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 Editorial
A boom for the
Indian textile industry
The recent Central Government’s approval of PLI Scheme for Rs.
10,682 Crore Financial Outlay for Textile Industry has become a
boom for the ailing Indian textile sector. Also, it is very heartening
to note that the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr.
Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduce the Production-
Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme to 10 key sectors, including Textiles
and Apparel Sectors for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing
Capabilities and Enhancing Exports – Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
The total approved financial outlay over a five-year period for 10
Sectors is Rs. 1,45,980 Crore and the approval for Textile Sector is
Rs. 10,683 Crore.
The PLI Scheme will be implemented by the concerned and has a share of 5% of global exports in textiles
ministries/departments and the final proposals will be appraised and apparel. The PLI scheme will attract large
by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and approved by the investment in the sector to further boost domestic
Cabinet. manufacturing, especially in the MMF segment and
Savings, if any, from one PLI Scheme of an approved sector technical textiles. The scheme will also make India
can be utilized to fund that of another approved sector by the more competitive compared to other nations.
Empowered Group of Secretaries. Any new sector for PLI will
require fresh approval of the Cabinet.
The PLI Scheme across 10 key specific sectors will make Indian
manufacturers globally competitive, attract investment in the
areas of core competency and cutting-edge technology; ensure
efficiencies; create economies of scale; enhance exports and make R. NATARAJAN
India an integral part of the global supply chain. Managing Editor & Publisher
The Indian textile industry is one of the largest in the world M: 9381062161 | E: [email protected]

Publishers N. Balasubramanian Chief Designer COIMBATORE

Gopali & Co., M: 9840597082 E. Marimuthu Mohan Raj, M: 9786954582
No.38/2, Quanta Zen Bldg., Thomas Rd., E: [email protected] Assistant Designer E: [email protected]
2nd Street, T.Nagar, Chennai - 600 017. Abhilash
Ph.: 24330979, 42024951 Copy Editor Member of
MUMBAI INS / AINEC / IFSMAN
E: [email protected] Huned Contractor
Editorial
Founder Online & Digital Media Published by R. Natarajan from and
M. Rajagopalan Ganesh Kalidas
Lakshmi Natarajan on behalf of Gopali & Co., Quanta Zen
Mentor M: 9790926388
E: lakshminatarajan@motorindia Apartments, No.38/2, Thomas Road,
Rajagopalan Kalidasan E: [email protected]
online.in 2nd Street, T.Nagar, Chennai-600017
Managing Editor & Publisher Marke�ng
R. Natarajan Rajeswari Prasad and Printed by B. Ashok Kumar at
R. Balasubramanian
(Res: 24343475 | M: 9381062161) E: [email protected] Rathna Offset Printers, 40, Peters
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The views presented herein are those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the editor. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, nor may it be printed, photocopied or stored on microfilm without the written permission of the publisher.

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 THE

TEXTILE MAGAZINE

Contents

18 22 28
TECHNICAL TEXTILES & MMF ITEMA India ITME Virtual Buyer Seller
to receive over Rs. 10000 Cr. strengthens presence in Meet, a global platform to bring back
package under PLI Scheme Egypt with new order momentum in the textile industry

INDUSTRY NEWS
24 ITF launches #IndiaforSure for sharing SURE stories
from the Indian textile industry
36 Bangladesh Textile & RMG Sectors receive
US $ 256 mn from global Green Climate Fund
WEAVING
42 Redesigning our future - The new WeftMaster
SFB from LOEPFE
46 LAMIFLEX growing their base in the Indian market

38
SUSTAINABILITY
26 U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol joins the Cotton 2040’s
platform and sustainability guide
MATEX
44 SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY: Strategy to drive suc-
leads the way to make industries
cess in post Covid scenario for the textile industry more independent

For Editorial and Advertising in

P R I N T | O N L I N E | D I G I TA L E D I T I O N
+91 9840897542 / 9790926388 | [email protected]

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 THE

TEXTILE MAGAZINE

Contents

46 54 66
LAMIFLEX Lot Size 1 - TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION:
growing their base in The wish to make it right MAHLO celebrates
the Indian market for all customers 75th Anniversary
SUSTAINABILITY
58 Accolades for Hayleys’ Waste Water Treatment
Process
108 Cables weighing tons guided by quickly mounted
igus energy chain
GLOBAL EXPANSION
32 ELGi North America opens new headquarters
SPINNING
34 Strategic partnership between Rieter and
WW Systems
110 Spin high-quality ring yarns economically and flexibly
TECHNICAL TEXTILES
50 Strategic Relocation of AVGOL’s SMMS and Additional
Meltblown Lines to India
70
APPOINTMENT
KPR MILL
52 The LYCRA Company appoints Rishi Suri as South Asia An Iconic Success Story

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 THE

TEXTILE MAGAZINE

Contents
Export Market Business Development Director
MAKE IN INDIA
60 Growing customer preference for KARL MAYER’s ISOWARP
Machines to be Made in India
TECHNOLOGY
64 Lenzing creates unprecedented supply chain traceability
114 Grundfos’ digital solutions supporting Textile Industry
102 APROL System from B & R enables factories to implement

106 energy monitoring, condition monitoring and process data

acquisition in one system
DANFOSS INDIA COVER STORY
to champion ‘Make in India, 70 KPR MILL: An Iconic Success Story
for India’

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 INDUSTRY NEWS

Technical Textiles
& MMF
to receive over
Rs. 10000 Cr. package
under PLI Scheme

A big step in making India ‘AatmaNirbhar’ or self-reliant has come in the form of
Production-Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) to 10 sunrise and labour-intensive sectors, in-
cluding the technical textiles and man-made fibre segments. The Union Cabinet under
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved to introduce the Scheme triggering a
positive market sentiment.

