Dhirubhai & Arvind Shah
Founders Shahlon Silk Industries Ltd
Temporary pivot allowed Shahlon to make revenue
It supplies synthetic fabrics to top international brands like M&S, Matalan, H&M among several others. It is a fully integrated textile enterprise in Surat, Gujrat, primarily engaged in the manufacturing of all types of fabrics and yarns. Shahlon Silk Industries Ltd, founded by the Shah brothers - Dhirubhai, Arvind and Nitin, turned to manufacturing fabric for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when Covid struck. Dhirubhai Shah in conversation with Paulami Chatterjee.
What has been the impact of Covid in terms of sales, staff cutdown, rentals etc?
Shahlon Industries made efforts to convert a challenging period into an opportunity by manufacturing fabric for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This temporary pivot allowed the company to make revenue and also buy some time for its primary yarn and fabric business to recover. Besides the regular apparel orders, it is still engaged in PPE which are being exported to other countries.
What has been your growth story in the last three years (excluding 2020)?
There has been a demand growth for fabrics and yarns over the years led by increasing requirement of fashion and furnishing products. The company is a leading player in fabric used in womenswear like saris and garments, which are growing segments and have been growing at double digits. The company supplies synthetic fabrics to top international brands like M&S, Matalan, H&M, Belk, and many more.
Which are your major markets?
With presence across 15 countries, exports contribute about 14 per cent to Shahlon's revenues. Shahlon exports fabric to Sri Lanka, South East Asia, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
What kind of brand building strategies do you implement?
With the focus on improving cost competitiveness and market leadership position, Shahlon is committed to achieve world benchmark quality besides expanding on new product offerings.
Where are your manufacturing facilities based at? What is the annual production capacity?
Shahlon has three state-of-the-art manufacturing units in Gujarat located at Kim, Karanj, and Kosamba. The company has overall woven fabric manufacturing capacity of 42 million metres per annum.
What kind of machinery does your manufacturing facility boast of?
Shahlon continuously invests in state-of-the-art technology and equipment across all its areas of operations to adopt globally accepted manufacturing technology, delivering speed, versatility and most importantly, quality. The company is making all efforts to improve the quality and productivity to get more orders at competitive rates. The expansion programme by improving efficiency by installation of new and high-tech machinery will push volume growth. (PC)
This article was first published in the February 2021 edition of the print magazine.
Published on: 22/03/2021
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.
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