Pune carpets to deck French liner

It stretches beyond France. Every year, Urawade rolls out some four lakh square feet of carpets for American households. In addition, five lakh square feet carpets in their trademark dark blue also reach UK cinema houses and multiplexes. This unit also caters to five-star hotels all around the world including Singapore, Dubai and Indonesia. Several restaurants in China are adorned with these carpets in their flamboyant colours and bold floral designs. In India, the carpets are supplied to leading hotels and corporate houses.

The Pune outfit is part of the $150 million UK-based Brintons Fine Carpets with an annual turnover of Rs 50 crore. ‘‘That’s because of our hardworking Indian textile and chemical engineers and designers. The group’s designer cell is here,’’ says Mark Johnson, Brintons chief executive officer in Pune.

‘‘Since we came here in 2000, we have been manufacturing 15 per cent of the group’s production. Already, we are known as the jewel in the crown amongst our counterparts in New Zealand, Portugal, Australia, UK and USA.’’ With lower labour costs as compared to UK and USA, orders are being diverted to Pune unit and some 50 lakh sq ft of carpets are woven here annually. Brintons carpets have adorned Buckingham Palace, White House and the Kremlin for years. The carpets are made of 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon yarn. The wool is imported from New Zealand and Australia but the yarn spun in the Pune unit is 20 lakh kg per year.

Brintons had considered China, Korea and Vietnam before Johnson and his colleagues settled for Pune. Says Johnson, ‘‘Pune is near a port, has a pleasant weather and amicable business infrastructure. We did consider Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore, Pondicherry, Chennai before finally settling for Pune.’’