Birlas to handhold textile value-chain partners to scale up

Birla Cellulose is organising a stakeholder conclave in the southern textile hub of Coimbatore on December 4 called Liva Accredited Partner Forum

Aditya Birla Group, the world's largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) maker, is driving an initiative to handhold a large number of textile value-chain partners across the country by supporting them from design development and technical support to marketing and buyer linkages.

With this initiative, the $41-billion company wants to help propel the country to be the world's top cloth manufacturing hub.

As part of the national drive, called Liva Accredited Partner Forum (LAPF), aimed at improving the entire gamut of the textile value-chain, Birla Cellulose -- the pulp and fibre division of Grasim -- is organising a stakeholder conclave in the southern textile hub of Coimbatore on December 4.

The conclave will be attended by over 200 value-chain partners, including spinners, fabricators and processors, Birla Cellulose chief marketing officer for pulp and fibre business, Rajeev Gopal told PTI.

The initiative will be held in New Delhi later.

Gopal also said they are collaborating with Mumbai-based Netcarrots to implement a customer relationship marketing programme for the stakeholders assembling in Coimbatore.

The company has also tied up with Bombay Textile Research Association to undertake quality improvement programmes and stringent audits for the partners.

"We see potential in India becoming a textile and clothing manufacturing hub following the encouraging response of LAPF members who have excelled in product innovation, quality management, process deliveries and systems integration and upgrade.

"Our plan is to strengthen the textile value chain and make it align with the 'Make in India' strategy of the government," Gopal said.
The LAPF programme has around 250-plus members, including

spinners, weavers, knitters and fabricators, with major participation from textile hubs such as Tirupur, Erode, Ludhiana, New Delhi, Kolkata, Surat and Bhiwandi near Mumbai, among others.

The programme is linked to Birla Cellulose's fibre brand Liva, which was launched in March this year, in line with the group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla's vision of establishing connect with the end consumer.

"We've already partnered with over 190 fabricators and close to 120 processors across the country and the interaction with them has strengthened our belief that the country has the potential to boost consumption and emerge as a global textile power," Birla Cellulose President for marketing & business development, Manohar Samuel told