Committed to being a sustainable company, Tirupur
based Armstrong Knitting Mills is moving ahead
with plans to convert its garmenting units into 100
per cent dedicated organic production capacity.
The spinning operations of the vertically integrated
company are already completely organic, as is the
knitting capacities. With a group turnover of around
Rs. 160 crore (US $ 32 million), the garmenting
division accounts for a turnover of Rs. 70 crore
(US $ 14 million) and is the growth engine for the
company for the next few years. “It has not been
easy to stay true to our commitment on organic, as
fluctuating cotton prices made it difficult to keep prices
steady when consumers were looking for ‘cheaper
options’,” says P Vivek Anand, Executive Director,
Armstrong. However, the company has not deviated
from its goal and is today working towards being an
internationally recognized company for its sustainable
work environment, production processes and product
offerings. Interacting with Team Apparel Online,
Vivek Anand and E. Palanisamy, Group Chairman
is very upbeat of their chosen path, confident that it
will give them growth even during the slowdown.
E. Palanisamy,
Group Chairman
with his son P Vivek
Anand, Executive
Director, Armstrong
Facing global economic
slowdown head on,
Armstrong has continued
to register growth,
expecting to see 15 per cent
increase in turnovers in the
garment division. “It has been a
two-way story, while one segment
of the consumers held back to opt
for better priced goods only for
quality, there is a large segment
who wants to spend on value,
since they are buying less the
focus is on value of the products,”
says Anand. The ‘value’ segment
of customers has kept the market
for organic cotton moving despite
all odds. It has also helped that
the company is C&A approved for
organic cotton and the retailer
is positioning itself strongly as a
sustainable player.
With 900 machines spread out
over two manufacturing units, the
company is currently producing
around 20,000 T-shirts per day. While
the production for adults is more
basic, detailing is applied on kids’
garments. “In organic cotton, buyers
like to keep the product simple giving
a natural feel, as the value is not
ornamentation but the composition.
However, in kids clothing we do
embroidery and prints to enhance
the look,” says Vivek. As most of its
buyers want more organic products
from them, the sewing facilities are
being converted into organic lines and
over the next two years, Armstrong
is aiming to be a 100 per cent organic
producing company from spinning to
final product.
Not looking for expansion at this point
of time, Armstrong is instead investing
in upgradation of technology for better
productivity and compatibility to the
latest needs. “With new dyes coming
in for organic products, it is important
to have printing machines that are
compatible to these chemicals, so
as a first step we are modernizing
our printing capabilities,” informs
Vivek. While spinning and knitting
facilities are automated, sewing lines
are largely labour-oriented as they
have permanent labour that is very
motivated. The company is currently in the process of implementing 5S
to reduce wastages.
Having understood that today,
the corporate strategies
could be built not only on
differential competitiveness,
but also in adopting sustainable
initiatives including social and
environmental commitments; the
company has invested in wind
mills for its captive energy needs.
The company is also involved in
many CSR activities with focus of
education, including community
education programmes and
schools for kids. The spinning
units give employment
opportunities to many villages
and Armstrong is involved in
making their lives better. “The
environment is also a concern
and we do our bit to practice and
teach the communities that we
work in about the importance of
preserving the natural resources,
specially water, which is at a
premium,” says Vivek. In fact,
Armstrong was not affected by
the closure of the processing
units in Tirupur because of the honourable High Court’s order
for pollution control, as it has
invested in an ETP plant, which is
compliant to required standards.
The real challenge in organic
today, according to Armstrong
is responding to buyer enquiries
as quickly as possible. “Earlier
buyers sourced at a more relaxed
pace and picked up complete
collections, but today we get
flash enquiries on styles and it
is important to be able to deliver
to retain the buyers. For that we
have started to keep grey organic
fabric in ready stock so that the
lead time is only the production
cycle,” informs Vivek.
In garments, the company is
looking at new markets and
is participating at the Japan
garment fair this year. “After all
many of our buyers are supplying
organic garments to the Japanese
market in good volumes, so
obviously a market does exist and
we want to explore the option.
Also it helps that now Indian
exporters have the duty-free
advantage,” reasons Vivek.
Producing 14 tonnes of organic
yarn per day, Armstrong is
exporting the same to Korea
and Bangladesh. Going forward
Bangladesh is an important
market as the demand has been
rising steadily. “We are looking
at Bangladesh as a growth
market, but the only dampener is
price, we are working on this to
capitalize on the huge potential
that exists,” says Vivek.
Biding high on its sustainable
character, Armstrong Knitting
Mills is armed with many
certifications including Fair Trade,
GOTS, EU Ecolabel, SA 8000 and
Oekotex, which according to Vivek
not only add to the credibility of
the company but also make it a
preferred supplier in the category.
“We are on the advisory board of
Control Union and international
organizations look up to us as
truly sustainable, which gives our
efforts bigger impetus to continue
on the path and realize the dream
to be India’s first 100 per cent
sustainable textile company,”
concludes Vivek.
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