Resurgent Reliance
By Prachi Singh
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest private-sector company, generating revenues of $19.97 billion, or more than 3 percent of India's total gross domestic product was initially founded as a textiles company. Company has now successfully completed a backward integration strategy that has transformed it into India's largest private-sector petrochemicals company, and number two overall (behind state-owned India Oil). Reliance's petrochemicals division is fully integrated and includes exploration and production; refining (the company has built one of the world's largest and most modern refinery complexes at Jamnagar in Gujarat); marketing, through a chain of more than 1,000 service stations; and the production of petrochemicals, including polymers, polyester, polyester intermediates, and others.
These chemicals are used to support Reliance's continued textile operations, which focus particularly on the production of polyester fabrics. Following the 2004 acquisition of Trevira, the company has become the world's leading polyester manufacturer, with production levels topping 25 million meters per year. The company's textile range includes other fabrics, such as acrylics, and finished garments. At present, the Naroda textiles division in Ahmedabad is spread over 120 acres, employs nearly 6,000 people and has assets worth over Rs 300 crore. This fully integrated complex produces about 25m metres of fabric both for domestic and international markets. The company’s textile products are sold under the brand names of ‘Only Vimal’, ‘Harmony’, ‘Reance’, ‘RueRel’ and ‘V2’ (pre-cut, pre-packed products).
In the future, the company aims to focus on the development of waterproof, weather colour-fast fabrics for outdoor applications, chintz finishes, built-in stain repellent and stain release properties, tri-blends fabrics and others, say sources.
With RIL going all out in acquiring land across the state for its retail outlets, its textiles unit is also said to be in the process of launching a new brand which will be displayed at the retail outlets. Analysts say the move is very logical.
Buy
Sell