The announcement has at its core the idea to augment global exports. In the MMF segment, India’s share is low when
India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports. The Scheme compared to the global consumption pattern.
has put away Rs. 1.45 tn for the 10 ‘champion’ sectors incen- The PLI Scheme aims to fortify the two textile segments
tivizing them to attract investments, encourage domestic to pull investments in cutting-edge technology, enhance
manufacturing, pave the way for companies to become part efficiency, and create economies of scale besides enabling
of the global supply chain, and the biggest of all – to generate them to get on par with global competition.
employment opportunities. The Scheme facilitates the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhi-
Big Boost to Technical Textiles & MMF Segments yan vision to promote an efficient, equitable and resilient
The technical textiles and Man-Made Fibre (MMF) seg- manufacturing sector in the country. Growth in production
ments have received the financial outlay of Rs. 10683 cr for and exports of industrial goods will greatly expose the Indian
over a 5-year period. It will be implemented by the Ministry of industry to foreign competition and ideas, which will help in
Textiles within the overall financial limit prescribed. The final improving its capabilities to innovate further. It holds true for
proposals of the PLI will be appraised by the Expenditure the textile industry too.
Finance Committee (EFC). According to the official statement, promotion of the
The Indian textile industry is one of the world’s larg- manufacturing sector and creation of a conducive manu-
est producers of textiles and apparel. Owing to the COVID facturing ecosystem will not only enable integration with
times and necessities, India has become the second largest global supply chains but also establish backward linkages
manufacturer of PPE in the world. The domestic textiles with the MSME sector in the country. It will lead to overall
and apparel segments contribute 2% to India’s GDP, bring in growth in the economy and create huge employment op-
12% of export earnings and has approximately 5% share of portunities.

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 INDUSTRY NEWS

CITI
CITI Chairman T Rajkumar said, “PLI scheme is extended for 10 key specific sectors, of
which Textile is one of the sectors and has been allocated Rs 10,683 crore of the total
estimated outlay of Rs. 1.46 lakh crore, mainly for MMF and technical textile segment”.
He further said, “the objective of the scheme is to promote building of new facilities and
attract investment in the MMF sector under Greenfield and Brownfield investments”.
CITI Chairman said, “the Focused PLI Scheme has come at an appropriate time when
India’s GDP is on a recovering mode and a V shaped recovery is expected in many of the
sectors to bring the economy back on recovery track”.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------

SIMA
Mr. Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) stated that
though India could become a major player in cotton textiles and exports, India has been
lagging behind in the MMF textile trade due to expensive raw material and high tariff
barriers apart from cheaper imports from neighbouring countries.
Mr. Ashwin also mentioned, “The country has proved its capability by becoming the
second largest manufacturer of PPE within a period of two months and enable the
country to protect the people of the Nation and the world from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under these circumstances, the scheme would greatly benefit the industry to attract
huge investments and create jobs of millions of people. Around 40 HS lines in MMF gar-
ments and 10 HS lines in technical textiles account around US $ 180 billion global trade
and therefore, the scheme would encourage the industry to make investment in the manufacturing of these high
value added products.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEA
Shri. Raja. M. Shanmugham welcomed the subsidy support from Central Government
for two years in respect of new eligible employees engaged on or after 01.10.2020 and
crediting upfront in Aadhaar seeded EPFO Account (UAN) of eligible new employee,
contribution of both Employer and Employees, totaling 24% of wages in cases where
establishments are employing up to 1000 employees and 12% of EPF wages in the case
of employment provided more than 1000 employees. He noted that this will be largely
helpful to Tirupur Knitwear exporting units as more employment will be provided by
them in the coming days.
Shri. Raja. M. Shanmugham appreciated for extension of the existing Emergency Credit
Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS 1.0) till 31st March 2021 and also launching of ECLGS 2.0
benefitting to Standard Maintenance Account 0 (SMA 0) as on 29th February 2020, with credit outstanding of above
Rs. 50 crore and up to Rs. 500 Crore as on 29.2.2020.
Shri. Raja. M. Shanmugham welcomed the Production-Linked Incentives scheme and was hopeful that Tirupur
knitwear exporting units would utilize this opportunity, make investment, increase exports and provide more employ-
ment. w

