Industrial visit to Amul Macho Factory, Agarpara

On the 21 st of February, 2019, the students of BBA (Hons.), Third Year batch, were taken for an Industrial Visit, organised by the Department Coordinator Dr. Tridib Sengupta, to the Amul Macho factory situated at Agarpara. The students were accompanied by class coordinator Prof. Jayjit Chakraborty and Mr. Nandadulal Jana, and had the golden opportunity to see not one, but two units of the factory on the same day.

Amul Macho is a well-known producer of inner garments in India, and is currently in tenth position in the industry. They have two units in Agarpara, West Bengal, where the men’s undergarments are stitched from scratch. The units each have a capacity to produce approximately 3.5 lakh pieces per day, with a direct employment of about 1000-1200 workers, consisting of both male and female.

The undergarments produced by Amul Macho to be sold in the markets are made from scratch through the inclusion of several processes on after another that give out the finished product in the best quality. A group of twenty students accompanied by the teachers started the trip at 1:00 pm in the afternoon, and reached the site at around 3:00 pm. Lunch and drinks were provided on the way. The staff of the factory welcomed the group warmly and proceeded to present the workings of the factory and provide a guided tour to the students. They were briefed about the various steps involved in the garment producing process.

The first process is known as Knitting, where the thread is knitted to produce the cloth that is to be used as raw materials in the next process. Several large machines spin the thread to be knitted into yard of white cloth. This clothes are then stored in lots of 200 kg each. These lots are then taken for inspection by men, who inspect the clothes thoroughly for any defects, stains, tear, etc. The inspected clothes are then taken to be dyed.

The next step is to dye the clothes in required colours. A weight of 50 kg of cloth can be dyed at a time. Therefore, the lots are dyed in a bunch of 50 kg, and then dried. There is a separate testing laboratory in the factory, where the quality, shrinkage of cloth, quality of colour, etc. are tested to provide only the safest and best quality materials to the consumers.The dyed clothes are again inspected by the women workers who check for any creases, tear, stain or defects. Then these clothes are sent to be cut in the required measurements in the cutting section. The factory uses machines made by MORGAN and GERBER and CAD software for the clothes to be cut to perfection.

In the next process, the cut pieces are assimilated together to be stitched in the shape of a complete inner wear. The elastics are cut into the required waist size to be attached to the clothes. After the stitching is done, the pieces of clothes come together to form a complete garment.

The stitched pieces are individually checked by the workers before being packed in boxes to be sent to the wholesellers as per the requirements and orders. The staffs and officers of the factory were very much welcoming and eager to share information and brief the students and the teachers about the procedures. The visit proved to be informative and interesting for the students as well as the teachers. The group of visitors was able to get a first-hand experience on the workings of a factory and learn the various scenarios and situations that the employees have to tackle in their workplace. Altogether, the visit to the Amul Macho factory in Agarpara was a remarkable experience.