Dhanalakshmi Textiles to go high-tech

The five-decade-old Dhanalakshmi Textiles is planning to set up a modern high-tech powerloom textile unit soon, to produce high-class sarees to cater to the wealthy customers.

The Rajahmundry-based textile company, however, is looking for a relaxation in the tax burden for small scale industries to enable the modernisation plans.

Speaking to Business Standard, Y Syama Sundera Rao, managing director of Dhanalakshmi Textiles, said, "Our company was established in 1957. We are, however, still technologically backward despite a hike in the production capacity."

"Earlier, we used to make 90 cotton sarees per day with handloom technology. Over the years we have been growing in strength both in terms of production and manpower," Rao said.

The company currently manufactures 2,000 cotton sarees per day and five lakh per year.

Dhanalakshmi is operational 250 days a year and manufactures sarees catering mainly to the lower and middle class sector with the price of the cotton sarees ranging from Rs 65 to Rs 140 each.

The company clocked a turnover of Rs 3.5 crore in 2003-04 and this fiscal it is expected to increase to Rs 5 crore. The net profit that the company made last fiscal was Rs 25 lakh.

Rao said that the 16 per cent central excise duty on the powerlooms had dissuaded them from undertaking modernisation and technical upgradation earlier.

"It is difficult for small textile units to survive in spite of the excise duty as once the unit modernises it has to compete with big players like the Surat mills and the Ahmedabad textile industry," he added.

"We have a good market in the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari and parts of Krishna district as well. However, unless the government lifts the tax burden on the small scale industries it is difficult for us to see a bright future," Rao said.

Dhanalakshmi provides livelihood to100 families of powerloom weavers in Karimnagar, Nalgonda and Warangal in Telangana by purchasing their powerloom cloth of 60:40 and 60:60 categories.

The purchased cloth goes through a process of hand bleaching, dyeing, screen printing, sodium silicate application, washing, colour fastening, starching, finishing and labelling before it is marketed.