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 WEAVING

ITEMA strengthens presence in

Egypt with new order
Itema has signed a contract with the Egyptian Cotton and Textile Industries Holding Company as a
follow-up to the supply of weaving machines for the first phase of the Egypt Army Textile Park in Rob-
biki. This will further strengthen the leadership position of the company in the Egyptian market
Itema, a worldwide leading provider of best-in-class
weaving solutions including weaving machines, OEM spare
parts and integrated services, has been chosen as the
weaving partner for the colossal modernisation program
of the public sector of the Egyptian textile industry. The pro-
gram, entrusted to the Cotton and Textile Industries Holding
Company (CTIHC) and supported directly by President Abd
El Fattah El Sisi and by the Minister of Public Enterprises
Hisham Tawfik, consists in setting up a state-of-the-art, fully
vertically integrated textile park encompassing spinning,
weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing, printing and confec-
tion, which will represent the largest regional sourcing hub
in the Mediterranean Region.
The project, worth approximately Euro 1 billion, will estab-
lish a new benchmark for the whole Egyptian textile industry
by increasing the competitiveness of the country. In fact, the Ugo Ghilardi, Itema Group CEO
never-before-seen project is going to upgrade the Egyptian
textile industry production capacity and will further unleash Egyptian Army and we look forward to seeing running live
the value of one of the country real treasures, cotton, world- the Itema looms in this new epic project. These bulk orders
wide known as ‘white gold’. The program was launched in make us feel proud and demonstrate to the textile industry
2019 and the first phase of the supply process was finalised that Itema is the ideal partner to maximise the return of
during ITMA Barcelona when the Cotton and Textile Indus- investment.” Itema is traditionally present in the Egyptian
tries Holding Company announced the pool of suppliers market where the Italian company has been providing
selected to execute the project, which included Itema. weaving machines for the production of a wide range of
In October 2020, during an official meeting with Dr. fabrics for a long time, from furnishing to denim and shirt-
Ahmed Moustafa, President, Cotton and Textile Industries ing, passing through apparel and bed sheeting.
Holding Company, Itema – along with its sole agent in Ferdinando De Micheli, Itema Group Sales Director,
Egypt, Fabtex Agencies and Trade represented by its owner commented, “Egypt is the cradle of the most precious
and CEO Eng. Kamal Abbas – signed a contract for the cotton in the world and the textile industry represents one
supply of 654 weaving machines that will operate in the of the most important sectors in the country. As Itema, we
production plants of Mehalla El Kubra, Kafr El Dawar and historically value this market. Just consider that in recent
Damietta. Commenting on the successful outcome for years we have supplied around 1,000 weaving machines
Itema, Ugo Ghilardi, Itema Group CEO, stated, “Itema is to the Egyptian private sector. We feature in our portfolio
honoured to be part of this historic project that represents all type of weavers, from the smaller artisanal companies
a real excellence centre not only for Egypt but for the whole to the largest worldwide renowned mills providing to all of
Mediterranean Region.” them the same excellent dedication. Now, with these impor-
“The Cotton and Textile Industries Holding Company will tant and colossal orders, we put our signature on projects
find in Itema a partner, and not a common supplier, who that are set to change the shape of the textile industry in the
will ensure the supply of the most advanced weaving tech- area.” The Cotton and Textile Industries Holding Company
nology and a full range of solutions and services to make modernisation program will be implemented in 2021 and
this project a real success. Actually, we recently celebrated 2022, when the weaving plants in Mehalla El Kubra, Kafr El
the opening of the textile park in Robbiki, where Itema Dawar and Damietta will be equipped with the 654 weav-
has been appointed as weaving machines’ supplier by the ing machines from Itema. w

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 INDUSTRY NEWS

ITF launches #IndiaforSure for sharing SURE

stories from the Indian textile industry
Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) has launched
hashtag #INDIAFORSURE on leading professional social
media platforms, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Insta-
gram.
‘SURE’ stands for Stable, sUstainable, Reliable and Ethi-
cal.
#INDIAFORSURE is a platform for textile entrepreneurs
across the value chain to share what they have achieved
through their exceptional leadership and focus on the areas
of SURE. This hashtag is an open invitation for all Indian
textile to come forward and share their stories that will be
an inspiration to others.
There will be a website as well as sharing of information
on all social media channels.
It may be recalled that earlier this year, on World Envi-
ronment Day, ITF had launched this initiative,’ India for
SURE’. This was the move forward towards a collective
blueprint for sustainability and the work is in progress. ITF
Prabhu Dhamodharan, Convenor, ITF

represents around 500 textile manufacturing companies

covering the entire value chain of Tamil Nadu textile in-
dustry including integrated, standalone spinning, weaving,
processing, home textiles and apparel companies.
The Indian textile and apparel industry is highly diversi-
fied, is a major contributor to India’s GDP and is also the
second largest employer in the country, providing direct
employment to 45 million people and 60 million people
in allied industries. The Indian textile industry has strengths
across the entire value chain from fibre, yarn, fabric, home
textiles to apparels.
Post Covid, fashion brands and international buyers are
showing great interest to focus on India as their preferred
destination to source fashion goods and its right time to
establish a platform to show our Indian textile manufactur-
ing capabilities with SURE as a base. Indian textile entre-
preneurs and clusters need a strong platform to connect
with global audience and this platform will help to connect
SMEs and brands.
The endeavor of this platform is to showcase the stories
of change that provides an opportunity of cross learning for
everyone in the industry.
“We already have stories pouring in from ITF members
and we appeal to the textile entrepreneurs across India to
share their unique journey and special achievements,” says
Mr.Prabhu Dhamodharan, Convenor, ITF.
ITF’s #INDIAFORSURE initiative is aligned towards Gov-
ernment of India initiatives such as “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”
to establish India as a most preferred destination for sourc-
ing manufactured goods like fashion. w

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 SUSTAINABILITY

U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol joins the Cotton 2040’s

platform and sustainability guide
Trust Protocol recognized for its verified farm-level data and constant improvement
as Cotton 2040 aims to encourage the use of sustainable cotton

