Warps & Wefts (previously known as Creation Baumann Middle East) catered to the entire fabric requirements of the Taj Palace Hotel.

Warps & Wefts was established in 1998 as a fully-owned subsidiary of Creation Baumann - Switzerland. Within this short span of four years, Warps & Wefts has grown by adding additional brands under its umbrella.

In addition to Creation Baumann, a Swiss manufacturer of high-end modern and contract fabrics, Warps & Wefts today represents Carnegie - US, manufacturer of high-end upholstery and contract-oriented technical products (designed specifically for airports, commercial centres and hospitals); Blome - Germany, manufacturer of designer curtain accessories; Decortex - Italy, editors of high-end classical fabrics; Donghia - US, editors of high-end contemporary fabrics and modern exclusive furniture and Marvic Textiles - UK, editors of high-end fabrics.

Warps and Wefts is the exclusive representative of these companies in the whole of Middle East focusing initially on the GCC countries. In addition to the above-mentioned brands, Warps & Wefts also represents few other companies like Stoeckel & Grimmler of Germany; Tessitura Walter of Italy; Shyam Ahuja of India and Alcantara of Italy in this market.

To reflect its extended portfolio of products and agencies, the company's name was recently changed from Creation Baumann Middle East to Warps & Wefts. The firm is currently in the process of moving to a larger office encompassing an area of approximately 2,000 sq ft, which is almost double the size of its existing premises. The new premises are to include an exclusive studio for the high-end fabrics and curtain accessories from the companies represented by the firm, meant specifically for the trade clients and professionals like architects and interior designers.

"For the Taj Palace Hotel, we were the exclusive suppliers for the high-end contract quality fabrics. These fabrics were procured not just from the companies represented by us but from 41 different companies and from 15 different countries worldwide," says Ajay Bikram Singh, architect/managing director of Warps & Wefts.

Singh continues: "In keeping with the very-high specifications demanded by the client and the operator of the hotel, we supplied a total of 161 different articles ranging from 1.5 to 4,000 linear m in length. The contract was worth $1.4 million wherein we supplied over 52,000 linear m of fabric for the project. Even now, as and when the client has additional requirements of fabrics, they come back to us.

"During execution of the project we split the package in two parts. We manufactured the fabrics whereever possible and procured the rest from other manufacturers/fabrics suppliers. Fabrics used on the project are high-end and of very-good quality. They will not fade, peel or get worn out easily and will look and feel as new even after years of use subject to proper maintenance.

"'Quality products at value-for-money price' is the company's motto. We do not lower our quality to secure projects but rather withdraw from projects wherein price is the only issue. We have been in the market since the past four years and this was our single largest and the most challenging job. The biggest challenge was to complete the entire job on time and as per the specifications. We are happy that we have been able complete the job on time and to the client's satisfaction. Today, there are many suppliers of fabrics in the market but we are among the top in the Middle East and this gives us a great deal of satisfaction and a sense of achievement.

"Our clientele includes interior designers, architects, interior contractors and private offices of the large corporate houses and the ruling families in the Middle East. We also distribute through various large and exclusive showrooms.

''We are not in the retail business and only sell to the trade. In terms of service, we lead the field and other companies aspire to come close to us. We respond to enquiries within 12 working hours and delivery is done within four working days from Switzerland. We believe we are essentially a service provider. We are a link between customers and the companies that we represent which are either large mills or editors."

Elaborating on Creation Baumann - Switzerland, Singh says that Creation Baumann's product range encompasses over 12,000 SKUs (stockkeeping units)/products: including sheer curtains, burnouts, heavier curtain fabrics, upholstery fabrics, textile Vertical blinds, special roller blind fabrics, laser-cut fabrics, heat absorbing and light resistant fabrics, and Jacob Schlaepfer designer fabrics from Houte Couture.

With more than 115 years of experience (established in 1886), the company is among the top three firms worldwide for contemporary designs.

Technologically, it is one of the most advanced mills in the world. It is among the very few companies worldwide which are capable of in-house designing, development, production, finishing and distribution. The company also the following in-house: yarn-spinning, dyeing, testing and all other finishings/treatments like flame-retardant treatment - permanent or nonpermanent, chintz treatment, paper-backing of fabrics for use as wallpapers, incontinence treatment, acrylic backing etc.

The company stocks over 1.2 million m of fabrics in its fully mechanised/robotised warehouse at the mill in Langenthal, Switzerland. Its quality management programme has been certified ISO 9001 since 1995 and ISO 14001 since 2000.

It is also an Oekotex label holder, that is, all fabrics are environmental-friendly. Great care is taken of the environment at all stages in the production process and the firm works only with tested and approved materials, he says. Creation Baumann has over 47 offices worldwide with 13 fully-owned subsidiaries. In other countries, the representatives and agents work on an exclusive basis. With its network of offices Creation Baumann covers over 86 countries.

"With facilities as detailed above, it is specially geared to handle custom projects and their requirements," he says.

Warps & Wefts has been associated as fabrics suppliers for many major hotels in the region such as Burj Al Arab, Le Meridian Jumeirah Beach, Le Meridian Mina Siyahi, Fairmont Plaza and Dusit Thani Hotel, in Dubai, the Officers Club accommodation (super deluxe five-star luxury hotel - 528 rooms), Intercontinental Hotel and Sands Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE; Sheraton Doha, Ritz Carlton Doha and Doha Marriott in Qatar and various other hotels in the GCC.