This Kanpur-based firm socks it to the competition to make it big in the medical textile sector
After working as a consultant for many companies in India, Japan, Kenya, South Korea and other countries, Amod Bajpai (54) felt the demand for health socks in India was increasing. Bajpai decided to cash-in on this demand and use his expertise and knowledge in the anti-bacterial health socks segment to set up his own sock manufacturing company in India.
With an investment of Rs 10 lakh, Amod Bajpai, along with his wife Seema Bajpai, established Caplon Techno textiles in 2016 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Today, the company has an annual turnover of Rs 50 lakh.
Bajpai says, “I had always been very passionate about contributing to the medico-textile industry. I constantly try to experiment in the production of different types of products and try my best to keep up with the production techniques used in different countries like Canada and Japan. Though we have very few resources available in our country, I still believe in making the best out of them.”
According to a report by Transparency Market Research, the global socks market was valued at $42.07 billion in 2016 and it is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.7 percent from 2017 to 2025.
Caplon manufactures and supplies special type of health socks, which are anti-bacterial and anti-fungal in nature. The company’s product range includes fashion socks, cycling shots, kneecaps, health socks, antibacterial cotton and lycra socks. The company currently employs around nine people.
Business journey
A textile engineer by profession, Bajpai has been working in the socks-manufacturing industry for the last 22 years. He is also pursuing PhD in the same field.
Bajpai says he initially started manufacturing health socks as samples under the Innovative Product Development Scheme of the Ministry of MSME in Lucknow in collaboration with CIPET (Central Institute of Plastics Engineering And Technology), where he was working as the chief consultant.
“In the beginning, it was very difficult for me to create a strong and reliable business network in Kanpur as I was among the very few to set up a sock production unit. It took me years of hard work to achieve whatever little that I have today,” he says.
Bajpai has also been a consultant with more than 40 companies in Kanpur. He is also working as a consultant with the government’s MSMEs organisation in the skill development unit, where he trains diploma holders, ITI students and even professionals.
The market scenario
Talking about the sock market, he says firstly there is the medical textile industry, which makes medical socks used in hospitals, nursing homes and for other health-related services. Secondly, there is the school uniform segment, which caters to schools and colleges. The third segment is where Caplon specialises. It consists of anti-bacterial socks that are also anti-fungal in nature, used for specific illnesses such as diabetes.
He says, “Currently, we enjoy a monopoly in this segment in Kanpur as we don’t have many competitors. But new players keep emerging as these products are always in demand. The market is expected to grow and expand to great limits in the coming years.”
Challenges faced
Bajpai says, as all entrepreneurs, he also faced a couple of challenges while setting up his venture.
“The MSME Department, along with the Ministry of Textiles, has not recognised the importance of the hosiery industry. There are no special programmes made by the government for the upliftment of the industry. Currently, there is just one hosiery training unit in India at Patna, and there are no other training centres in Uttar Pradesh,” he says.
Other challenges include the lack of a single platform to get all the industry-related information. Procuring raw materials such as silk, bamboo and cotton is difficult as well, as there aren’t enough resources available nearby and the transportation cost is really high.
Bajpai says he wants the government to provide additional funds to the industry in order to increase the production capacity and also focus on increasing innovation to attract the youth. He says it will benefit the industry of the government can organise exhibitions and trade fairs to promote hosiery products.
Future Plans
Bajpai says, “In the coming months, we are focused on creating a standardised website where our entire product range will be showcased. We will also start social media marketing and expand our reach to the customers.”
“We also want to diversify and provide quality-based niche socks made from natural yarns and from stretchable lycra yarns in the coming years,” he adds.
(This story is published in partnership with the MSMEs Ministry to showcase success stories of SMEs)