The executive president of the Rs 4,200-crore Grasim Industries and in charge of Bhiwani Textile Mills, which manufactures the Graviera fabric, DS Agarwal, told The Financial Express that an American consultancy agency has been engaged for this restructuring activity.

"Boston Consulting Group, the US-based agency has been hired for this purpose. The agency has already made a number of presentations before the company and the final presentation will be made some time this month. May be in September we will make the formal announcement about this restructuring," Agarwal said.

He was in the city on Tuesday along with KD Joshi, Bhiwani Textile Mills' vice-president and filmstar Pooja Batra, to launch its newly designed blended fabric, Cots-Feel, which is 67 per cent polyester and 33 per cent cotton.

The recommendations of the Boston Consulting Group is likely to be considered by the Birla Management Centre, the apex decision making body of the AV Birla group, seriously before any implementation.

Graviera and Grasim Gwalior are both engaged in the same business of textile yarn and fabric and both of them are major players in the domestic market they are regular exporters also. However, Grasim Gwalior also manufactures worsted fabrics which Graviera does not. In 1998-99, Grasim Gwalior's turnover was Rs 185 crore against Rs 135 crore of Graviera.

When asked about the nature of the competition between these two divisions, Agarwal said: "Well, I would not like to comment on it but I must say that this is one of the main reasons behind the expected restructuring."

Regarding Cots-Feel, Agarwal said that it is at present being test-marketed all over the country. "However, by the end of the current financial year, that is next March, we wish to sell around 2 lakh metres a month just in the domestic market," he said.

In the last three years, Graviera launched three new fabrics. In 1996, it was Sumo, a synthetic and cotton blended denim. Next year it was Sumo Jusilk, a polyester, jute and cotton blended denim and last year it was Wonder Wash Fabric.

Agarwal said that all these products are results of Bhiwani's research and development wing. "We have so many new ideas and we are constantly working on new products to meet the demands of the consumers. We have planned to launch a new product every year," he added.

In India, he said, Graviera has a market share of four per cent. "However, by 2001-02 we would like to take it up to seven per cent. Our turnover in 1998-99 was Rs 135 crore and we would like to take it up to Rs 200 crore during the current financial year. It includes fabric exports of Rs 15 crore. For the current year we have targeted fabric exports of Rs 30 crore and yarn exports of Rs 18 crore," Agarwal said.

Bhiwani Textile Mills is exporting mostly to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and the United States. Agarwal said that the company is trying to expand its marketing base in some of the Latin American countries like Brazil and Chile and also in Russia.

Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.