Paresh Dattani: Don’t worry, succession is already taken care of here

Sanathan Textiles is one of the leading yarn manufacturers in India, operating across three key segments: polyester filament yarns, cotton yarns, and yarns for technical textiles. With this diverse product portfolio, the company caters to a wide range of applications and end uses. Their yarns are used in suiting, shirting, garments, sarees, and dress materials. Sanathan Textiles also produces yarns for sportswear, gym wear, and home textiles—supplying materials for bath mats, towels, curtains, cushions, carpets, and more. Additionally, they manufacture yarns for backpacks, soft luggage fabrics, seat belts, car roofing, car upholstery, parachute fabrics, shoe uppers, flex fabrics used in advertising hoardings, and other technical applications.

Currently, their polyester filament yarn division contributes approximately 77 per cent of the total revenue, with an annual production capacity of around 200,000 Metric ton per annum (MTPA). The cotton yarn segment operates at a capacity of 132,000 spindles, producing about 14,000 MTPA. The technical textile yarn segment accounts for about 5 per cent of their business, with an annual production of roughly 9,000 MTPA. In this exclusive interview, Paresh Dattani, Chairman and Managing Director, and Sammir Dattani, Executive President, Sanathan Textiles, share with Divya Shetty their future vision and the breadth of solutions offered across textile segments.

The company has introduced innovative products like S-Flex, which combines polyester’s benefits with exceptional stretch, eliminating the need for spandex. Could you elaborate on the R&D process behind such innovations and their impact on the market?

Sammir Dattani: Stretch yarns are a very exciting space. If you notice, most of the apparel and garments we wear—high-street clothes from brands like Zara, H&M, Pantaloons, or Westside—now have a certain amount of stretch. There are many advantages to this. It gives the wearer comfort of motion and movement, better shape and fit, and shape retention after washing and wearing. Because of these benefits, many brands are now using stretch fabrics.

We started making stretch yarns a couple of years ago by adding Lycra or spandex to our yarns. This allows the fabric manufacturer to skip additional processing—they can simply buy stretch yarns and create blended fabrics as needed.

With time and innovation, we recently launched our product S-Flex, a self-stretch, four-way stretch polyester filament yarn. Here, we don’t add any spandex. By modifying the properties of the polyester filament yarn itself, we achieve four-way stretch. This makes the fabric stretchable, lighter, easier to process, and more cost-effective, since no new elements like spandex are added.

We constantly track trends to understand where fashion is heading. In many ways, fashion starts with yarns—the beginning of the textile chain. What we make goes into garments, suiting, shirting, etc., so we must stay aligned with what customers and brands want.

Additionally our dedicated R&D team is working on developing advanced yarns such as fire-retardant yarns, Sanathan Dry Cool a moisture-wicking yarns, and Sanathan S-flex a four-way stretch yarn without spandex. The upcoming Punjab facility will also house a state-of-the-art R&D team, further enhancing the company’s ability to develop cutting-edge products for diverse applications, including apparel, automotive, and home textiles.

Further we produce a wide range of coloured yarns using dope-dyed technology. Now we also offer coloured stretch yarns, adding value for our customers. This eliminates conventional dyeing, add to better colour and improves UV resistance of the garment , and helps reduce water pollution and carbon footprint by eliminating extra processes.

Sanathan Textiles caters to various segments within technical textiles, including agrotextiles, geotextiles, and indutech. How does the company address the unique demands of these diverse applications?

Sammir: Yarns for Technical textiles is a very exciting space. It’s one of our youngest divisions, started in 2017 currently accounting for approximately 4 per cent of the revenue. There is a lot of push from the government for technical textiles because this segment has tremendous growth potential in India. We are looking to doubling the capacity from 9,000 to 18,000 MTPA. Over the coming years, reports suggest that the technical textile segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15 to 17 per cent.

There are only a handful of yarn manufacturers in this segment. While many companies are involved in making fabrics and applications for technical textiles, very few focus on yarn manufacturing.

We make different types of yarns for technical textiles. Our yarns are used to produce geogrid fabric for road and dam construction, conveyor belts, safety slings, deep sea fishing nets, marine ropes, seat belt fabrics, and airbag fabrics. These are some of the major industrial applications.

There are also high-end applications such as premium luggage fabrics, outdoor awning fabrics, fire-retardant suits, and bulletproof jacket fabrics. These are the different types of applications in the technical textile segment for our products.

With the upcoming greenfield project in Punjab set to double the Polyester Filament Yarn capacity, how does Sanathan plan to meet the rising demand in the textile industry?

Sammir: Our current capacity is fully utilised. We run our facility 365 days, 24/7, so we are fully sweating our assets. It was time for us to grow and the time was right as the financials of the company are healthy. India produces around 4.5 million tonne of filament yarns annually and is a growing market place.  —So we decided it was time for Sanathan also to grow. Looking at the demand, and since we are fully sold out and our capacity is fully optimised and utilised, we decided that it was time to expand.

