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Tech Textiles & Nonwovens

“Partnership For Value Creation, Innovation and Technology Are Key To Success”

• By  Textile Excellence
• September 01, 2023

Ginni Filaments Ltd. has diverse business interests including Cotton Yarn, Fabrics, Garments, Filtration, Nonwoven, Consumer Wipes and Liquid Cosmetics. But being the pioneer of Spunlace nonwovens in the country, Ginni has created substantial impact on the growth of the nonwoven industry in the country and has positively impacted the life of mankind. In an exclusive interview with Textile Excellence, Yash Jaipuria, dynamic and young Chief Executive of Ginni Filaments narrated their capability, strategies and plans which could be a success recipe for new entrepreneurs.

What are the challenges that Ginni Filaments has faced as a pioneer of Spunlace Nonwoven manufacturing in the country?

I would describe the initial period as an adventurous journey for Ginni Filaments as it was the first venture of its kind in the country. After commissioning the plant in 2007, the first 4-5 years has been a real challenge to sell spunlace fabrics. The domestic market was not ready then, as the wet wipes market was still emerging. However, the domestic wipe market began to grow after 2011.

As a strategy, to overcome this challenge, we started to export our goods to converters. One of the large scale converters that we worked with has pointed out that we had everything in terms of modern technology, capacity, skills but did not have the culture. It is not about the machines but the people who drive the business, especially in the hygiene products, managing manufacturing standards that conforms to several stringent certifications. Here, Johnson & Johnson partnered with us and we aligned with the culture and breathe it.

Again, we faced some hardship when the GST regime came into force. Our plant locations have excise duty benefits which were eroded soon after the change and we had long-term agreements with customers! We had to re-work on those agreements and costs.

From 2018 onwards, we have a healthy market situation and simultaneously several converters and brands have emerged domestically. This year we also expanded into manufacturing liquid cosmetic products.

What is the current market scenario for spunlace nonwoven and what are the markets Ginni caters to?

The domestic market is still under penetrated which means that there are opportunities to grow. However, at current demand level, there is oversupply. There might be few plant closures by our competitors who do not have strategies to develop the market or have long term customers.

Our markets in terms of geography, apart from domestic market, we cater to Asia Pacific, Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and US that includes top converters Rockline industries, Nice-Pak, Albaad etc. and brands like Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, P&G and Unicharm as well as healthcare suppliers like Medtronics (Kendall) and Hartmann. We are catering to wide range of applications covering wet wipes, wound care, health and hygiene products.

How is Ginni Filaments placed in terms of capabilities and competitiveness?

Today, Ginni Filament’s Spunlace Nonwoven and Wipe business is very competitively placed. We not only have the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, capacity and technology but also conveniently located for logistic advantages. Our nonwoven and wipe conversion plants are located at Panoli in Gujarat and Haridwar in Uttarkhand which makes last mile delivery much easier and cost effective.

I have mentioned earlier that it is about the culture that the hygiene industry needs to adopt and embrace to scale up and grow in this business.

Further, innovation is a key to remain competitive. Ginni Filaments has focused on innovation to develop new products to improve performance, look and feel, functionality and sustainability. For example, we are the only company that makes nonwoven from recycled Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF). We had to make changes in our plant and optimize the fibre at the supplier's end to develop the product successfully. It is obvious that nonwoven fabrics made from recycled PSF are more sustainable, saving lots of resources.

What are the new trends in Nonwoven wipes?

Flushable wipes are gaining attention in the developed markets these days. The investment required for such product is very high at this moment and regulations also need to be in place. Sustainable and eco-friendly raw materials and products will dominate the future demands.

What strategies, according to you, contributed to Ginni Filaments success in nonwoven business?

I have already discussed our journey at Ginni Filaments. I believe that one must have the clarity of what they want to do and based on that plan has to be executed. In our journey so far, we have the best of the human resources, technology and partnerships to excel in this business. We aim at value creation in our partnerships with customers and vendors both. Further, alacrity towards innovation and sustainable manufacturing possibly make our business successful.

We aim at value creation in our partnerships with customers and vendors both. Further, alacrity towards innovation and sustainable manufacturing possibly make our business successful.