Family ties coupled with thirst for success made Design 2100 a handicraft icon it is today.

The epic tale of the Indian handicraft maker, Design 2100 Inc., dates back to 1996, when managing director Mr Salman Malik decided to follow his grandfather's footstep, and set up his own manufacturing company with partners Mr Bilal Ahmed and Mr Affef Ahed, exporting mainly metal aluminum items made in the humble town of Moradabad, India.

As years went by, Design 2100's specialties have gone beyond its renowned handicrafts made of different kinds of metal. A visit to the company's showroom will instantly give you a better idea as to what's hot and what's new at Design 2100. High-end textile furnishings is now the major product line for the company, while gifts, novelties, even shoes and purses can also be found in the making. As Mr Salman explained, "This business, being one run by the third generation in the family, means that it is time for us to further stretch our vision, and aim higher than ever."

To cope with such diverse production lines not only requires proper machinery, but the best professionals as well. "We currently have five manufacturing units operating in full-force, which are spread out around the country of India," Salman elaborated. Production capacity can reach to up to 2, 000 pieces per day, involving 110 dedicated workers. On the textile front, Design 2100 can produce up to 5, 000 cushions per day, thanks to the hard work of its 190 highly-skilled staff stationing at the textile factory. "As an attempt to save production costs, we have established a few units in other parts of India, where we can get our raw materials from," Salman said. One of the most important aspects of Salman's business is to design products with a stunningly attractive appearance. That is why Design 2100 invests much money on hiring only the best in the industry. There are currently three European designers and two Indian designers working for Design 2100, who are the geniuses behind every piece of exquisite product representing the company's label. These gifted designers gather at least twice a year to brainstorm product ideas, which will eventually help them develop imaginative designs for the company's new collections. The result? "Innovative, creative textile and metal products, coming from an exotic mix of cultures," Salman claimed, utterly proud of the various product styles Design 2100 is delivering.

Design 2100's international outlook has benefited the company a great deal in a sense that it has attracted customers from around the world, looking for products with different flavours. These customers come from the USA, France, Germany, Holland, Australia and UAE in the Middle East. "Having the opportunity to do business with these international customers has definitely given us much more exposure on a global scale," Salmon said, taking much pride in Design 2100's fast-expanding recognition gained from around the world over the years.

Having loyal support from customers who keep coming back is one thing, but staying on top in the world of business is a whole different ball game. How does Design 2100 do it? Salman spills the beans, "We try to make our items at the most reasonable price we can offer, since China is now our biggest competitor capable of making everything so irresistibly affordable." Also, since the company has a reputation for fabric manufacturing, it has learned to lower production cost by buying yarn with cash instead of credit, which allows them to get an even better deal from their suppliers. In addition to that, unique designs from Design 2100 are often copied by fellow competitors. What's a business owner going to do in order to protect his goods? "There is really not much we can do as a manufacturer, but we work to constantly keep creating ideas that can not be easily copied, made with materials that competitors cannot find anywhere else," Salman went on to explain his strategic tactics against this market pitfall.

Given the quality and class delivered by its textile and metal merchandises, Design 2100 feels an urge to share them with the world. This is why the company has always been a long-time exhibitor at important tradeshows held across the world, such as those in New Delhi, Hong Kong, London, Frankfurt, Madrid and Paris. As Salmon added, "We have booths set up at about five international fair annually, giving us the various exposure and opportunity to penetrate our brand, while helping us further expand our business network. We are also very interested in placing advertisements in trade magazines as a marketing tool to gain even more exposure. We aim at eventually making Design 2100 a household name around the world."

For an experienced manufacturer that seems to have done it all and seen it all, what else would be lying ahead for this Indian manufacturing icon? "Even though our products are constantly evolving and improving, the one thing that will not change is our determination to better ourselves day after day," Salmon said, summing up the principles that have made his business a success, "We will continue on creating brand new innovative ideas that will further upgrade our products at minimum costs. We are also very excited about our plans to open up our French and Arabian market by setting up offices in these regions for our customers to have easy access to us. Lastly, due to the ever-so-popular trend of online shopping, we are adding more features to our company website, in which customers can find out all about our quality products, as well as information about our company."

Interested to know how Design 2100 can make your life easier and better? Log on to www.design2100.com to find out more about this Indian supplier known for its metal-made items as well as exotic-flavored textiles for your home.

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