Pioneers in Sustainable Textile Manufacturing
Ludhiana-headquartered Rudra Ecovation Ltd, formerly known as Himachal Fibres Ltd, is the largest vertically integrated factory in Asia recycling rPET bottles and converting them into flakes, fibres, yarns, knitted fabrics and also nonwoven fabrics. The company distinguishes itself with the capacity to transform over 8.8 million bottles per day into sustainable fibres, yarns, and fabrics—all under one roof. The sustainable fabrics are marketed under its flagship product brand – Anaura.
The Founding Legacy: From Spare Parts to Spinning
“Rudra Ecovation traces its origins to my father, Mr. B.K. Malhotra, a textile graduate, with whom I first established a company to manufacture textile spare parts and machinery in 1969. In 1997, we ventured into spinning under the name Shiva Texfab, starting with just 800 spindles and gradually expanding to 3,000 spindles for wool processing. However, when margins proved challenging, we diversified into acrylic yarns,” recalls Mr. Akhil Malhotra, CMD, Rudra Ecovation.
Expansion & Strategic Diversification into Acrylic and Specialty Yarns
Their foresight and dedication to innovation led them to reconceptualize the traditional yarn-making process. Falling back on their experience of textile engineering, they ingeniously built a plant aimed at converting imported acrylic waste into yarns, overcoming initial challenges to achieve success. Thereafter Shiva Texfab blended virgin and regenerated acrylic fibres to produce yarns. By 2006, the spindle capacity had increased to 25,000 spindles.
“However, in 2006, there was a recession in the textile industry and spinning mills started to turn sick. So we sensed an opportunity and acquired six spinning mills, which helped us to reach a total of 200,000 spindles. Along with producing acrylic yarns, we also forayed into manufacturing yarns from various fibres like polyester, cotton and also blended and specialty yarns. We also installed fibre and yarn dyeing machines,” he added.
Game-Changing Pivot: Embracing PET Bottle Recycling
The transformative moment for Rudra Ecovation occurred in 2007, when Mr Akhil Malhotra, observed the conversion of post consumer PET bottles into polyester fibres when on a visit to China. Once back in India, he hired engineers and technicians and started designing an indigenous PET bottle recycling plant while also taking support from Chinese and German suppliers.
“By 2009, we commissioned two PET recycling plants and started producing high tenacity recycled polyester fibres, which is equivalent to tenacity of virgin PSF fibres and maybe the first in India to do so. We started with two PET bottle recycling lines and within a period of 12 months we were operating five lines. We had a production capacity of 125 tons per day out of which around 80 tons were consumed by our mills and the rest was sold to other spinners,” he stated.
Overcoming Adversity: Navigating Industry Recessions and Price Crashes
In 2014, there was a drastic decline in crude oil prices which dived from USD 125 to USD 25 per ton leading to a plunge in virgin PSF prices. The recycled PSF business was immensely impacted by the drop in crude oil prices and this too led to heavy losses for the mills. “But we settled all our debts and came out clean without losing our integrity with the banks. We were never declared willful defaulters by the banks. By 2019, we paid back all the debts by selling most of our mills,” Mr Malhotra observed.
Building Back Better: High-Tech Spinning & Specialty Blended Yarns
But Mr Malhotra retained 70,000 spindles of Shiva Texfab which had state of the art machinery installed in 2014, which included technologies supplied by renowned suppliers like Rieter, LMW, Savio, Schlaforst, etc and whose production capacity is around 60 tons per day and currently manufactures blended yarns from 8’s to 60’s count by blending recycled PSF fibres with Lyocell fibres, nylon, rayon and viscose.
Forward Integration: Knitted Fabric and Dyeing Capabilities
Post 2019, the company forward integrated into knitted fabrics and now has 200 knitting machines which were sourced from Mayer & Cie and other knitted machine manufacturers. The knitted fabrics are produced between 80 and 600 GSM.
“In 2024, we further enhanced our capabilities by setting up a fabric dyeing facility. We now produce world-class knitted fabrics which a consumer will find hard to identify, as to whether they have been produced from recycled PSF fibres or from virgin cotton. In addition, we incorporate functional finishes such as wicking, antimicrobial, anti-static, fire-retardant, and waterproofing to meet customer requirements and have the capacity to deliver around 320,000 sq. metres per day. We have also commissioned a needle-punch nonwoven line for sustainable applications in automobiles, carpets, and acoustic panels. If 51% recycled PSF is used in a fabric, then it can be called a sustainable fabric,” he informed.
Commitment to Sustainability and Certifications
Rudra Ecovation is certified with Global Recycled Standard (GRS), BIS, Hill-Bound Certification, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 16603:2004, and OBP (Ocean Bound Plastic). The company employs Oeko-Tex certified dyes and chemicals, supported by a modern effluent treatment plant ensuring zero environmental discharge. Looking ahead, it is also investing in a 20 MW solar plant to meet nearly 50% of its energy requirements and adopting dope dyeing technology to eliminate water and chemical usage and ensuring a pollution-free, sustainable process.
Global Outreach and Brand Collaborations
“In recent years, we have showcased our fabrics at leading international exhibitions, successfully proving that fashion and sustainability can coexist. Our fabrics have been chosen by brands such as Shell and Ferrari for corporate wear, and we are now engaging with the airline, hospitality, and automotive industries, which are actively pursuing sustainable sourcing goals,” shares Mr. Malhotra.
Future Outlook: Scaling Capacities and Merging Operations
The company is also expanding its fabric processing capacity. “This strategic enhancement will enable us to fully utilize our knitting fabric capacity, thereby strengthening overall operational efficiency and production capabilities,” the CMD affirms. Rudra currently employs around 4,500 people and is in the process of merging Shiva Texfab with Rudra Ecovation.
Tackling Unfair Trade Practices: The Challenge from Chinese Imports
“Our biggest competition comes from imported Chinese fabrics which are under invoiced or wrongly declared to avoid anti-dumping duty, which particularly began after the Covid-19 pandemic. It is impossible to compete with prices of Chinese fabrics. The government should seriously stop these fraudulent activities as there are just 11 companies importing these Chinese fabrics. Competition is good but unfair competition is not good. Almost 20 lakh spindles have shutdown in North India leading to job losses in lakhs. This would have affected even the downstream like knitting or weaving or process houses. We survived only because of our business of recycled fibres, yarns and fabrics,” he concluded by saying.
