Nice Denim Mills Limited (NDML), one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of denim fabric, a business unit of Saad Group started its journey in 2016 in Mawna, Sreepur, Gazipur with a vision to establish itself as the largest denim manufacturer in the world. Only within four years of journey, this denim mill has been able to stand out from others with its adoption of state-of-the-art technologies and industry best practices.
The ingenious arrangement of four rope dyeing machines with different capacities to capture both large and small orders, multi-layer inspection on various processes including the Long Chain Beaming, their lucrative side business of selling re-coned indigo dyed yarn, prudent decision of keeping direct warping machine, installments of automation like computerized beam storage system- Beam Stacker, state of the art auto leasing and auto drawing machine to keep up with the modern world, a youthful, energetic R&D team and prompt lab facilities have enabled them to offer great quality, shorter lead time and competitive price to their buyers.
Due to the combination of 16 ropes and 48 ropes under one shed, Nice Denim has a competitive price advantage over the local and international market. So, what is the secret sauce behind their success? Today we will look closely at each section of this denim mill and find out their best practices that are giving them such leverage.
| Table: Nice Denim Mills Ltd. at a glance | ||
| Establishment year | 2016 | |
| Land area | 967129 SFT | |
| Section Area | 572000 SFT | |
| Production capacity | 6 Million Yards (Per Month) | |
| No. of Rope dyeing machines | Machine name | Origin |
| a) Morrison Rope Dye range. | USA | |
| b) Green Ville Rope Dye range. | USA | |
| c) Smartech- 40 and Smartech- 16 Rope dye range | China | |
| Long Chain Beaming (LCB) machines | Karlmayer, Germany. | |
| sizing machines | Karlmayer,Germany & Tsudakoma, Japan. | |
| weaving machines | Machine name | Origin |
| Air jet from Picanol | Belgium | |
| Rapier from Picanol Optimax-1 | Belgium | |
| Rapier Dobby from Picanol Optimax-1 | Belgium | |
| finishing machines | Morrison, Greenville & Kuster, USA. | |
| Inspection machines | STT, Taiwan. | |
| ETP (Biological) capacity | 150 m/cub/hr, Simem, Italy. | |
| Buyers | ALDI, LIDL, H&M, Next Sourcing, GAP, C&A, LPP, ZARA INDITEX, K-MART, OKAIDI, JEANIOLOGIEA, HEMA, MAX, MACETON, PRIMARK | |
Efficient Ball Warping
According to Engr. Ahammod Babor, the Senior DGM (Plant & Operations) of NDML, the factory is run by keeping three aspects in mind: quality, reasonable costing and faster lead time. NDML’s all the sections are orchestrated towards success by these three points.
Taking the quality yarn cones or cheese packages from NDML’s finely managed 1000-ton yarn sub-store, they make balls according to the number of total ends, length and equal tension in individual yarn using their Ball Warping machines efficiently. During production, individual yarn tension is measured for its uniformity.
Full advantage of Rope Dyeing is taken
Rope Dyeing is considered to be a superior dyeing technology where the dyeing uniformity achieved is better than other indigo dyeing technologies like slasher dyeing. Keeping the advantages of the rope dyeing technique in the background, NDML has installed 4 state-of-the-art rope dyeing machines with verities/multiple ropes including the Green Ville Rope Dyeing machine which is the biggest of its kind in Bangladesh.
It is a 48-rope machine having maximum Dye boxes with a big volume. With this machine, they can achieve the highest indigo dye shade percentage. They also have a Morrison Rope Dyeing Machine and two Smartech machines.
All the convenient features of these machines compared to Slasher Dyeing and their ingenious combination enable them to take both big and small orders in a very cost-effective way without any extra energy and chemical waste. As Green Ville is a giant machine having 48 rope capacity, NDML can dye at large volume with nominal shade variation and keep the quality by maintaining consistency.
