Long before sustainability became a buzzword, there was linen. Woven into the wrappings of Egyptian mummies and, according to the Bible, laid around the body of Christ after the crucifixion, linen has clothed both royalty and ritual for millennia. Soft yet strong, it is spun not from oil or synthetics but from the resilient flax plant—requiring far less water than cotton and no chemical crutches.
“So, linen is one of the most sustainable textile products you can make for the world,” says William James Burgoyne Baird, chairman of WFB Baird & Company (India) Pvt Ltd, his voice grounded in both history and conviction.
That heritage stretches back to the early 20th century, when James’s great-grandfather, William Frederik Burgoyne, founded a linen mill in the small Northern Irish town of Lurgan with a simple vision: to craft the world’s finest linen. His descendants took that vision to heart. Today, Burgoyne is widely regarded as one of the finest linen producers globally, with world-class products emerging not only from Ireland and Poland but also from Kakkanad in Kerala.
Burgoyne established its first facility in India two decades back. James says the Nair family—who once owned the Leela brand and had investments in textiles—was instrumental in encouraging the Bairds to enter the Indian market.
“For a European business, entering India was a big cultural shift. We had to figure out the best way to approach it,” James recalls. “We ultimately decided to set up in the Cochin Special Economic Zone in Kakkanad. As an export-oriented company, that setup gave us certain tax benefits and reduced bureaucratic hurdles.”
“You need support when you take such a big step—a little help from your friends. And that’s exactly what we had in the Nair family. They have since exited the textile industry, but their support back then made all the difference.”
When Burgoyne first set up operations in India, they brought in European managers.
“But after a few years, we realised Indian managers were more than capable,” says James. “They understood the local culture far better and could handle things very effectively. That ability to translate between two worlds—European ideals and Indian realities—has been central to our growth and success.”
James refers to current CEO Suchitra Menon as a vital bridge between the European way of thinking and Indian practicalities. “As my son puts it, she spends 30 per cent of her time managing the owner—telling him, ‘that might work in Europe, but this is not how things are done in India,’” he quips.
Suchitra, meanwhile, adds that the company isn’t run purely in an Indian way. “There’s a really good balance—a blend of the family’s passion with our local way of working. That balance has evolved through long-standing relationships and mutual trust,” she explains.
Burgoyne also points to a unique cultural similarity between India and Ireland that has been core to their operations: the importance of family.
“Family matters in Ireland. Family matters in India,” he says, adding that for them, it’s not just about being in business—it’s about being part of an extended family across two cultures.
“If you ask me what I’ve learned over the years, I’d say it’s that family values in India are the rock, the core, the very constitution of this place. Never underestimate the power of Indian families. You’ll find love, loyalty, integrity—all of that stems from the Indian family unit,” he says.
To aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter textiles, James offers this advice: it's a business that evolves slowly over time. “If you want to make a quick fortune, I can assure you—textiles is not the way. But if you're in it for the long term, it’s one of the most wonderful industries to be in. It grows like a child—into a man, and then into an elder. That’s how a textile business matures,” he says.
That long view has shaped Burgoyne’s journey in India. James recalls that when the company first came to India, it operated purely as an export unit, primarily serving the American market.
“What we discovered along the way was that we could also start supplying linen over the counter here in India. Today, our Burgoyne brand is available in around 5,000 shop fronts across the country. Then we realised—hold on—there’s real demand for linen in India. But our factory in Kochi wasn’t big enough. So, we built another one in Tamil Nadu to meet domestic demand."
"Later, we saw that not everyone in India could afford pure linen—so we began developing linen-cotton blends, intimate blends, and other variations. These were well received in the Indian market. Eventually, we recognised the domestic demand for linen yarn itself and started a spinning plant. And now, we’re very happy with how that’s turned out. So yes—from little acorns, oak trees grow. That’s how we scaled.”
James’s son Joshua, director at WFB Baird & Company (India) Pvt Ltd, says linen is a powerful niche and the company is well-positioned thanks to the quality of its products. “Our job now is to build on that—continue looking after our customers, develop new and exciting products, and push innovation where it matters,” he says.
Like every other industry, AI is a buzzword in textiles too. “In our business, AI is already very useful on the administrative side—stock control, customer data, analysing ten years of purchasing behaviour in seconds,” says James. But as for placing robots on the factory floor—machines that automatically go to the back of a loom when it stops, tie it up, and restart it—that still feels like science fiction. “We’re not quite there yet,” he adds.
There are areas, like fabric inspection, where AI is expected to play a bigger role in the near future. “But manufacturing textiles—say, making a shirt from scratch using a robot—that’s still a long way off. I’m not saying it won’t happen, just that we don’t know yet,” says James. “Right now, AI is very effective in data analysis and spotting trends. But the problem is, these systems are logical—and the world we live in is not always logical. Machines can’t process stupidity or genius. They can’t invent or surprise. They can only do what they’re told. But it’s the extraordinary—the things that break the rules—that build great businesses and define the future.”