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has been invited to join guide,” said Dr. Gary Adams, president of the U.S. Cot-
Cotton 2040. Convened by sustainability non-profit Forum ton Trust Protocol. “The Trust Protocol is a unique tool for
for the Future, the Cotton 2040 coalition is a unique part- brands and retailers, and we will continue to partner with
nership that brings together representatives from standards, them in their efforts to demonstrate progress toward sus-
producers, brands and retailers, and existing industry initia- tainability goals.”
tives specifically to build on and accelerate collective action “The apparel sector is under huge pressure to reduce its
to scale up and overcome barriers to sustainable cotton social and environmental impact, and increasing demand
uptake across multiple standards. for more sustainable fibres is key to securing future supply.
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is a new system for The CottonUP guide addresses a long-standing need in the
responsibly-grown cotton that provides annual data for six industry for clarity around cotton sourcing options, provid-
areas of sustainability aligned with the U.N. Sustainability ing brands and retailers with the resources to help them go
Goals. This year-over-year data, available for the first time, further, faster. It can be a key enabler for systemic change
allows brands and retailers to better measure progress in the industry, and could be a blueprint for other com-
towards meeting sustainability commitments. modities in the future,” said Sally Uren, CEO at Forum for
The Trust Protocol also will be included in Cotton 2040’s the Future. “’We’re happy to include the Trust Protocol as a
CottonUP guide, a toolkit to help sourcing directors make new sustainability standard.”
sustainable decisions. The CottonUP guide to sourcing Cotton 2040’s interactive CottonUp guide recognizes the
sustainable cotton seeks to address one of the main bar- U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol as a sustainable cotton standard
riers for companies looking to start sourcing or increase alongside BCI, CmiA, Fairtrade, myBMP, Organic and re-
the amount of sustainable cotton they source: the time and cycled cotton. The CottonUp toolkit is a compressive guide
resource required to research and implement the most to help stakeholders within the cotton sector to navigate
appropriate sourcing approach for their organisation’s sus- the complexity, and better understand the major sustain-
tainability priorities. The guide highlights the business case able cotton standards they could adopt, how they work,
and main sourcing options for sustainable cotton, provides and select the best options for their business. Facilitated by
guidance on creating a sourcing strategy and on working sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future, with fund-
with suppliers, and shares case studies from companies ing support from the Laudes Foundation, the Cotton 2040
that have already navigated the complex challenges of envisages a sustainable global cotton industry which is
sourcing more sustainable cotton. resilient in a changing climate; uses business models that
“We are pleased to see the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol support sustainable production and livelihoods, and where
recognized by Cotton 2040 and listed on their CottonUp sustainably-produced cotton is the norm. w

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 EVENTS

India ITME Virtual Buyer Seller Meet,

a global platform to bring back
momentum in the textile industry
AI based technology to connect buyers and sellers

“A good cotton crop for the season combined

with good markets for knits and woven goods
have sprung growth to the spinning industry
with a generally upward market trend. The
whole textile chain has seen a positive trend
month after month post lockdown.
- S.Harishankar, Chairman, India ITME Society

India ITME Society, a nonprofit apex industry body, has an-

nounced free Virtual Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) exclusively for India
ITME 2021 Exhibitors on 4th & 5th December 2020. Since the
flag ship textile machinery Exhibition “India ITME “scheduled in
December 2020 had been postponed to 8th – 13th December
2021, in lieu of this postponed business event this interim Virtual
Buyer Seller Meet is organized to bring back momentum to the
networking & revitalize customer connect from the comfort of
home / office. Meetings will be pre-fixed and both domestic and
overseas buyers are confirming their interest for this unique oppor-
tunity to interact in a structured manner on their areas of priority.
“India ITME is the flagship state of the art exhibition of INDIA
ITME Society that is conducted every 4 years. The Covid crisis
simply has brought all large gatherings to a stand still for the related restrictions,” he adds.
time being. The INDIA ITME exhibition has regrettably had to be Revival signs
postponed to December 2021 as a result of the current epidemic, Mr.Harishankar observed that despite the setback
“states Mr S.Harishankar, Chairman, India ITME Society. caused by the Covid pandemic, things seem to be
“Right now is the perfect opportunity for the India ITME Society getting back on track, for the textile industry. Ac-
to conduct this Virtual Global buyer/seller meet where we are able cording to him, the situation created by the global
to facilitate a platform for networking when the market activity is pandemic is a truly unique once in a century event,
strong; while at the same time face to face meetings is still pro- where in: there was a brutal slowdown to the whole
hibitive due to health and travel disruptions. Along with the virtual economic system created by the twin shock: where
Buyer/Seller meet, various technical seminars with eminent global both the production shut down and supply chain
visionaries have been planned. India ITME Society strives to con- disruption created a massive blow at the same time.
tinue to push forward to inculcate information to young minds who “However, as the saying goes “crisis is also an
are all craving for current/relevant information. Many technical opportunity”. It is remarkable that in just a short
institutions and formal learning has been impacted due to Covid span of time, market revival has taken place in the

