Carpet manufacturing in India is among the oldest industries and probably dates back thousands of years to when carpets existed. Hand-made carpets have been a part of the local industries in states like Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh’s districts of Bhadoi and Mirzapur. If we look at the current condition of the market, there are about 700 to 800 manufacturers spread across small to large-scale brands, and they cater to all segments of the market, such as the domestic, export, low-end, or premium category of products. The global trend has been toward integrating technology and large-scale production of machine-made carpets in recent years.
The export of carpets and mats is a rapidly evolving segment in India. So far, the focus has remained on only a handful of nations. Still, given the quality of Indian products, and the demand overseas, there are a lot of countries with great untapped market potential that the Indian manufacturers are now going to target.
Speaking to Opportunity India, Nishith Gupta, MD, Sapana Carpet-mats said that there has been a significant improvement in the ease of doing business but government can take steps to further improve them.
Gupta said, “Governmental support has always been crucial for the growth of any industry, especially if we are operating in a global field; we need the Government’s support to create a more conducive operating environment for Indian companies. While there are no specific areas of shortcomings that the Government needs to address, there has been adequate support from the general perspective.”
“There has been a significant improvement in the ease of doing business, and that’s something that all entrepreneurs are looking for. Yet, there is always a scope for improvement, and I believe that the Government can take steps to improve the ease of business operations further,” he added.
Gupta said that it would be great if the government could leverage the excellent diplomatic presence overseas to help Indian exporters enter markets in different countries, especially in the developed markets. The diplomatic outposts can be leveraged as the ports of first call by the Indian exporters, making it easier for us to tap into the target markets. As a country, many steps are being taken in the right direction, and it is a work in progress. If we look at the past, we are in a much better position now, and there is no doubt that we are headed in the right direction.
Establishment
Sapana Carpet-mats was started in the year 1984, and the Indian market was significantly different then compared to how things are today. Back then, there wasn’t much support for entrepreneurship as India was under a semi-socialist state, and the market size was much smaller. There were several challenges faced by entrepreneurs in setting up industries, as that was the ‘license-raj’ era.
“We also faced difficulties marketing the product as it was still a niche market, and the products were not readily available across the country. Creating adequate market demand required educating the customers about the product, which wasn’t easy in the pre-digital era,” Gupta told Opportunity India.
Further he said, Since challenges are a part of every industry’s evolution, entrepreneurs need to innovate and find solutions to existing problems. Another major challenge that we faced from the 1990s to around 2013 was that during this period, we focused predominantly on exporting to major countries, and entering those markets wasn’t easy.
“We had to take steps to educate the customers about the different product types and how they could use them. We had to create a lot of awareness as we were building a new product market, and the challenges we faced were synonymous with those entrepreneurs faced in every industry when trying to create a niche segment,” he said.
Use Of Technology
Gupta said that integrating the latest technologies is an organic and ongoing process, and we have been at the forefront of the carpets and mats segment. Wherever we feel that adding new technologies can positively impact our manufacturing capabilities and customer satisfaction, we integrate the technology accordingly.
“Apart from this, we are also integrating various other technologies, including automating some parts of our packaging processes. It will help us scale the capacities and reduce the cost of packaging, eventually benefiting our customers as our prices will become more competitive,” he added.
We also plan to make significant investments in solar energy generation. One of our major manufacturing facilities already leverages solar power to meet 50% of its operational energy needs, and we aim to reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs steadily. This will help us become a highly sustainable brand, and the customers will benefit directly through the price efficiencies that renewable energy will help us achieve, he said.
Waste Management
Speaking about the waste management he said that we are a zero-waste company since all the waste generated during manufacturing gets recycled. Further, we are also working towards reducing our energy requirements and carbon footprint. We are steadily migrating from conventional to solar energy, and we already have a 400-kWh power generation facility that has helped us save about 30,000 trees. We also have managed to save 28 metric tonnes of CO2 from getting released into the atmosphere every month. Other than this, we are also constantly focusing on integrating sustainable practices. For instance, today, we use a much lower volume of plastics in packaging than in the past. Even the plastic we use is mostly recycled plastic, and we are continuously looking at areas of improvement regarding waste management and the conservation of resources.
The first and foremost thing for budding entrepreneurs is to have a scalable, sustainable idea and conviction. One would need to take risks and encounter failures during the journey. However, there is no easy way to succeed, and one needs to remain committed to seeing the business through the challenges. Each challenge provides ample learning opportunities, and one needs to step out of the comfort zone to become an entrepreneur. People often keep sitting on the fence and wondering how things will turn out if they leave their jobs and start the entrepreneurial journey. This indecisiveness doesn’t lead a person anywhere. In fact, the difference between success and failure mostly depends on when and whether one takes the plunge. If you have an idea you have conviction,take the leap of faith, especially if you are younger, as there will be fewer burdens and responsibilities to weigh you down.
