Welspun Group, a USD 2.3 billion global conglomerate operating in home textiles, line pipes and infrastructure announced an investment of Rs 40 billion for three large textile projects in Gujarat.
"Our continuous investment in the state is a testament to our long term commitment to Gujarat. It is our aim to make Gujarat the textile hub of the world. Welspun continues to invest into development of well-researched products and technology of the future and the current investment is in line with this philosophy," said BK Goenka, chairman, Welspun Group.
Amongst the larger of the three projects, Welspun will invest Rs 20 billion in developing an integrated Textile Manufacturing Zone. This will be a part of the Govt. of India's Sagarmala project where Kutch is among the first identified key locations. The company aims to develop a large, modern and futuristic textile industrial complex that will manufacture and supply world class textile products for the global markets.
Welspun will leverage on its expertise in developing industrial infrastructures. The Kutch facility will provide a unique ecosystem for entrepreneurs to set up manufacturing facilities. The project will generate direct employment of nearly 5,000 and will provide indirect employment to nearly 15,000 people.
Welspun will further invest Rs 10 billion in its Technical Textile business for capacity enhancement, addition of new products and training and skill development. Under this vertical, the company has already made its mark with products for specialised use in healthcare, fire departments and other utilities. These products include specialised features such as fire retardants, stain resistant, anti-bacterial, PET resistant, and soil resistance, among others. Most of these products are also recyclable. The project will give direct employment to nearly 1500 people.
Another Rs 10 billion is being invested in the Advanced Textile arm of Welspun that focuses on manufacturing specialised materials for applications in aerospace, defense and automobile sectors. The project will generate a direct employment of 2000 persons and indirect employment of 5,000.
Welspun Group has already invested Rs 100 billion in Gujarat so far and fresh investments take total investment to Rs 140 billion. Welspun's world class facility in Anjar is a global benchmark in the manufacturing sector, employing more than 30,000 people and providing livelihood to over 1 lakh people directly and indirectly. Through its Gujarat facilities, Welspun is the largest exporter to over 50 countries of top rated Home Textile products and Line pipes manufacturer for some of the most challenging projects in the world. These investments will further consolidate Welspun's global leadership position and explore new avenues for its upcoming businesses in Technical as well as Advanced Textiles.
Shares of the company gained Rs 2.15, or 3.14%, to settle at Rs 70.55. The total volume of shares traded was 203,175 at the BSE (Wednesday).
