hygiene solutions. It is based on a revolutionary Silver-based technology that, on contact, neutralizes odour-causing bacteria, keeping the treated product fresher for longer. It is a finish that can be applied onto fabrics or garments. This breakthrough technology delivers outstanding odour control performance, combined with impeccable environmental credentials and safety profile.

Coolit™ is a sustainable cooling technology that responds dynamically to body temperature and perspiration keeping people cool even when on the move. For cotton clothes, Coolit™ facilitates an endothermic reaction that absorbs body heat, generating a cooling effect of up to three degree Celsius when in contact with sweat and moisture leaving the wearer feeling cool and comfortable. Neu Dri™ was developed as a dynamic drying technology that rapidly wicks perspiration from the skin and transfers moisture to the fabric’s surface, leaving the wearer dry, comfortable, cool and confident. In addition to evaporation, NeuDri™ has excellent soil release, softening, and anti-static properties that ensure your sportswear are not only comfortable, but also supple and functional. Soladel™ uses the power of the sun light to peel off any kind of organic dirt, easing the washing process, and preventing your favorite clothes from getting ruined. This textile treatment acts in a manner similar to photosynthesis, effectively breaking down organic dirt molecules and releasing them from the surface of the fabric.

Please share with us some of the activities of the R&D and also the various activities happening at your various production sites.

Our R&D team is driven by our constant need to solve customer problems. We have two DSIR approved research facilities with over 30 people working round the clock to develop innovative solutions for our customers. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities make our highly customised products under stringent process control ensuring that we make the right product efficiently and without and any damage to the environment.