Kitex Garments manufacturing facility in Warangal.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Kerala-headquartered Kitex Garments, which created a buzz four years ago when it made some significant investment announcements in Telangana as part of plans to look beyond the home State for expansion, has commenced commercial production at its manufacturing unit in Warangal.
One of the two such it had proposed in Telangana, the Warangal unit is designed to produce 1.1 million pieces of ready-made children’s wear a day, Managing Director Sabu M. Jacob told The Hindu on Thursday, after the company informed the stock exchanges about subsidiary Kitex Apparel Parks commencing commercial production at the facility.
“We have started almost all the operations… may be in another two or three months, we will reach the full [production] capacity,” he said, even while seeking to highlight the role the Warangal unit is poised to play, as Kitex reworks strategies to focus on new markets, including India, where it plans to open stores and set up franchisees, amid the tariffs imposed in the U.S.
One of the largest manufacturers of infant and children’s apparel globally, Kitex was shipping its entire production to the U.S. until last year.
The move away from the U.S. had already begun for the company with Mr. Jacob saying the share to the total exports is down to around 92% with Kitex tapping into customers in Europe. The U.K. and Russia are among the new markets it is keen to explore as it sees huge potential, he said, declaring the aim is to reduce reliance on the American buyers to 25% of total sales eventually.
According to the company’s annual report for 2024-25, Kitex has a capacity to make 4.32 lakh pieces per day.
Awaiting land for second unit
Besides in Warangal, Kitex had announced plans to set up its second integrated plant in Telangana at Sitarampur, near Hyderabad. The company had broken ground for the plant in September 2023.
On the status of the second plant, in Sitarampur, he said, “There were some bottlenecks… technical issues”, primarily related to government departments, and hence the property has not yet been registered despite the company paying the money for the 250 acres.
Kitex had announced investments of more than ₹3,000 crore on the two facilities in Telangana. The company’s annual report said that the investment will be ₹3,550 crore.
The production capacity of the Sitarampur factory will be similar to that of the Warangal facility, around 1.2 million pieces a day, he said, expressing hope that the issues will be resolved early to meet the December 2026 project schedule.
Published – August 30, 2025 07:34 pm IST
