S/F No.

746/ 1&2 751/ 1&2, Manmangalam Village, Semmadi, Karur -Tamil Nadu ,India – 639006 Email : [email protected]

Company Profile of ASIAN FABRICX Pvt., Ltd.,

About us.,
Asian Fabricx pvt ltd, situated in karur, south india is manufacturer and exporter of home textiles
and furnishing products for more decades. Established in 1974 by N.R. Venkataachalem, the Chairman
and his son V. Ashok Ram Kumar, is the Managing Director. State of the arts production facilities and
infrastructure are the key factors which makes Asian fabricx the preferred supplier for the customers allover
the world. Asian Fabricx firmly believes competitive pricing, prompt delivery and meeting the desired
quality through proper system in place are the crucial parameters to win the business.

V Ashok Ram Kumar, the managing director of Asian Fabricx, has just returned from Sweden after
attending IKEA’s annual supplier meet. Every year, the Swedish retailer calls its top 100 suppliers from
around the world to share growth plans for the coming years. As one of the largest and oldest suppliers to
IKEA, Asian Fabricx has been a regular at the meet for years now. The partnership in fact spans over three
decades, growing more strategic with the passage of years.
In fact, Asian Fabricx is one of IKEA’s prioritised suppliers, a tag that doesn’t come that easy. In
the textiles space, there are just four and this Karur-based company is one of them. From India, it is the only
one. Asian’s story, however, is not just about the successful relationship between one of world’s largest
retailers and a home textile manufacturer, but also about how you can build a world-class company from
anywhere, even a small town in South India with a population of just 70,000.
When the company’s revenue was around 4 crore. But even then IKEA accounted for 1-2 crore
of the revenues. At that time, Asian had 50 sewing machines and outsourced activities such as weaving and
dyeing. But once it started working directly with IKEA, the company was able to weave a bigger story,
growing revenues to 70 crore by the end of 2000.
“When we started, the demand for handloom products was very high and there were very few
suppliers so the business scaled up quickly,” says Kumar.But after the rapid growth came stagnation as
more suppliers joined the fray, making the environment more competitive. In such a scenario, Asian’s
revenues were flat for the next five years.
 It was then that the company decided to adopt technology. Between 1995 and 2000, Asian was
running 6,000-7,000 handlooms, with weavers in three neighbouring villages. But with the weaving
community shrinking and Asian’s need to ramp up volumes, the company bought its first shuttleless loom.
“We realised that to improve volumes, we needed a more efficient manufacturing process. So, we decided
to invest in shuttleless looms, which not only improve efficiency but also help scale up volumes,” explains
Kumar.
In 2004, the company installed 24 shuttleless looms for about 5 crore. Now, it has about 80
shuttleless looms that produce 30,000 metres of fabric per day. Apart from this, Asian also gets 50,000-
60,000 metres from weavers to whom it supplies yarn. The company has also modernised 500 sewing
machines from pedal to automatic. It currently has around 1,000 sewing machines.
Moreover, the entire manufacturing cycle of winding, warping, weaving, dyeing, printing, cutting,
sewing, finishing, and dispatching is now carried out from four units spread across 27 acres. And the whole
process that includes cutting, printing, hemming and embroidery is automated. There is even a lab where
tests are done to check for things such as water absorption and colour-fastness among other things. All these
initiatives helped the company scale up its revenues from 70 crore in 2005 to 230 crore over the next
five years.
Products
• Square Shape Cushions Sets
• Curtains
• Pure Quality Bed Throws

