Sintex to set up Rs 5,500 cr greenfield textile plant

The plant, expected to come up in Pipavav, is set to be commissioned in 2017-18

In a bid to move from mere captive consumption to commercial production, Sintex Industries Limited is planning a greenfield textiles plant including spinning and knitting at Pipavav.  The company is planning to invest around Rs 5500 crore for the new project which is set to fully commission in 2017-18.

Speaking on the sidelines of INTEXCON 2014, a three-day international conference on textiles, Amit Patel, group managing director of Sintex Industries said, "So far, our existing spinning capacity was for captive consumption but now we want to get into commercial production. We will invest around Rs 5500 crore for the greenfield plant that will see 60-80 per cent exports There is a huge opportunity in global textiles due to the share vacated by China and we want to maximise the same."

Patel stated that the Rs 5500 crore investment would be funded through equity and other sources. As part of pre Vibrant Gujarat Summit events, the international conference was jointly organised by Diagonal Consulting and Textile Excellence on 'India - Opportunities for Global Investment in Textiles'.

Elaborating further on the project, Patel said that the multi-fibre plant will see commercial production through spinning, knitting and weaving of various fibres like cotton, polyester, viscose and spandex, among others. At its full capacity, the plant will see one million spindles, along with 600 tonnes of knits and 2400 weaving machines.

"The first phase will commission in March 2015. Every two months we will be adding 100,000 spindles at the plant. We expect Rs 9000-10,000 crore worth sales from the plant by 2017-18 when the plant fully commissions," Patel said.

What's more, Patel said that the company would be employing roughly 7000 people along with 1000 technicians at the plant, of which 40-50 per cent would be women.  While the company posted a turnover of around Rs 6400 crore for the year 2012-14, Patel said the company anticipates a 20 per cent growth and expects to cross Rs 7000 crore mark for 2014-15.

It needs to be mentioned here that recently the company's Board of Directors had approved exploration of the possibility of setting up a new spinning unit wherein Sintex Industries Limited was mulling a 320,000 spindle project.

The company had also been conducting a techno-feasibility study on the project.