Threads of Legacy

From textile mills in 1905 to apparel and home products today, Mafatlal has been weaving five generations of legacy and innovation

- Shruti Tripathi

In the summers of the 1980s, while his classmates escaped to the hills or beaches, a young Priyavrata Mafatlal found wonder in a very different setting: the heart of his family's textile mills. Instead of mountain trails or sea waves, it was the scent of cotton and the rhythm of looms that called to him.

He remembers standing wide-eyed beside the machines, watching raw cotton slowly take shape as fabric. “You don't really understand what's happening at that age, but it's mesmerising. The sight of cotton turning into fabric, the rhythmic clatter of those giant looms, the endless movement of threads. Even today, when I visit the plant, that same childlike excitement returns,” says Mafatlal.

Those visits didn't stop with childhood. Through school and college, he kept coming back, sometimes for small projects, sometimes simply with friends. What began as casual curiosity quietly deepened into commitment to the business. He didn't realise it then, but the factory floors he explored as a child were already becoming his future workplace.

Built Over Generations

The story of Mafatlal Industries dates back to 1905; a time when India was still under colonial rule and textiles was one of the country’s most celebrated industries. From the outset, Mafatlal emerged as a relevant and influential name.

“The sector was vital to the country’s economy and Mafatlal played a significant role in that, from supplying the armed forces during wars to clothing generations of Indians, particularly through school uniforms,” says Mafatlal, the company’s managing director. He points out that while branding is a critical pillar of business today, back then it was word of mouth that decided scale and reach.

A family-owned enterprise now in its fifth generation, the company is named after its founder, Mafatlal Gagalbhai. More than a century later, his business instincts, vision and values continue to guide his successors.