Page 23 - InTheLoop(Jan-Mar2020)

in the spotlight Denim at a Glance

Interview with Shahid Majeed, Plant Head Denim

Brief introduction of yourself
I am a Textile Engineer by profession and Plant Head at
Interloop Denim. With 20 years’ experience in the Textile
Industry, my key areas of focus have been denim and
non-denim manufacturing. Professionally, I have also been Interloop has entered the Denim Apparel Manufacturing latest automated lasers, Tonello Core & Up Technology,
associated with US Denim Mills, Crescent Bahuman and Segment and set up a production facility with minimal Triveneta Green Dryers, and Jeanologia Ozone
Crescent Textiles Mills Limited. Academically, I hold a environmental impact, prioritized worker well-being and Technology at the facility. Laser machines have been
bachelor’s degree in Textile Engineering with specialization maintaining high standards of operational and cost commissioned to replace manual processes for minimizing
in Textile Chemistry.
efficiency. The Plant started operations in Dec 2019, with the impact on workers and improving quality. Overhead
current production capacity of 500,000 pcs per month, to hanging systems have been put in place to ensure a Lean
What are the fundamentals of your work style? be enhanced to 1 million pcs per month by 2021. The plant manufacturing system. Built-in quality measures have
New challenges interest me and I accept them head on to has been designed in line with Lean concepts, will promote been put in place to minimize defects and rework. The
find end-to-end solutions. I believe that a well-trained team gender diversity and is expected to achieve a 50:50 male implementation of new and eco-friendly technologies will
leads you to performance excellence and impacts business to female ratio. The production facility has been focused on have favorable impacts both on our people and our planet
excellence, directly. My leadership role is to build and acquiring LEED Platinum Certification and will be the most and will enhance worker safety, boost productivity and
coach a skilled team that qualifies to produce smart future technologically advanced and sustainable Denim Apparel minimize the risk of work-related accidents or long term
leaders. production facility in this part of the world. illness.
How interesting has been your journey with The scope of operations includes Cut & Sew, Laundry and At Denim Plant, experienced and expert resources have
Packing & Accessories. Eco-friendly technologies are
been hired on senior positions to train a fresh workforce
Interloop? being used to replace aggressive processing agents and through PSDF (Punjab Skill Development Program). 70%
Very interesting! Breath-taking really! It had a great impact reduce water consumption. Installed auto-cutter for the of our workforce has been trained from scratch in a span of
on my professional career, as I experienced first-hand quality precision with minimum cutting wastages due to cut 4 to 16-weeks, depending upon the complexity of the
unique ways of operations, best practices of Lean and a on zero buffer. Also, installed automated back pockets in operation. Interloop Denim takes pride in its people who
build-in quality approach in the apparel industry. Garment stitching with an installed capacity of 720 sewing are young, talented and highly experienced in their fields.
manufacturing is a human resource intensive business machines, to reduce the dependencies on trained So far, the Facility has achieved its production and quality
compared to fabric. It also helped me in developing my operators. The laundry area is fully focused on targets and has also passed the audit of various top
human resource skills. sustainability, leading the way for the industry in Pakistan. brands and retailers including Inditex, Macy’s, Wunche,
To achieve our sustainability targets, we have installed the Takko, KIK.
Which personality has inspired you the most in
your life?
My mother has inspired me the most. She has taught me
self-belief and how to handle challenges, patiently.

How do you manage your work-life balance?
Build a strong team, do sound planning, set clear goals Where do you see the department in the next
and then delegate tasks, is my mantra to strike a work-life five years?
balance. If you have a strong team it saves you extra time A lot has changed due to the global pandemic crisis.
that you would have otherwise spent at the office. Initially we were looking forward to full throttle working in
the initial six months of 2020. We are now working on
revised strategies and are positive that we will work this
What has been the most incredible moment of around. My ultimate goal is to be one of the top 5 denim
your life? companies in Pakistan with 60k capacity/day within the
Becoming a textile engineer was an incredible thing to next 5 years.
happen in my life. While I was studying at University of
Engineering & Technology, Lahore, I appeared in the What advice would you like to give to your
admission test for National Textile University, Faisalabad, younger colleagues?
half-heartedly and despite being acutely prepared for it, I
got admission along with other 42 students. As I look back My two cents for my younger colleagues would be to stay
on my journey after becoming an accomplished textile focused and accept new challenges while working smart.
professional today, it still amazes me. Resilience is the key to success so give it your best shot!

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