Vedprakash Chiripal started with 12 looms in 1972: here’s what came next

Vedprakash Chiripal set up a small textile operation in Ahmedabad in 1972 with just 12 power looms. Today that operation has grown into Chiripal Group, a diversified conglomerate with revenues exceeding ₹15,000 crore, a workforce of over 20,000 people, exports to more than 52 countries, and manufacturing units across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Jammu.

The Group’s growth was built in stages. It started in textiles — spinning, weaving, processing and fabric manufacturing — before diversifying into petrochemicals, packaging, speciality chemicals, infrastructure, education, renewable energy and biofuels. Nandan Denim and Vishal Fabrics now collectively run one of India’s largest integrated denim and fabric ecosystems, Nandan Terry has become one of the country’s foremost terry towel makers, and Chiripal Poly Films operates a packaging platform with 575,000 MTPA capacity serving more than 50 countries.

Vedprakash Chiripal has attributed the Group’s growth to a philosophy centred on integrity, quality and perseverance, with each expansion carried out through patient capital and disciplined execution rather than rapid, unplanned scale-up.

The Group’s community initiatives run alongside its business operations. An annual blood donation drive collects over 5,000 units a year and has facilitated 50,000 units in total to date. Through the Chiripal Mirchi Green Yodha initiative, the Group has planted 200,000 trees around Ahmedabad. For close to three decades, it has also organised food donation and health camps at Dakor that serve about 7 lakh devotees every year, and the Shanti Polytechnic Foundation has provided vocational training to 3,000 young men and women from rural communities.

A second generation is now leading newer parts of the business. Ronak Chiripal, an MBA graduate of Syracuse University, founded Nandan Terry Ltd. in 2016, growing it into one of India’s top five terry towel manufacturers within four years with a turnover of ₹1,600 crore. GREW Solar, another newer venture, already operates 6.5 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity and is expanding further in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by Fabrics for Freedom