Vanshika Choudhary, 26, a budding entrepreneur in the women’s wear segment, was as worried as any other businessman when the lockdown was imposed.
Her worry was compounded by the fact that the lockdown came in just five months after her new garmenting factory went into production at Bhiwandi, on the outskirts of Mumbai.
After managing a successful garmenting business, Knya, in Delhi, Choudhary had moved to Mumbai after her marriage last year, with dreams of making it big in the country’s financial capital. She decided to focus on ‘smart’ workwear for women. In the three months preceding the lockdown, she had shipped out orders to over 100 hotels, restaurants and educational institutions.
Poring over the latest developments, she was moved by the efforts put in by the frontline warriors battling Covid without proper protection amid a shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) coveralls.
After a thorough research on how PPE kits are made, Choudhary decided to use her automated garmenting factory for their production. She identified a certified polypropylene fabric supplier and decided to use one of her units for making the kits.
Challenges galore
The challenges were endless — from finding specialised needles to closing the holes once the stitches are made, said Choudhary. She uses the technique of taping the holes with an anti-bacterial and viral barrier self-adhesive tape, which eliminates the nano holes created while stitching.
Much credit goes to the Maharashtra government, which completed the entire approval process for production within seven days of submitting the application, she said.
The Central government plans to source 1 lakh PPE wearalls domestically and has authorised 70 companies to produce them. However, many companies which have the approval are finding it difficult to find authorised polypropylene fabric suppliers, engineers to modify production lines and manpower.
Today, the Bhiwandi unit of Knya produces 5,000 units a day of PPE wearalls and plans are afoot to double the output. The Delhi unit will start producing 2,000 units from next week. Each overall, including the shoe cover, is priced at ₹650-750, depending on the ordered quantity.
“We have orders to supply 75,000 units for BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) and BEST (State government operated bus service in Mumbai). Ever since BMC approved our production, enquires are flowing in daily,” said Choudhary.
Even as other companies are cutting jobs, 350 employees of Knya are getting a salary of ₹15,000-23,000 per month and variable pay depending on their skills.