Our Story
It all began two decades ago in 2004, when a nephew and uncle on opposite sides of the world, got entrepreneurial itches at the exact same time. Anand (27), a chartered cost accountant was just completing a financial management graduate scheme for the UK’s NHS in Liverpool and Ajeet (54) an Engineer who had a successful career and businesses within real estate, was seeking new business ventures.
Back in the early 2000’s, hospitals in the UK were switching over completely from traditional textiles to technical textiles for products such as masks, caps, shoe covers, gowns etc. Coincidentally, Anand was managing the financials for the OT department and identified a huge consumption of these disposables. Simultaneously, Ajeet researched the Mumbai hospitals and medical markets realizing a huge potential demand for these products and an absence of any manufacturers.
Destiny: Thea-Tex® An amalgamation of the words THEAtre and TEXtiles. On 30th April 2004, Thea-Tex Healthcare (India) Private Limited was registered at Mumbai Registrar of Companies, and the rest is history!
The Journey
Where do we begin? From securing the first bank loan after numerous rejections, to importing the machines and raw materials, to starting commercial production, to paying EMI’s and finding the first few customers, it certainly wasn’t plain sailing.
However, with persistence, grit and determination, the founders along with the support of the founding team of employees, we turned the corner and within two years of starting the company, stabilized, and commenced two decades of exponential growth.
Milestones
2004 – First set of four Taiwanese machines imported along with a container of nonwoven fabric
2007 – Additional machines imported.
2009 to 2011 – Major expansion due to global H1N1 outbreak enhancing machine count to double figures
2011-2019 – Period of consolidation and expansion into the export market, increasing the machine count to more than 35. In 2013, the company Thea-Tex® and product brand Filtra® both became registered trademarks.
2020-2023 – Exponential growth due to COVID, and key supplier to the Indian Government during the crisis. Machine count expanded to more than 50 fully automatic machines with installed daily capacity above 3 million Pieces. Thea-Tex® also houses a world class lab with surgical mask and respirator testing equipment worth above half a million USD. In 2023 the company secured its Medical Device License under the new Indian MDR, in addition to its existing certifications for ISO 13485, FDA Cosmetic License, Bureau of Indian standards, CE registration and numerous others.
2024 – Diversification into wet wipes and additional new product lines.
Our Values
Quality: This is the fundamental factor around which all values of the company are built. The founders come from a family of doctors & dentists, so the philosophy is that we make such high-quality products in India, that our family would use happily and be proud of!
Integrity: This is signified with the “i” in Filtra®. The culture of the company is that in all business dealings from the smallest transaction to the largest of transaction, that the company and the employees make decisions based on integrity. At times it may result in a lost order, Government tender or slower growth, but we will not compromise on the integrity and ethics of the company for short term wins. This is a critical reason, why the company is still going strong after two decades.
Our Team
Thea-Tex® is a family-owned company and for the
founders, the team is our extended family. Although, founded by the uncle and nephew duo of Anand & Ajeet, the credit is attributed to a small and loyal team including Varsha, Shravan, Durgesh, Mustafa, Yogesh, Mangesh, Deepak, Haresh and Gunjan, managing the company of over 100 employees.
