History of Mohan Spintex India Limited

Aerial view of an MSIL manufacturing campus

The history of Mohan Spintex India Limited (MSIL) spans two decades, from a single spinning mill that began production in 2006 to a vertically integrated textile group with spinning, weaving, processing and home-textile operations across several sites in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.

Founding (2005–2006)

The company was founded by V. Sudhakar Chowdary, who until then had run his family's fertiliser distribution business. In 2005 he and a colleague were planning a steel venture when a meeting with a friend already in the textile industry led them to consider spinning instead. Government policy at the time, including the abolition of excise duty, favoured textiles. They met in March 2005, decided to proceed before the end of that month, and Chowdary dates the start of Mohan Spintex to 7 April 2005. The company was incorporated on 11 May 2005 as a public limited company registered in Vijayawada.

Commercial production began in October 2006 at Unit 1 in Vattigudipadu, with 14,400 spindles – twelve ring frames of 1,200 spindles each. Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) supplied the spinning machinery, from blowroom to ring frames, and went on to equip all three of the company's spinning projects.

Expansion of spinning (2007–2013)

Unit 1, second phase

A foundation ceremony (bhoomi puja) for a second phase at Unit 1 was held in 2007, the year in which Murata Machinery began supplying the company. The phase added 15,600 spindles and was completed by April 2008, taking Unit 1 to 30,000 spindles. All 30,000 spindles were then converted to compact spinning within two years.

Unit 2

In August 2009 the company proposed a 40,000-spindle unit to its bankers, who approved it in October 2009; a foundation ceremony was held the same year. Advised that projects of ₹100 crore and above qualified for a two-year moratorium under the government's "mega project" scheme, the company enlarged the plan with TFO twisting, open-end spinning and cotton ginning sections, and secured approval under that scheme. Civil work began in February 2010.

By January 2012 Unit 2 at Remalle was ready, with 44,064 combed spindles, 4,576 open-end rotors, 1,920 TFO drums and 36 gins; it was inaugurated that year, and operations were stabilised during 2012–13.

Third project

In 2013 the company submitted a proposal for a further project to be built in two phases, of ₹181 crore and ₹95 crore. It was planned to include about 47,424 compact spindles, 156 looms, about 1,696 rotors, 2,880 TFO drums and an Uster testing laboratory. The foundation for Unit 3 was laid the same year. The looms marked the company's entry into weaving; Chowdary said that without reaching the finished product "your total system is not complete".

In 2014 a machine inauguration ceremony was held for new spinning equipment.

Integration and growth (2014–2022)

Air-jet weaving hall

Over this period MSIL extended from yarn into weaving, fabric processing and finished home textiles, completing its integration from fibre to finished product. By early 2017 the company had grown to more than 125,000 spindles, over 6,000 rotors and over 125 air-jet looms, and employed about 2,800 people. It exported close to half of its output, to countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and Europe, and was planning a fabric processing unit and a move into home textiles. A unit at Mallavalli was inaugurated in 2019.

The company invested ₹400 crore between 2018 and 2020 and reported sales above ₹1,000 crore for the 2021–22 financial year, 80% domestic and 20% exported. In 2022 a solar power project was inaugurated at Unit 2, and the company hosted an audit by IKEA and a plant visit from the Italian linen maker Frette.

Recent developments (2023–present)

Participants in the LEAD leadership programme, April 2026

In 2023 an IKEA team visited the company's facilities. In 2025 the company opened Mohan's Sri Vijnana Vihara School, and in September 2025 founder V. Sudhakar Chowdary was elected Chairman of KRIBHCO.

In 2026 a foundation ceremony was held for a new corporate office; the company ran its LEAD (Leadership Excellence & Development) programme; and Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh visited the Mallavalli unit. That January The Textile Magazine profiled the company in its Heimtextil 2026 special edition, reporting a workforce of over 5,500 and the involvement of the founder's children, Suhruth and Keyura, as the next generation of leadership.

Timeline

Year	Event
2005	Decision to enter textiles (March); company founded (7 April) and incorporated (11 May)
2006	Commercial production begins at Unit 1, Vattigudipadu, with 14,400 spindles (October)
2007	Foundation laid for Phase II at Unit 1; association with Murata Machinery begins
2008	Phase II complete; Unit 1 reaches 30,000 spindles (April)
2009	40,000-spindle Unit 2 proposed (August) and approved by bankers (October); foundation laid
2010	Civil work begins on Unit 2 (February)
2012	Unit 2, Remalle, ready (January) and inaugurated, with 44,064 spindles, 4,576 rotors, 1,920 TFO drums and 36 gins
2013	Two-phase project of ₹181 crore and ₹95 crore proposed, including the first looms; foundation laid for Unit 3
2017	Over 125,000 spindles and 125 air-jet looms; about 2,800 employees; cover story in The Textile Magazine
2019	Mallavalli unit inaugurated
2022	Solar power project inaugurated at Unit 2; sales above ₹1,000 crore (FY 2021–22)
2025	Mohan's Sri Vijnana Vihara School opens; founder elected Chairman of KRIBHCO
2026	Foundation laid for new corporate office; LEAD leadership programme; Union Textiles Minister visits Mallavalli

Several dates above are taken from the titles of albums in the MSIL Digital Archive, and figures for 2005–2017 are as reported by the Managing Director to The Textile Magazine in 2017. Exact dates of commissioning, and the years in which weaving, processing and home-textile production began, should be confirmed from company records.