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 EVENTS

textile sector. A good cotton crop for the season combined convenient time shall help everybody to be focused during
with good markets for knits and woven goods have sprung discussion and obtain optimum utilization of personal log-
growth to the spinning industry with a generally upward in time. “
market trend. The whole textile chain has seen a positive Going into the key reasons for textile companies to ex-
trend month after month post lockdown,” he points out. hibit their products in the meet and for industry profession-
Restrictions on travel and personal meetings with clients, als to visit the virtual show, the Chairman of the India ITME
has brought with it a unique set of challenges to textile Society pointed out that a time when live exhibitions cannot
companies, with respect to connecting with its customers. be conducted due to the logistical restrictions in place, this
However, Mr.Harishankar felt that companies have found out virtual platform is a great opportunity for companies to
ways to stay connected. “Globally, companies have learnt showcase their latest innovations and network virtually with
to work efficiently through online meetings and Confer- prospective clients across the globe.
ence calls and this is much the same for the textile / textile “There has never been a moment in time where technol-
machinery field. The pandemic has certainly taught us all ogy is as relevant simply because we’ve learnt to adapt and
the fine art of “time management” and the ability to utilise simplify the “networking” protocol,” Mr.Harishankar says.
technology effectively. Strict Covid protocol is being followed Learning initiatives
in the manufacturing arena by following the local state and Elaborating on how the India ITME Society adapted its
district jurisdiction guidelines. Sales or service calls by ma- activities post March lockdown period to fulfil its objec-
chinery/component manufacturers are also possible while tives and goals for the year, Mr.Harishankar reveals:” It is
ensuring strict social distancing guidelines. While it is still not my great satisfaction to share with readers that India ITME
possible to visit international clients face to face due to travel Society did not falter in its responsibilities even during the
restrictions, but, that’s where technology has really helped fill lockdown. Our secretariat adapted fast and team worked
the void,” he says on a positive note. from home. We conducted joint seminar with ITC on
AI based technology Business opportunity in Africa in the month of June 2020.
The buyer seller meet is for 2 days, with one day of Besides, under “Nurture the future” program ITME Society
technical seminar. The BSM will have 278 exhibitors from supported education and students by coordinating intern-
18 countries. So far visitor registrations have been received ship and placement for students with Industry. This activity
from 31 countries. The technical seminar is expecting an was coordinated successfully in May 2020 when students
audience of 1000+ for morning and afternoon session. were facing tough time in getting internship and place-
Both the programs are offered fully complementary by ment due to lockdown. ITME Society succeeded in getting
India ITME Society with the intent of extending support to international internship for students of VJTI providing an
industry in this year of the Covid crisis. opportunity for 3 students to work with International Trade
“We hope the virtual BSM event shall provide the much Centre-UN, Africa. “
needed platform for industry colleagues, business associ- “This activity was successful due to the much appreci-
ates, suppliers and customers to connect and interact creat- ated cooperation from Industry members who came
ing a stimulant and motivation for the upcoming new year,” together with goodwill and magnanimity to support our
Mr.Harishankar says, before adding :” We also made an next generation. The industry leaders and companies
effort to bring to table most recent topics of interest for which participated in this exercise are Mr. Aras & Mr Navin
technical lecture and panel discussion allowing maximum Agarwal - A.T.E, Mr Updeep Singh- Sutlej Textile Industries,
industry members to catch up on latest information since Mr. Harishankar-LCC, Mr Ketan Shanghai- Laxmi looms,
this year many training programs and workshops could not Mr. Ashok Juneja-TAI, Mr. Dipesh Shah- GIFT city, Dr.
be held. Sustainability is going to be key for growth in busi- Rajat Srivastava-EEPC, Mr. N.K.Brahmachari-Amritlakshmi
ness in coming years and efficient manufacturing strategies Machine works, Mr. Vikas Saran- Saurer Textile Solution,
while catering to varied customers is another brain storm- Mr. Avinash Mayekar- Suvin Advisors, Mr. Yogendra Vora-
ing topic for all textile manufacturers. “ Tecogis, Mr. Nitin Poddar- J. Sagar Associates, Ms. Pradnya
For the first time, India ITME is using AI based technology Ponkshe- MCCIA, Ms. Carolin Averback-ITC, Kenya. Apart
to help exhibitors and visitors connect on a virtual platform. from coordinating the internship drive, India ITME Society
Explaining how this works, Mr.Harishankar mentions:” AI also accepted two VJTI students for internship and intend
match making was offered to ITME BSM participants to to continue the tradition in future as well,” he said while
ensure convenience and efficient virtual event and maxi- highlighting some of the initiatives of the society during the
mum exposure to every participant within his/her log-in recent past.
time frame. In a virtual event, where members are connect- Mr. Harishankar felt that for the robust future of the
ing over from homes or workplace, a well informed and textile industry, strong education, exposure to latest technol-
planned itinerary shall increase efficiency of interactions as ogy, and learning experience are all absolute necessity. He
well reduce online fatigue. What we offer participants are, added that through its various events and programs, the
meeting recommendations based on their profile, busi- India ITME Society shall continue to diligently execute its re-
ness interest and objective of attending ITME BSM using AI sponsibilities in supporting all round growth and success of
based on the information from registration form submit- textile and textile engineering industry of our great nation in
ted by them. A matched itinerary with option to select your all possible ways. w

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 GLOBAL EXPANSION

ELGi North America opens new

headquarters
Employees in attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrate the new location and rein-
forcement of ELGi’s presence in North Carolina
Elgi Equipments Limited, one of the world’s leading air
compressor manufacturers, inaugurated the company’s
new, expanded North American headquarters, located in
Charlotte, NC.
The event that held last Friday, November 20th was
attended by ELGi employees and included speeches by
David Puck, President, ELGi North America and, Dr. Jairam
Varadaraj, Managing Director, Elgi Equipments Ltd. Puck
and Dr. Varadaraj cut the ribbon to officially mark the busi-
ness’s relocation from Continental Blvd. to a larger space
on Entrance Drive.
“2020 has been a year of change for so many compa-
nies. For ELGi, our forward momentum has never wavered
and it meant spending time relocating to a facility that
would allow us to further expand our air compressor busi-
ness and create additional jobs in the community,” said
David Puck, President, ELGi North America.
“ELGi has worked diligently to be at this juncture, requir- Dr. Jairam Varadaraj, Managing Director, Elgi Equipments Ltd.
ing more facility and manufacturing space, even in the light
of business effects the pandemic has brought to the coun- pressors and centrifugal compressors to dryers, filters, and
try. We are excited to be here, on the cusp of ELGi’s 60th downstream accessories. With state of the art manufactur-
anniversary moving into a large, expanded space where ing units and a product portfolio of 400+ compressed air
we can further facilitate the manufacture and delivery of air systems, ELGi redefines reliability, efficiency, and cost-effec-
compressors,” said Dr. Jairam Varadaraj, Managing Direc- tiveness across 2+ million installations globally. In 2019,
tor, Elgi Equipments Ltd. ELGi won the Deming Award for excellence in Total Quality
A pioneer in cutting edge compressed air technology Management, becoming the first global air-compressor
with presence across 120+ countries, ELGi offers custom- manufacturer, to have won the prestigious award in over
ers across the world a complete range of compressed sixty years.
air solutions from oil-lubricated and oil-free rotary screw w
compressors, oil-lubricated and oil-free reciprocating com-

