A lot of businesses now are organised
Radhey Weaves is a Surat-based manufacturer of brocade fabrics. MD Deepprakash Agrawal talks about the growing markets for their products.
What is the global market size for brocade fabrics? How big is the brocade business in Surat?
The brocade fabrics market size is not known, but there are lots of uses for brocade fabrics; it's used worldwide. There are about 2,000 brocade fabric manufacturers in Surat. Manufacturers who provide quality, wide range of designs, and prompt delivery fare better in the market.
What is your annual production capacity of brocade fabrics?
Our manufacturing capacity is around 35-37 lakh metres per annum, and we are going to expand our current capacity three times by next year.
How has the manufacturing of brocade fabrics evolved?
Earlier, the whole process of production was manual due to which there were limitations in the designs and patterns that could be made. But since the process is now mechanised, we can develop a wide range of designs and patterns. It's hard for me to explain the weaving patterns. Those are complex and fancy. The weaving patterns earlier were simpler, because a lot of time and money would go into developing a pattern and loading it on a manual machine. With mechanisation we can load a new design or pattern in a minute. The Banarasi weaves are traditional ones with simple patterns.With modern weaving machines we can even develop the design of a person's face.
What is the time taken to weave a piece of brocade fabric then and now?
To weave a fabric of 100 metres, it used to take two days earlier; but the same can now be produced with machines in six hours. Traditionally, zari was used to weave brocade fabrics. Then, with automation, people began to use polyester zari threads. Now, we use all kinds of fancy yarns and blended ones. Some of the weaves that we make like marble, bubbly, rimjhim, and platinum are very popular. We make our own designs and share samples to get bulk orders.
Which are your major domestic and international markets for brocade fabrics?
Our major markets are Surat, Mumbai, Varanasi, Jaipur, Delhi and Bengaluru. Next month we are going to export fabrics to Bangkok. Our next target is Europe.
Where do you source raw materials from?
We source from Surat and Varanasi. Surat is a very big supplier for polyester and zari yarns.
What different kinds of brocade are in demand?
Every brocade fabric is different from another. We always try to bring innovation into our fabrics, which is our specialty.
What threads do you use for the weaves?
We use polyester, cotton, zari and different types of blended threads. The choice of threads depends on the fabric design and weaves.
Where do your source machinery from?
We source machines from China's reputed and well-known manufacturers.
What new weaves have come up in brocades?
Every week we bring new weaves to our factory; it is our speciality.
What factors are hindering the growth of the textiles and apparel industry?
Before GST, the textiles industry was an unorganised sector. GST has streamlined processes for us, and today, a lot of businesses are organised. This will lead to more growth in the textiles industry.
Is Surat still reeling under GST or has the industry recovered?
This varies from person to person. We were not affected by GST.
What would be your top suggestions for the next textiles policy?
The Indian government is already giving many subsides to the textiles industry.
How sustainable are your manufacturing units? How big is your R&D team?
Our manufacturing unit has good scope to grow because we work in a disciplined and organised way. We never compromise with quality and quantity; we want to give the best to our customers. We have five members in our R&D team.
How did you fare in the last two fiscals, and what are your expectations from the next two?
Both 2016 and 2017 were good for us. Our business is growing this year too. We grew by 200 per cent in the last two fiscals and are expecting to grow by 500 per cent in the next two.
What are the future plans at Radhey Weaves? Do you plan to expand your capacity?
Of course, if we are not growing every year, it means we are going down. Radhey Weaves is and will be a very well-known name in the brocade industry worldwide. (HO)
