Innovative fabrics weave wonders at Suditi Industries

Ponte Venese is a quality, compact, double-knit fabric re-created for maximum comfort, fluidity and natural stretch.

“Why should India import new types of yarn and fabrics while we have abundant resources and raw material base to develop new materials of our own. This will help us reduce not only dependence but also the cost in final product,” said Rajagopal Chinraj, President of Suditi Industries, which has its factories located at Pawne Gaon in Navi Mumbai.

Chinraj never likes to rest on the laurels. New weaves and fabrics are his passion now. Goaded by him, his team of skilled workforce has developed a fabric called Ponte Roma, which is a combination of viscose, nylon and spandex and a technique for Japanese dyed fabric which produces indigo effect on many colours.

Ponte Roma or Ponte de Roma is one of an ancient names in textile/fabric industry. People remember it to be rough, stiff and polyester material. But today, Ponte fabric has come a long way. Suditi Industries has joined hands with Birla Celulose, Aditya Birla Group to revamp the fabric to give an improvised version of Ponte Roma, manufactured in India; better suited for structured designs called ‘Ponte Venese’.

‘Ponte Venese’ made from the combination of viscose, nylon and spandex that are softer and gives a feel good factor on the wearer’s body, drapes well, and the structured fabric does not curl at the edges, says Chinraj.

The fabric can be knitted from all sorts of different types and weights of yarns and elastane is often included to increase the stretch, its also gives exceptional effect while printing or dyeing. It is a firm, stable knit which holds its shape well in a garment, increases longevity and helps the fabric to look great for longer.

Another great characteristic of this fabric is that it is great for leisure wear, active wear, fitted streamlined garments and even yoga wear. This versatile fabric allows a comfortable fit, while still holding its shape, multiple application of this garment is the key factor of this fabric. It has a perfect amount of stretch and it requires no elastic or drawstring to hold it.

Says Chinraj: “Renowned brands have shown interest and are working on using this fabric in their clothing line. The fabric being extremely usable creates a wide gamut of canvas for designers and brands to create a variety. We are sure that the final product will be enriched by all.”

Manohar Samuel, President – Marketing, Birla Cellulose, Aditya Birla Group, comments: “Ponte Venese is a quality, compact, double-knit fabric re-created for maximum comfort, fluidity and natural stretch. Suditi had innovative techniques deployed during the technical perfection of this fabric. Being an invaluable member of Liva Accredited Partner Forum-LAPF, Suditi has consistently innovated in Liva knitted fabrics of value that delight consumers.”

This fabric advancement was undertaken along with Birla Cellulose’s TRADC. Currently, Ponte Venese is under production and is expected to be made available to all soon.

Suditi Industries, founded in 1991 as a processing plant, has grown in both size and scale with state-of-the-art facilities including for knitting, dyeing, printing, finishing and garmenting departments. The company has excelled in a very short span in the licensing business. It has acquired official manufacturing licensing rights for FIFA 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona, Manchester City FC, MTV India, and many more lined up.

Suditi Industries Ltd has been manufacturing for more than past three decades and over these years it has grown and established self as an enterprise known for knitwear solutions. It comprises of in-house capacities of fabric dyeing, processing, knitting, printing, garmenting and retail. With hands-on experience, skilled work force aboard and highly tech-proof machinery, Suditi Industries is amongst the top manufacturers in the country.

Expertised in knit fabrics, the company has a capacity to roll out 2000 tonnes of knit fabric annually through 60 high speed circular knitting machines. Around 12 tonnes of knitted fabric is dyed per day and can print up to 72-inch fabric with production of 50 tonne per month. In addition to knitting and fabric departments., the company has in-house expertise in printing (flatbed/belt), peaching, embroidery, laser cut, sewing, and many more. To differentiate and increase their visibility as well as highlight the USP/strengths, the company started with their own retail brands called Riot Jeans (Casual wear) & Indianink (Woman Ethnic-Fusion Wear).

Riot, a contemporary youth fashion brand by the BSE listed Suditi Industries, which recently generated a revenue of Rs 15 crore post bagging the official merchandise deal of the FIFA World Cup 2014 has created yet another landmark deal in the sports space. Suditi Industries, during their quarterly results, announced that the company has bagged the official apparel licensing right for Real Madrid CF club in India for a period of three years. Through this deal, the company continues to strengthen its commitment in the sport apparel space.

Real Madrid, which is arguably the most recognisable club in the world of football with the valuation of $3,440 million, has given the rights to Suditi Industries to manufacture and sell fan-based merchandises, thus targeting the youth across the cities in India.

As part of the deal, Riot will introduce a wide range of products across categories like t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, boxers, polos and track pants, which will be available in trendy colours for both men and women. The designs will be inspired by the Real Madrid name, legal logotype, tiago Bernabéu Stadium and player’s images and the designs of the official numbers of the players which can will be seen on the products.

Pawan Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, Suditi Industries, states, “The Real Madrid Club license will help to open doors for future strategic partnerships and will create a strong identity for the company in the sport licensing sector.”

Animesh Maheshwari, Retail head at Suditi Industries Ltd, comments, “We are proud to associate and bag the apparel and merchandising right for one of the most popular football clubs in the world. Post the FIFA merchandise deal, this will be our next big step to further strengthen the brand’s space in the sports segment and expect the company’s revenue to go up by 15 to 20 per cent this year.”

“When big companies from Europe are sourcing from India, the cost is 15 per cent more than that of import from Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. These countries’ quality has also improved and hence we are losing. The Government should improve the external factors and automatically the industry will be able to export more,” says Chinraj. “Concession is misused and this should be attacked and stopped. Our scale of production is too low. Previously our policy used to be ‘Spend Less, Save More’, but now this is giving way to a policy of ‘Spend More, Create More’. This is good for the country,” opines Chinraj.

The consumption of synthetic materials at Suditi Industries is increasing now because Chinraj sees a lot of scope for garments made of synthetic materials and blends, which can also be cheaper. “But still cotton has certain advantages and it is available easily and India being a tropical country, cotton sells better. Therefore about 65 to 70 per cent of the materials are cotton and cotton blends,” says Chinraj.

Chinraj has a list of wish-list for the industry and the Government: The Government should reduce concession exercises and go for FTAs to promote exports. Secondly, fear of investor should go and the industry must be free of anxieties when investing in new places. Thirdly, training and education must be given more importance. Interest rate is very high in India and the Government should take steps to alleviate the burden. Finally, Chinraj lays emphasis on work culture improvement to boost output. “We need educated leaders and responsible rulers for India,” was his final salvo, when asked about what is the need of the hour.