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 SPINNING

Strategic partnership between

Rieter and WW Systems

The Rieter Group has concluded a license agreement that are being prepared for the spinning process. In this
way, standardized quality yarn can be produced efficiently
with WW systems on November 5, 2020 and will inte- in the spinning process. From the arrival of the bales in
grate the Brazilian company’s promising product into the warehouse to their use in the blowroom line, “OptCot-
ton” manages the entire blending process with no need for
its digital spinning suite ESSENTIAL. “OptCotton”from categorization. This results in increased efficiency in storage
WW System offers the only software system worldwide and logistics, as well as machine performance.
Integration into the digital spinning suite ESSENTIAL
that enables an even blend of cotton for the spinning By integrating this solution, Rieter strengthens its digital
process. With this cooperation, Rieter is taking an spinning suite ESSENTIAL. Access to bale-related fiber data
and raw material information opens up new possibilities
important step forward in implementing its digital for controlling the spinning mill. In combination with the
strategy and offering its customers further added existing modules ESSENTIALbasic, ESSENTIALmonitor, ES-
SENTIALmaintain and ESSENTIALpredict, this optimizes the
value in yarn production. entire spinning process and raises digital intelligence to a
Unlike any other system in the market today, “OptCot- new level.
ton” eliminates variations in quality between cotton blends w

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 INDUSTRY NEWS

Bangladesh Textile & RMG Sectors receive

US $ 256 mn from global Green Climate Fund
Global Green Climate Fund (GCF) has granted aid worth US $ 256 mn to the
textile and readymade garment (RMG) sectors in Bangladesh. The aim is to encourage
private sector investment in ushering in energy enhancing technologies and equip-
ment in the two segments.
In their 27th board, the GCF has approved over US $ 1 bn in total to release to the
developing countries to usher in and encourage low emission, and climate resilient
development. The meeting also adopted the Updated Strategic Plan for the GCF
2020-23.
Of the total 16 projects that were awarded the funds, Bangladesh was one of the
few other countries. Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) is the
direct access entity (DAE) of the GCF and will receive the funds as concessional loan
for a tenure of 20 years.
Dr. Rubana Haq, President, BGMEA
Fatima Yasmin – Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance says:
“IDCOL can be a national role model for developing climate change responsive com- The textile and the RMG segments
mercial projects in the country.” account for roughly 38% of the total
Dr. Rubana Haq – President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Asso- energy consumption in the industrial
ciation (BGMEA) congratulates: “Access to such concessional financing, and adoption sector of Bangladesh.
of energy efficient equipment will make it affordable for the businessmen to do busi- According to IDCOL, US $ 100 mn
ness and will further strengthen the competitive edge of Bangladesh RMG sector.” out of the total amount will finance en-
Abdullah Al Mamun – VP, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) feels: “The ergy efficiency projects in the textile sec-
approval of the fund will accelerate industrial growth on the sustainable path.” tor and US $ 150 mn will get to finance
Mahmood Malik – Executive Director & CEO, IDCOL Bangladesh states: “This fund- the same kind of projects but in the
ing allows us to fulfill our SDGs. It is a remarkable success for Idcol.” RMG segment. w

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 EXCLUSIVE

MATEX
leads the way to make industries
more independent

M atex is a company
that deals in a
wide array of textile and
machinery solutions for
clients. The company
acts as a bridge between
international resources
and Indian clients. In
this interview, Raghav
Agarwalla, Managing
Director, Matex, talks
about the philosophy
behind the formation of
the company, his plans,
and more

Raghav Agarwalla, Managing Director of Matex

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 EXCLUSIVE

A business journey can at times be a fascinating one, as

has been in the case of Matex which was established 40
years ago by Raghav Agarwalla’s father Anand Agarwalla
and his uncle Brij Bindal. When Matex started its opera-
tions in the Eighties, the primary focus of the founders was
to provide the best in machinery from all over the world to
their clients all over India. Japan and Europe were a few
of the countries with whom Matex started working during
the initial stage. The company managed to bring in es-
teemed principals such as Toyota, Nissan and Marubeni.
In that sense, Matex has dealt in a variety of plant projects
and textile machineries right from its early days.
According to Raghav Agarwalla, Managing Director,
Matex, during that time all that the foreign industries were
looking for was potential long-term partners in India.
The wish of the foreign giants was to collaborate with
trustworthy Indian partners who were capable enough to
represent their brand in the country. Moreover, the foreign
clients wanted partners who would not only understand
their products but their philosophy too. For example, when
it is dealing with a company such as Toyota, Matex makes
sure that the Indian partner speaks in a local language
that the people here understand. However, the concept of
selling, backup and more should maintain the Japanese
touch.
In this context, Agarwalla says that there are times when
the philosophies of the principal and Matex do not match.
In that case, they refrain from going into any type of tie-
up with such organisations. ‘It is essential to mention that
there is no fault of the country in these cases because it
is just a clash of philosophies. Matex has always kept its
primary focus on the quality of products irrespective of
whether they are from Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Germany,
Spain or others,” he says.
Right Leadership
Presently, Agarwalla is taking the legacy of his prede-
cessors forward. He has already been in the business
for a decade and hopes to see Matex at the top shortly.
Agarwalla is 35-years old with a clear focus and excel-
lent understanding of the industry. He is a mechanical
engineer and an MBA in Marketing. Moreover, his work
experience with Curtiss Wright (USA) helps him identify
new opportunities in the textile and machinery field with a
more nuanced eye.
Brilliant Portfolio
For the past four decades, Matex has only become bet-
ter at what it does. The primary focus of Matex right now
is the textile industry, especially the weaving, spinning and
processing segments. However, now the spinning wing of
the company has become smaller with India becoming
more independent in the manufacturing department. Due
to the increasing demand of the market, Matex is now
also focusing on air-jet technology and machinery. It is a
comparatively large sector in India. Moreover, there is a