At this point, Engr. Ahammod Babor, the Senior DGM (Plant & Operations) of NDML said, “All these features make Nice Denim Mills cost-effective and price competitive. As we can efficiently use our capacity and have strong backward linkage, we can achieve shorter lead time and offer a competitive price to our buyers.”
NDML also takes pride in some additional advantages of its rope dyeing process.
Engr. Nizamul Hossain, Sr. DGM (Production) of Nice Denim Mills Ltd. explained, “An advantage that we take from rope dyeing compared to slasher is, in slasher, the dyeing happens in sheet form where single yarns can get affected, which can ultimately affect the yarn quality. For the same reason, there is a possibility to have CSV (Cross-Shade Variation) in slasher dyeing which is not an issue in Rope dyeing as there is even stress on each yarn.”
“In the loom, every single thread is important. A weak thread can cause great wastage. So, we also take the advantage of rope dyeing in the loom,” Engr. Nizamul further added.
Yarn quality is checked in Long Chain Beaming
In NDML’s Karl Mayer Long Chain Beaming machines (LCBs), the yarn alignment in the dyed rope is changed from a rope form to a sheet form. NDML employees enjoy the advantage of checking each yarn quality while beaming. NDML workers check every weak point and knot them if there is any yarn breakage. As a result, their quality of the yarn is fantastic in the loom where good quality yarn means smooth running of the looms, greater efficiency and better quality.
Well creeling and yarn break controlling are maintained in Sizing
To increase the strength of yarn for the next weaving process, NDML uses its Karl Mayer and Tschudakoma sizing machines which have a total capacity of more than 2lac yards/day. The employees ensure well creeling and yarn break controlling to create a better final beam. They also ensure refraction, viscosity, size Pickup, tension, etc. parameters for each order and provide the best possible sizing which helps the warp yarns to tolerate the tension in weaving.
The lucrative business of selling re-coned indigo dyed yarn
In Nice Denim Mills Ltd., there is a separate 40-ton capacity arrangement for re-coning indigo dyed yarn. There is a huge market for such kind of yarn which is used in knitting and sometimes in weft yarn also. As rope dyeing arrangement is a costly set-up and NDML has a strong position here, the buyers directly buy such yarns from them rather than manufacturing these yarns themselves. As a result, NDML can sell such dyed yarns which is a lucrative side-business for them.
A strong touch of automation: Beam stacker, Auto leasing and Auto drawing
Nice Denim Mills Ltd. is perfectly in line with the wave of the fourth industrial revolution. They have a computerized beam storage system: Beam Stackers where they can store 220 beams and find any specific beam with the push of a button, they have fully automated Auto leasing and Auto drawing machines which save a lot of working hours and increase efficiency. Most importantly they are error-free and have given NDML the room to take more orders and offer greater quality.
Efficient weaving
With an arrangement of the huge loom set up, NDML is meeting 6 million capacity /month. For producing perfect beams in the previous section, NDML gets a competitive advantage in weaving. Their weaving efficiency generally reaches up to 92% per shift. They also have an online monitoring system of loom efficiency.
Finishing with state-of-the-art machines
NDML has all branded finishing machines including mercerizing, stenter, sanforizing, singeing and Ozone finish machines. The Ozone finish machine (Jeanologia, Spain) has two Ozone generators that generate Ozone from the atmosphere in a sustainable way and substantially reduce the consumption of water, energy and chemicals.
Thorough inspection
At the final stage, Inspection takes place and if any problem is found NDML employees take the necessary steps to solve it. Nice Denim Mills Ltd. has STT Inspection machines which can meet the daily production capacity.
R&D Department- a collection of energetic and youthful people
After asking the question- why NDML’S R&D stands out from others, Md. Ismail Hossain, Manager, R&D at Nice Denim Mills Ltd. said in one sentence “Team spirit!”.
He said, “We have young, energetic people, all below the age of 35. We work as a team.”