Historically, we have periodically grown all three of our yarn businesses — polyester filament, cotton, and yarns for technical textile— one after the other, to ensure consistent company-level growth without putting too much pressure on any one segment. So, we decided to grow our polyester filament yarn segment. Additionally supply for fabrics has come from the western region, adding logistics costs and extended delivery timelines for customers.  When we were analysing the data and deciding the next steps, we saw huge growth in the last four to five years in North India. Today, the polyester filament yarn industry is about a 4.5 million ton market in India, and around 1 million tonne is consumed in North India, which is a growing market. There is no local supplier for this product today — everything is made on the western side of India, between Silvassa and Gujarat. We already have customers in North India to whom we’ve been supplying to for more than 10 /12 years. So, we are in the process of setting up a greenfield expansion in Wazirabad, Punjab, to be closer to our North Indian customers — mainly in Delhi NCR, Panipat, Ludhiana, and Amritsar. These are the key textile regions in North India that consume polyester filament yarn.

We are setting up a new capacity that will begin operations in this quarter. With an estimated investment of Rs 18.50 billion for the first phase, this project will increase the company’s polyester filament yarn production capacity from the current 550 tonne per day to 1,500 tonne per day in a phased manner. The first phase will contribute approximately 250,000 tonne annually, while the second phase will further ramp up production to 355,000 tons annually with an additional investment of Rs 2.50 billion. This plant makes us the first fully integrated polyester filament yarn manufacturer in North India.

While, inputs will be raw materials like petrochemicals PTA, and MEG. We will make our own base POY yarns and also make FDY, then convert it into texturised yarns. We will offer a wide variety of products based on market demand and customer needs, supplying different end-user applications.

Overall, we will be doubling our yarn capacity — from two lakh to five and a half lakh MTPA.

Currently, all three yarn businesses are located in Silvassa. This is a bigger project, and we are entering a new region. By going closer to the customer, we aim to become their preferred supplier. The move also ensures just-in-time deliveries for customers, reducing costs and improving supply chain efficiencies.

What is your perspective on its current state of the Indian Textile industry, and how is Sanathan Textiles positioning itself to adapt and thrive?

Sammir: The Indian textile industry, with its deep-rooted heritage, holds immense potential both domestically and globally. As one of the oldest industries in the country, it continues to benefit from a rapidly growing domestic market driven by India’s young and expansive population. On the global front, shifting trade dynamics—such as tariff wars and disruptions in competing markets like Bangladesh—present a valuable opportunity for India to expand its share in international textile trade.

Sanathan Textiles, with over 20 years of expertise, is well-positioned to capitalize on this evolving landscape. The company’s advanced facility in Silvassa supports both domestic markets in western and southern India and a strong export portfolio. To further strengthen its presence, Sanathan is setting up a state-of-the-art greenfield facility in Punjab, aimed at addressing the rising demand from North India. With a strong emphasis on automation and technological innovation, Sanathan is proactively scaling its capabilities to adapt and thrive in the changing textile ecosystem.

What initiatives has Sanathan Textiles undertaken to ensure environmentally conscious production processes?

Paresh: Sanathan Textiles has embedded sustainability into every facet of its operations, ensuring environmentally conscious production across both current and upcoming facilities.

At its Silvassa unit, the company has implemented Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)—where all wastewater is treated and reused within the plant, including for gardening. The facility is also ISO-certified and use recycled paper for packaging, reinforcing its adherence to global sustainability norms.

Looking ahead, the new greenfield facility in Punjab is designed to be a benchmark in eco-friendly manufacturing. It will adopt renewable energy solutions, including an existing 2.35 MW solar power capacity with plans for further expansion. To reduce dependence on conventional fuels, rice husk—an agricultural by-product—will replace gas for heating, a significant step forward in sustainable energy use. The company is in the process of finalizing a partnership with one of India’s largest suppliers of agricultural waste to support this initiative.

Additional green measures include the production of dope-dyed yarns, which eliminate traditional water-intensive dyeing processes, and the manufacturing of Sanathan Reviro, recycled polyester yarns from PET chips, promoting circularity in textile production. Sanathan is also shifting to reusable pallets instead of cartons, drastically cutting down on packaging waste.

As Paresh Dattani notes, these efforts reflect Sanathan’s strong commitment to sustainability, not just as a responsibility, but as a core growth driver for the company’s future.

What key strategies or philosophies have driven Sanathan Textiles’ journey from legacy to leadership?

Sanathan Textiles’ journey from legacy to leadership has been driven by a clear strategic vision, innovative thinking, and strong succession planning. With a goal to surpass Rs 75 billion in revenue, the company is focused on efficiency, market expansion, and value-added product offerings. Its roadmap includes commissioning the Punjab facility by FY26, followed by a Rs 4 billion cotton yarn expansion and a second phase of polyester capacity by FY28.

Sanathan is also exploring downstream opportunities in technical textiles to deepen its value chain integration. A strong emphasis on automation, process efficiency, and continuous R&D reflects its commitment to innovation. The Punjab facility is set to enhance supply chain operations and cement its market leadership, while sustainability remains at the core of its strategy through renewable energy use and recycled materials. Importantly, with a solid succession plan in place and active involvement from the next generation, Sanathan is future-ready and well-positioned to thrive in a dynamic global textile landscape.