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 EXCLUSIVE

lot of scope in this industry to evolve, modify and change. These are all Italian brands along with which there is a
Besides, for all the principal companies, Matex has never Turkish partner, Ides Makina, another contributor in the
had a focus on sales only. Instead, it is a healthy combi- soft flow dyeing sector. The top Indian clients of Matex in
nation of sales along with all the after-sales services. India include Shahi Exports, Vardhaman Group, Siyaram
Moreover, Matex believes in maintaining a long-term Silk Mills, Trident Textiles, LNJ Group, Pee Vee Textiles,
relationship with all its clients. In this context, Agarwalla Nahar and Oswal, Alok Industries and Himatsingka Seide
says, “The textile industry is a sector where there is no Ltd., amongst several others. Altogether, including the
one-time order. You have to connect with the customer accessories, 25-30 companies are part of the business
for long periods because they would come back to you portfolio of Matex. In the course of the interview, Agar-
for service.” And the fact that some machines run all the walla mentions that dealing in yarns or garments is still
time makes them prone to technical issues at times. These not a part of their portfolio. However, there are plans to
are times when the customer requires a certain level of diversify in the future.
expertise and providing after-sales service is, therefore, Achievements and Future Goals
a primary part of the portfolio of Matex. Toyota’s air-jet As Agarwalla puts it, “For us more than getting an
looms are manufactured 100% in Japan, which is also award is when a principal wants to stick with you for four
one of the primary long-term associates of Matex. decades. It means that there is something right about the
A few of the other principals of the company include company and the philosophy which we follow. Along with
Todo Seisakusho (Japan) that deals in knotting machine, that, customers rewarding us with repeat orders what we
leasing machine and material handling equipment. strive for.” According to him, happy clients and goodwill is
Another Japan-based giant that has a tie-up with Matex the reward that Matex works for. When it comes to plans,
is Zuiko. This company is into manufacturing machines apart from participating in the ITME exhibition in Decem-
for producing sanitary napkins, baby and adult diapers ber 2021, Matex is planning to expand its base across
and face masks. Last but not least, there is Shima Sheiki different regions of India.
(Japan) for the fantastic Apex-T design system to support Agarwalla is proud that Matex is a part of the ‘Make in
the customers’ fabric designing department as well as the India’ movement and is setting examples for several other
weaving department in tandem. In Europe, the company’s organisations. His vision for the company is to be the first
principals include Cubotex for hank, yarn, fibre, tow, top choice of clients in the field of textile machinery and tech-
and pantyhose dyeing; Alea for hot air dryers suitable nology in the coming five years. Besides, diversifying in
for fibre, tow and hanks; Testa for packing automation the existing sectors is, of course, a priority, and Agarwalla
and inspection; and Macchine Caru for textile finishing believes that there is a lot of potential in the country for
systems. growth and development. w

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 WEAVING

Redesigning our future -

The new WeftMaster
SFB from LOEPFE
Have you ever wondered how your parcels arrive safely? We know the
answer! E-commerce has gained ground worldwide and – it’s here to stay.
Warehouses and trucks are working hard to ensure that a whole variety of
goods are not only available for customers, but also that they are shipped
in the fastest possible way. In this hectic online shopping world, tarpaulins
are all around us.
Protecting goods from adverse weather and other factors helps to ensure
satisfied end-customers. Loepfe’s WeftMaster SFB-L yarn brake is the per-
fect system for producing these coated technical fabrics on projectile and By using the WeftMaster SFB electronic
rapier looms in the most economical way. weft thread brake, the number of weft
The WeftMaster SFB weft brake has been in use on projectile and rapier breaks can be reduced by at least 50%. Its
weaving machines worldwide for many years. Since its foundation in use pays off for the weaving mills within a
1955, Loepfe has been a reliable, expert partner to the weaving industry. very short time and significantly improves
Loepfe remains totally committed to the further development of its various the quality of the fabric. Every weft break is
weaving products. For instance, the control electronics for the SFB weft a potential source of error (including start-
brake were recently redesigned for the future. The new electronics can now up faults, the formation of stripes, etc.).
control 4 brakes instead of the previous 3, which saves space and simpli- The WeftMaster SFB weft brake is in
fies the brake deceleration setting. In addition, the inputs are now also use for the production of:
galvanically isolated. • Tarpaulin fabrics for trucks, advertise-
Projectile looms are designed for the production of a wide variety of ments, agriculture and architecture
fabrics and are considered to be space-saving, especially when producing • Filter fabric, e.t. for water filtration or also
heavy fabrics. Thus applications are almost endless, especially in the field paper production
of technical textiles. The focus is always on the high quality requirements of • Geotextiles
the various end-products. Especially when yarns with low tensile strength • Screen prints
are used, weft tension is a decisive parameter. Too much stretching can • Canvas
lead to uneven fabrics or in the worst case, to weft thread brakes, which • Conveyor belts, straps
lead to expensive machine stoppages. Therefore, a constant, even weft • Blood filters
thread is essential for all yarn types. • Microphone filters for mobile phones
• Speaker filters for mobile phones
• Carbon fiber fabrics for auto parts
• Carpet backing
• Bigbags
• Potato bag fabrics
• Silk fabrics for underwear
• Wool fabrics for suits
The requirements of the different fab-
rics are highly varied and weaving mills
often depend on individual solutions. In
this awareness, Loepfe offers its customers
suitable solutions for all types of projectile
and rapier weaving machines. Further-
more weaving mills can always count on
the straightforward and quick assistance of
Loepfe experts. w