He further added, “We give feedback in the fastest possible time. Moreover, our capacity, production and delivery- all are much more than others. Our sample lead time is only 3-7 days.”
He informed that NDML’s R&D department has two Turkish, one Italian and one Pakistani employee for technical support which makes them more competitive. Moreover, they have a subscription to WGSN which enables them to be ahead of time in trend analysis.
Ismail shared staggering information that after COVID-19, their order quantity and efficiency have been drastically improved.
He explained, “This is because we started scrutinizing ourselves and focused on the accuracy. Rather than sending too many options and waiting for comments from the buyers, we became more focused and began to send only one quality option. This made all the difference.”
A well-equipped Laboratory
NDML has a laboratory for quality assurance that is equipped with the latest equipment needed to meet buyers’ requirements. They have Wrap Reel, Electric Twist Tester, Board Winder (Electric), Universal Strength Tester (Titan5), Crock master, Gyro Wash, Incubator, Mettler Toledo (pH Meter), Orbital Shaker, Flexi Frame, Elmartear Digital Tear Tester, Shrinkage Scale with Template 35cm, Maxi-Martindale Abrasion and Pilling Tester, Stiffness Testers, Digital Weight Balance, Perspirometer, Acrylic Palates, Weight Piece (AATCC & ISO) and a lot of other testing equipment demanded by the buyers.
Sustainable good practices
Nice Denim Mills Ltd. has established a world-class Biological Effluent Treatment Plant having a capacity of 3600 m3/ Day that ensures environmentally compliant effluent conforming to standards set by the Bangladesh government.
They also have Aniline free, salt-free, advance, cradle to cradle, waterless and laser friendly dyeing facilities to promote sustainability. They also make organic products and follow zero cotton concepts to take part in ensuring the wellbeing of people and the planet.
Compliance issues and other managerial good practices
In Nice Denim Mills Ltd., the designated storage areas are separated from each other to allow for easy movement of personnel and movement devices like trolleys, forklifts, etc. The movement areas are marked. Moreover, the factory has separate unobstructed and marked emergency exits.
The factory also has a well-managed rejected area where they can store all the rejected goods and can find them when needed.
It also has proper ventilation, health and medical facilities, prayer room, dining facilities, proper parking area, training facilities, first aid, machine, electrical and fire safety, child care center, etc.
An effective ERP software is on the trial-error phase and on the way to full implementation in the mill. The top management believes that it will assist them to increase efficiency, create managerial transparency and keep them one step ahead to achieve their goals.
Certification and awards
Nice Denim Mills Limited has achieved different awards and certifications like SEDEX, BSCI, GOTS, OCS, OEKO-TEX, C-TPAT, RCS, GRS, certificate of COVID-19 Management System by GIZ and recognitions from a lot of other recognized institutions.
NDML has also got the certificate of achievement from LIDL and Baycity. This denim mill got first place from 28 textile participants of the Supplier Qualification Program.
Recently Saad group of industries /Nice denim Mills ltd. achieved USCTP (United states cotton Trust Protocol) certification which is very important because most of the USA customers ask for this certification before order confirmation.
“For superior quality and commitment customers knows the name Nice Denim Mills Ltd. From the beginning, we only focused on quality and that’s why we installed all world-class machinery and recruited experienced team members. We are working for the nation and we want to contribute more in the future by our good work,” said Nur E Yasmin Fatima, DMD of Nice Denim Mills Ltd.
Overall, Nice Denim Mills Ltd. stands out as one of the most sustainable, eco-friendly denim manufacturing mills in the world.
And undoubtedly, on their way to achieving their goal of becoming one of the top mills in the world.
Abdullah Mohammad Saad, Managing Director, NDML concluded, “We are already catering a large volume of denim fabric orders with high efficiency and quality (weaving, dyeing & finishing). Now we are sincerely focusing on Spinning and Printing production also. Our target is to be a complete solution provider as we are always concerned about customer satisfaction and ensure business sustainability.”Nice Denim Mills
