Grasim Industries, textile maker of Aditya Birla Group to maintain its top position in the market as well as fight volatility in the global economy is preparing a three-pronged strategy. The Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned Grasim the largest producer of VSF — a man-made, biodegradable fibre with characteristics similar to cotton — in the world with a 16% market share globally, and 90% in the domestic terrain.

They have managed to ensure a steady supply of viscose staple fibre when demand was at a high after a stagnant market for four years. The company ramped up its manufacturing plant in Vilayat, Gujarat, which helped them meet the rising demand for fibre, said Dilip Gaur, managing director (MD) of the company.

They have also managed to create a sustainable demand to handle the volatility better, and plan to move people away from commodity fibre (cotton, viscose) to speciality fibre. Grasim's VSF plants are located at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh, Kharach and Vilayat in Gujarat, Ganjam in Orissa, and Harihar in Karnataka.

They are focusing on pushing the value up and moving from just VSF to more speciality. For which the company now plans to produce what it calls the '4th generation' of fabric, which is a speciality fabric like modal, micro modal, spun-dyed fibres. These are bio-based textiles made from reconstituted cellulose of beech tree. The research is being done at its Taloja Centre, Pune.