High-fashion garments come admittedly with large work content, but with small orders; even the factories for such products are designed differently and have a different set of capabilities. Yet Sanjay Gulati, Managing Director, Growel Impex, and a veteran in the field, having managed the factories of Modelama Exports for almost two decades, is successfully manufacturing high-fashion garments at his Noida-based factory, Growel Impex, which is in its first year of operation and functioning on the principle of engineered handwork. In an exclusive interaction with StitchWorld, Sanjay chronicles the process of combining modern technology with original Indian craft to successfully manufacture value-added products.
Growel Impex, whose value addition techniques include garment dyeing, cold pigment wash, tie-dye, lace work, studwork, dip-dye washing, appliqué work, enzyme wash, stone wash, pigment dye, sequins and bead work, and hand embroidery, is currently outsourcing its washing requirements, and has 500 sewing machines. “At Growel Impex, we utilize the skilful craftsmanship one finds in Uttar Pradesh to create high-fashion garments with value additions. Skills of printing and weaving hold immense commercial potential that can be channelized through proper planning and by incorporating industrial engineering in the manufacturing process,” says Sanjay.
Owing to its capabilities, the company is well-equipped to cater to high-fashion buyers like Forever 21, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Target Australia, and many top Indian designers. Plausibly, the company’s competence lies in its robust Product Development and Industrial Engineering teams. “The challenge is to do high-fashion products as efficiently as you would do high-volume products,” avers Sanjay. Some of the products made by the company are retailed at US $ 200.
For making such high-end products in small quantities, a company’s manufacturing structure has to be flexible yet systemized. Cutting is manual and supported by a CAD system. Sewing is divided into two assembly lines: one is for doing longer production runs, and the other is the Make Through System for small quantity orders. The sewing lines are a minimum of 6 machines and a maximum of 30 machines, depending on order quantities, which can vary from 500 to 20,000 pieces.
At Growel Impex, production efficiency lies in its company’s ability to optimize production along with skilful use of Indian craft, made possible by Sanjay’s in-depth knowledge of both. “A folder can do smocking, piping, lace attaching, and attach the smocking and piping to the base fabric. All these processes being done simultaneously, reduce the total output time from 10 minutes to 30 seconds. Such interventions have helped the company achieve an average operator efficiency of 70%,” he says.
Even though the nature of the product does not permit sustained standardization, it has not stopped Sanjay from incorporating his engineering acumen in the factory’s layout as he believes that 25% working efficiency can be increased by improving the work environment. He has meticulously planned the sections keeping in mind their optimum utilization and their strategic location for minimal stress in the workflow from one section to another. For instance, based on the principle of utilizing vertical space, the finished goods warehouse at the factory is fitted with beams along the roof, on which garments in poly packs are hung (without folding) on long knotted vertical strings. This system of storage called the Garment on Hanger (GOH), draws its inspiration from the way garments are stored in containers for shipping. “The most immediate benefit of this storage system is that I can store up to 50,000 garments in an area of 4,000 square feet, which is equivalent to the storage capacity of four 40 feet containers, and none of my garments are de-shaped, creased or wrinkled due to prolonged storage,” explains Sanjay. The strings are 10 feet long with 8 knots on each string, and 12 garments can be hung on each knot. Once the strings have been hooked to the roof, garments in blister packs are hung on the knots by an operator standing on a twin-step ladder.
The strings are 10 feet long with 8 knots on each string, and 12 garments can be hung on each knot. Once the strings have been hooked to the roof, garments in blister packs are hung on the knots by an operator standing on a twin-step ladder.
The finished goods warehouse is equipped with dehumidifiers to reduce the moisture content in the atmosphere as high moisture content in cotton garments can also de-shape garments, especially during monsoons. The fabric warehouse situated in the basement, has racks that are colour coded. Fabric rolls that have passed the quality check are stored on green racks; the ones under inspection are kept on yellow racks; while rejected fabric goes onto the red racks. The trims store operates on the container system in which all the accessories required for a particular style are kept together in a box.
The finishing room has been strategically positioned at the top floor, and (unlike most apparel factories) has a roof height of 22 feet. This keeps the moisture content in the area low with the help of coolers and roof mounted negative pressure ventilation systems for dissipating hot air. “It is a simple concept that hot air rises and cool air settles down, so in finishing rooms that have a height of 22 feet, the moisture content rises up with the hot air, as a result that garments don’t get sweat marks of the workers, and are shipped in the same condition as there is no human checkpoint after the final finishing,” elaborates Sanjay.
A set of 10 coolers has been installed along the length of the finishing room with exhaust fans opposite each cooler for continuously changing the air and maintaining a constant temperature of 28° C throughout the year.The coolers have a suction from which air from outside is passed through the evaporative cooling pads that are made of spatial cross linking technology and have high absorbability. Water is distributed along the top of the pads and re-circulated for zero wastage. But when the water is contaminated, the impurities get stuck in the cooling pads, which begin to rot gradually and need replacement within 2 to 3 years, especially if the water hardness is high. If the water hardness level is normal, then the pads need replacement after 5 to 6 years. “Such coolers are not new to apparel factories, but we have gone a step ahead to increase their cooling efficiency by ensuring that the water circulated in the coolers is first treated in a RO plant. Besides increasing the cooling efficiency this also increases the life span of the coolers by almost 10 years,” explains Sanjay.
When handling a new order, the first step at Growel Impex is to analyze the feasibility of the style, a task that is usually handled by Sanjay. Once the feasibility has been ascertained, the order is delegated to a team that follows through from product development to the final shipment, and the progress can be tracked on the WFX ERP system. “Instead of handling charge from the product development team to the production team, we have a team that follows the order’s progress from fabric procurement up till the shipment. This ensures accurate information on the production status at every stage, and on-time delivery,” informs Sanjay.
When handling a new order, the first step at Growel Impex is to analyze the feasibility of the style. Once the feasibility has been ascertained, the order is delegated to a team that follows through from product development to the final shipment, and the progress can be tracked on the WFX ERP system.
It is this seamless flow of work and control over the operations that has empowered Sanjay’s merchandising team to cater to designers whose order quantities run as low as 100 pieces. “Most apparel manufacturers are reluctant to work with designers because of the lack of understanding of the product and the small orders, but if handled by an efficient team, the margins can be very attractive,” he adds. Sanjay has collaborated with NITRA (Northern India Textile Research Association) for hiring young professionals and training them. Training includes understanding buyer specifications and going through the complete process of order execution. Once the specifications have been understood, the team begins to interact with each department till the order is ready for delivery.
Sanjay’s next area of focus is to understand the first-hand needs of his employees and to meet their needs through training and performance evaluation. The company is also developing an MIS, which will help in gauging the performance of the business by monitoring KPIs such as defects per hundred units and estimate cost of the product versus the actual cost. Although the variations in work content are huge, Sanjay has devised a tool that calculates the incentives earned by each employee. The mechanism calculates the cost incurred by the company on an employee and his/her contribution to the revenue. “If the revenue generated by an individual exceeds the cost incurred on him/her, then the difference is given back to the department for the department’s growth. This holds true for every department,” he explains.
In the meantime, Sanjay is aiming at closing the current financial year with a turnover of Rs. 15 crore (US $ 2.4 million) while utilizing only 30 per cent of his total infrastructure. He expects to double the turnover in the next financial year by increasing his infrastructure utilization to 60 per cent. “We will look at growth, stabilizing it, and then grow some more,” he concludes.