Credentials and Awards

• ISO 14001:2015
• ISO 9001:2015
• BS OHSAS 18001:2007
• SA 8000:2014
• Gots certificate for organic textiles
• OEKO – TEX
• OCS
• Global Recycle Standard
Expanding spread
Asian Fabricx invests 18-20 crore on an average every year to improve the overall efficiency of
its manufacturing process and bring down the costs. For instance, in 2014, it invested in a modern dyeing
and processing facility that can process 60,000 metres of fabric a day at an investment of 30 crore. The
company is the only one to have a dyeing and processing unit in-house, which helps it reduce the lead time
considerably.
In addition, to bring down fuel costs in the long-term and be environment friendly, Asian has also
invested in solar panels and windmills. Thanks to these, it is reaping surplus power, which is supplied back
to the grid. Apart from these, Asian Fabricx is also among the first textile companies to adopt lean
manufacturing practices. These practices help companies systematically eliminate wastage during
manufacturing with a set of tools. As the wastage reduces, the quality improves and the costs reduce. “It
helps keep the manufacturing line as short as possible, thereby reducing wastage. As quality checks are
done stage by stage rather than at the end, if there are defects it doesn’t go back and forth on the line,”
explains Kumar. Asian’s constant efforts on these fronts has helped it ramp up revenues from 230 crore
in 2010 to 400 crore in 2016.
“After taking over from his father, Ashok has taken Asian Fabricx to the next level by making the
right investments at the right time. Working with IKEA calls for maintaining quality at all times even when
you scale rapidly and that is not an easy thing to do,” says P Sudhakar, MD, Synthesis Home Textiles, one
of the larger players in Karur, which exports to Kohl’s and Bed, Bath & Beyond in the US and Carrefour,
John Lewis and HEMA in Europe.
Strategic fit
There is no doubt that Asian and IKEA are a pretty snug fit. IKEA, which started to source bedsheets
and fabrics from Asian in 1982, now sources almost the entire spectrum of home textiles including curtains,
cushion covers, entire range of kitchen linen, outdoor cushions and upholstery from the Karur-based
company.
“With our partners, we look for a strategic fit, someone who understands our business model and
customer needs and develops products that meet our quality and compliance requirements. Asian Fabricx
ticks all those boxes. They have successfully used technology and local competence to create a globally
efficient supply chain,” says Sandeep Sanan, head of new business development at IKEA.
With IKEA all set to open its first store in India, in Hyderabad, during the second half of 2017,
Asian Fabricx should benefit. The Swedish retailer is looking at opening 25 stores across nine cities,
including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru, at an investment of 10,500 crore. The mandatory
requirement of sourcing 30% of their needs locally over the first five years of its investment should also
work in the favour of the Karur-based company. While IKEA is seeking a relaxation on the time front, it
believes local sourcing could exceed 30% over the long term as most products will be developed locally.
Sanan too says Asian will play an important role in its domestic market expansion. “We have been
in India for nearly 30 years and now we are thinking of how IKEA should be positioned in India over the
next 100 years. It is this kind of long-term thinking that allows our suppliers to make key investments. We
are not a retailer who buys a product the first year but doesn’t come back the next year. We buy on a
continuous basis. That’s our strength and that’s what Asian believes in, which is why this is a strong
collaboration.”
To further its India plans, IKEA has already organised three ‘Make More in India’ campaigns to
look for new suppliers in existing categories like textile and rugs and new categories like furniture,
mattresses, and sustainable materials like bamboo and acacia. It is also looking to expand suppliers for
categories such as metal, plastics, and lighting, where more than 100 potential suppliers participated.
Apart from the domestic plans, IKEA has indicated that it is likely to double its sourcing from India
from the current €315 million by 2020. “IKEA’s business is set to grow both in the international and
domestic markets in the next couple of years. In such a scenario, a company like Asian could well see a
significant increase in turnover as IKEA’s plans take off. Asian will find it easy to prepare itself for the
growth given its ability to scale and focus on quality. But it will need to invest in management capabilities
and IT which will be critical in areas such as analytics, production forecasting and demand forecasting,”
says Arvind Singhal, Chairman, Technopak.
The business part aside, Asian Fabricx is also partnering IKEA to help develop new suppliers.
“Whenever we have new suppliers on board, they are sent to Asian to understand our way of working and
all our requirements from product quality to social and environmental compliance. There are few suppliers
globally who we partner with to develop new suppliers and Asian is one of them,” adds Sanan.
Dreaming big
The company is also looking at expanding its capacity from 500,000 units a week to 1,000,000 units
a week by 2020, be it curtains, bedsheets or placemats, which should lead to revenues doubling to 800
crore.
There is little doubt that the Swedish retailer will drive a large chunk of Asian’s future growth. The
advantage of supplying to someone like IKEA is that while you will have to cater to new ranges, the retailer
will also continue previous successful ranges, ensuring that volumes keep growing over the years. For
instance, ‘Indira’ its iconic cotton bedsheet brand, has been sold for over 30 years even as it has transitioned
from being a handwoven product to one being manufactured by shuttleless looms. The product, which has
been manufactured in over 100 colours over the years, is still being sold through IKEA stores worldwide
and is currently available in four colours.

But besides IKEA, Asian is looking at expanding its customer base as well. The Swedish retailer
contributes 70% of Asian’s overall revenues while clients like B&Q, Castorama, Target (US) and Tchibo
(Germany) make up the balance. Accordingly, the company is already in talks with other large format
retailers in Europe and the US.

M Nachimuthu, who is regarded as the father of the home textiles industry in Karur and the President
of the Karur’s Exporters Association, believes that no target can be too steep for the dynamic entrepreneur.
“You must dream big and take risks to build a world-class company. Ashok has all these qualities,” he says.
It’s not just Nachimuthu, almost everyone in Karur speak highly of Asian Fabricx and its driving
force. The unassuming managing director doesn’t want to take any credit though. “I am just carrying out
my father’s vision,” he sums up.