We have received approval for manufacturing Fabric, which would be meant for Body Coverall of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for Covid-19.
Chairman & Promoter Director Dhirubhai Shah is a Commerce Graduate having vast experience of around 34 years in the textile business. Shahlon Silk Industries Ltd is engaged in manufacturing and exporting of supreme quality fabrics and synthetic textile yarn across the world. Headquartered in Surat, the company has state of art facilities in and around Surat, the textile hub of India. Shahlon Silk Industries Ltd started PPE production last month and is also getting export enquiries. Shahlon has manufactured 25,000 hazmat suits along with different Covid-19 essentials at its Surat plant.
Dhirubhai Shah, Chairman, Shahlon Silk Industries Ltd, said, “We are confident of pick-up in demand in both domestic and export markets by the end of Sept as the supply chain disturbances and other constraints are expected to get normal”.
How has Covid-19 impacted your business?
The offices were shut down during lockdown phase, but the company adopted the work from home policy for office related work during the entire lockdown duration. With the lifting of the partial lockdown restrictions, the company has restarted its operations at manufacturing plants and at Surat offices, in gradual manner from April 27, 2020. At all the locations, necessary arrangements of sanitization, self-quarantine and screening etc. have been made and are continuing.
Though the overall capacity utilizations of our plants have been impacted in the last 2 months due to constraints & supply chain disturbances, we are confident of getting back at normal utilisation levels in this quarter. The company is putting all efforts to convert this challenge into opportunity by rationalizing the manpower cost and downsizing the other cost centres, while also putting its efforts to retain and add more customers for sustaining and increasing the demand.
Please share details of the fabric and yarn produced at your manufacturing plants? Which are the fabrics in prominence now?
We have four manufacturing units situated in Gujarat at different locations. The total installed capacity for Fabric manufacturing is 40 million tons per annum while it is 22,200 tons per annum for manufacturing Yarns.
In Yarns segment, the company is producing polyester yarn from 30 to 300 denier with having presence across all types of textured yarns, carpet yarns, dyed yarns and sized yarns. In Fabrics segment, with presence across different types of fabrics like solid dyed, Jacquard & yarn-dyed, printed, sustainable and greige, we manufacture fabrics for fashion and furnishings products like sarees, garments. All low-cost fabrics are becoming more prominent in the market because of changing end user preferences.
You switched to PPE production during the lockdown period, kindly elaborate on this
Shahlon Silk has received approval for manufacturing Fabric, which would be meant for Body Coverall of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for Covid-19, from SITRA (The South India Textile Research Association). Moreover, with the approval of Ministry of Textiles, the company has partnered up with Laxmipati Textiles to manufacture all the crucial safety essentials like PPE Kits, Face masks, Coveralls, Shoe Covers etc.
Take us through the journey since inception to current operations
Shahlon Group is a leading textile enterprise based in Surat, the textile hub of India. Established in 1984, the company has grown from a small textile unit to a fully integrated textile enterprise over the last 30 years. With more than 2200 employees across the four manufacturing units, we have expanded into all the types of yarns and fabrics manufacturing and expertise in various preparatory activities of texturized, twisted, sized yarn and weaving on water-jet looms.
With Govt lifting the ban on PPE exports, do you see a huge opportunity in PPE production?
There is a huge opportunity in PPE production for domestic consumption. India requires much needed support in healthcare infrastructure considering the country’s population and per capita income. Though we think that exporting PPE kits can be a huge opportunity along with domestic consumption, but there has been some uncertainty over government’s laws on PPE exports.
Could you share details on export orders, any hitches in supply chain, etc.
With presence across 15 countries, exports contribute about 14% to our revenues. However, due to the external constraints and supply chain disturbances, we have not received any export order. We expect the normal operations by the end of Sept or Oct 2020 when the situation across the major markets is expected to improve.
How the demand for various types of fabric is shaping up domestically and worldwide?
The overall demand has been impacted in the last 2-3 months due to uncertainty over virus spread and its end. However, there has been a demand growth of fabrics and yarns over the years led by increasing demand of fashion and furnishing products.
We are confident of pick-up in demand in both domestic and export markets by the end of Sept as the supply chain disturbances and other constraints are expected to get normal.
