Premal Parekh
Managing Director Parekh Textiles Pvt Ltd
Turning cotton waste to gold
One of the largest trading houses in south India, the Parekh Group trades in spinning waste and in all varieties of cotton, polyester, polyester viscose, denim and other synthetic wastes. After strongly establishing its network across India, Parekh Textiles now plans to enter the offshore market as a part of its business expansion plans, Managing Director Premal Parekh tells Fibre2Fashion.
What is cotton waste? How much cotton waste is produced in India?
It is the by-product or scrap that is produced by ring frame spinning mills while processing cotton to make yarn, which is in turn used by other industries and spinning mills as a part of their raw material consumption.
In the year 2021, India produced 365 lakh cotton bales. This would have resulted in approximately 490 crore kg of cotton waste. As of January 31, 2022, we had traded in 4.9 crore kg, i.e., one per cent of the country’s total cotton waste.
How big is the market in India for cotton waste? Who are the end-users?
The cotton waste market is very big in India as there are nearly 52 million spindles with its spinning mills. So, the volumes are huge. The last 2 years have also seen a boost in the textiles industry due to favourable government policies.
In terms of end usage, cotton waste is used in open end spinning, ring fame units (some counts), surgical cotton manufacturing units, and makers of bedding, quilts, toys, etc.
What are the different types of cotton waste? From where do you source these?
Cotton waste has many varieties. The different qualities of the waste are determined based on the machine the waste is discarded from in the ring frame yarn manufacturing process. The different types of cotton waste are Comber noil, New FS, Carding dropping, Flat strips (upper card), Roving ends, Soft waste, Picking, Hard waste, Pneumafil, Sweeping, Blowroom waste, and Under card waste.
Majority of the waste is sourced from ring frame cotton yarn spinning units.
What are the different types of man-made fibre waste? Where are these available?
There are several kinds of man-made fibre waste. But mainly, they are polyester, viscose, modal waste, dyed fibres, gold fibres, silver fibres, and tensile.
These are available all over the world, but mainly countries like China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, and Turkey.
How did the idea of trading in cotton waste occur to you?
Parekh Textiles Pvt Ltd was officially incorporated in 1995, but we were in the textile business way before that. My father Chandrakant Parekh and his brothers were in the cotton and waste trading business since 1960s in Mumbai. My father moved to Bhongir (in present day Telangana state) to head the family business’s branch and later settled in Hyderabad with his family.
We separated from the family business in 1980s and started our own business by supplying bedding material from our retail store. Since then, we have grown this business from a small retail bedding shop to one of India’s largest cotton waste trading companies. So, it is our family business, and it has been a privilege to be a part of this industry.
Over the years, how has your company standardised the procurement of cotton waste? What are the various quality parameters?
In my experience of 35 years in this business, I have realised that no cotton waste is good or bad quality. It is about matching client requirements. Our speciality lies in strong market research and product understanding to offer the right quality to the right client.
The most important things to standardise our business have been:
Processes - We select spinning mills that meet our norms and standards to produce superior quality cotton waste. We make sure that these spinning mills adhere to strict criteria like production process, quality control etc for cotton waste.
People - We have a team of experienced professionals who can select quality with their expertise in this field. Our team has a collective experience of 60+ years in cotton and cotton waste trading.
Technology - Using the latest technology for identifying standardised procurement and information flow.
Standards - Adoption and implementation of TÜV and ISO standards has helped us standardise various external and internal processes, including accounting and timeline management.
The quality parameters by which cotton waste is differentiated are: state in mm, fibre strength, fibre micronere (roughness of fibre), short fibre percentage, grade of quality (brightness), trash, contamination, etc.
You started the company with a single office in 1995. How have you expanded over the years?
We have expanded and grown our company one client at a time, building lasting relationships based on ‘trust’ and ‘integrity’. The most important quality in our business is commitment, as the industry has extreme price fluctuations. We have to ensure timely deliveries to make sure that spinning mills can go on without change in their mixing patterns and not face any production halts.
We can provide unlimited amounts of cotton waste today owing to our pan India network, which enables spinning mills to produce standardise products.
As a business and trading house Parekh Textiles Pvt Ltd has always given importance to and strived to keep its values and purpose at its forefront.
Our team has been a driving force in propelling the sustainable growth. Today we have four registered branches in India, therefore ensuring timely delivery and higher control over quality. Every consumer has a unique requirement, and we specialise in identifying and matching that said unique requirement.
What are your future expansion and growth plans?
I see a bright future for the Indian textile industry and our Parekh Group as well. In fiscal 2022-23, we aim to achieve turnover of ₹500 crore by increasing our market penetration and developing our current market by setting up branches in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. At present, we are dominantly present in south India and now aim to establish our presence in north India as well. We are also planning to diversify into yarn trading in the coming financial year.
Would you like to add anything?
We have in our own way organised business practices in an unorganised sector. We believe, the only way to grow sustainably is by ensuring right processes, talented and motivated team along with clear vision and goals in line with company’s vison and values.
Published on: 17/03/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