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 SUSTAINABILITY

SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY

Strategy to drive success in post Covid
scenario for the textile industry
On 3rd December, a day prior to BSM, India ITME is organising a Virtual
Technical Seminar which is expected to be attended by over 1000 industry
from across the world. The topic is Safety and Sustainability - Strategy to
drive success in post Covid scenario for the textile industry. The webinar will
be moderated by Dr. Christian Schindler, Director General, International
Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF).
An impressive array of speakers will be deliberating on the topic on the
occasion. The speakers in the panel include Mr. Uday Gill, CEO, Fibres,
Indorama Ventures, Mr. Manohar Samuel, Advisor - Sustainability, Grasim
Industries, Aditya Birla Group, Mr. Karun Tyagi, Vice President, Proklean
and Mr. Anuj Bhagwati, Head, A.T.E. Group.
We caught up with Dr. Schindler for an exclusive chat during which he
gave an insight into the relevance of the topic in the present scenario, the
road ahead for the textile industry and the key takeaways for the participants.
Here are the edited excerpts.
Sharing his views on the importance of safety and sustainability for the
textile industry, Dr. Schindler pointed out that safety is indeed an aspect that Dr. Christian Schindler, ITMF Director General
has become very important since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Elaborating why it is so he says: “While initially this aspect was limited climate change is a global challenge which
to masks and PPE, health and safety aspects will play a more important the textile industry must face head on.
role in the future. The pandemic is therefore not only a challenge to textile “Innovation across all segments of the
companies but is also offering new possibilities. This demonstrates that value chain are necessary. Whatever will
functional aspects of textiles will play a more important role in the future. be produced in the future must also meet
Textiles that provide additional value and benefits offer new possibilities sustainable aspects whether this relates to
whether as medical textiles, functional textiles, geotextiles, transportation the type of sustainable energy is used, the
textiles, home textiles, etc. With the advancement of incorporating functions amount of pollution that is caused, the type
in textiles through finishes or mechanically, like for example, measuring of fibre that is used, the way products can
temperatures, pressures, humidity, etc. textiles will find new applications. be recycled, etc. Consumers and govern-
This will require textile companies to work together with traditional up- and ments across the globe are increasing the
down-stream partners in the textile value chain but also with new partners pressure on manufacturers to produce
from chemical, electronic or IT-companies.” sustainably. Adapting today is a necessity.
As the Director General of ITMF, which is an organisation of global textile Realizing that meeting these requirements is
manufacturers, how is the association and member companies handling not a burden but offers cost reduction and
the challenge of providing consumers safe and sustainable textiles? new products is key,” he adds.
Highlighting the steps that have been taken Dr.Schindler reveals: “At the Dr.Schindler observed that participants
beginning of the pandemic the focus was on providing enough quantity of in the seminar had a lot to gain, since they
essential safety and health products like masks and PPE. The suppliers of will be listening to a very knowledgeable
such products were concentrated heavily in China. Fortunately, these sup- team of speakers in the panel discussion.
pliers were able to ramp up production and to meet the enormous demand “The speakers will shed light on the fu-
around the world. The 5th ITMF-Corona Survey revealed that around 35% ture of the textile industry post-Covid. From
of textile companies started from scratch producing either input material different perspectives, they will be able to
and/or finished medical textiles. In other words, many companies saw the highlight on-going development and efforts
demand and adapted quickly. Since this demand is going to stay for the to meet the demand of the future. Fibre,
foreseeable future, companies will continue to serve this market. Beyond textile, textile machinery and other produc-
increasing capacities of these essential products in the region, they are also ers within the textile value chain are sharing
developing products that offer certain functions.” their perspective on how the long-term
Way forward for the textile industry trends will impact the textile industry and
Dr.Schindler feels that sustainability is another aspect that is and will what this means for the future of textile pro-
remain an integral part of the discussion going forward, while adding that duction,” he says in conclusion. w

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 WEAVING

LAMIFLEX growing its

base in the Indian market
L amiflex, founded in 1976, is
a leading global provider of
advanced composite materials
solutions. Part of Itema Group since
2017, Lamiflex is engaged in further
boosting a longstanding tradition of
excellence in its sectors, leveraging on
the new synergies derived from the
cooperation between the two compa-
nies. Lamiflex’s Sales Director Davide
Carrara provides insights into their
glorious journey so far and also shares
details about their growing dominance
in India
The core business of Lamiflex focuses on
key components for rapier weaving machin-
ery such as flexible rapier tapes and sprocket
wheels and that is also what they started with.
Lamiflex was born as a textile mill in the Seri-
ana Valley, worldwide famous as the cradle of
the Italian textile industry. It was established by
Davide Carrara’s mother Luigina Bernini and
Luigi Castelli. To increase the company’s pro-
ductivity, the Italian company chose to invest
in rapier looms, but had to face a technical
problem: the nylon rapier tapes melted easily
when the looms were running at high speeds.
And that’s how everything started. Luigina and
Luigi, interestingly, introduced the first com-
posite tape that, thanks to a cotton structure
combined with phenolic resin, was able to
bear the highest speed with no risks.
Entrepreneurial Journey
Davide Carrara, Lamiflex’s Sales Director The entrepreneurial vision of the two mill
owners, fully aware of the potential of the

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 WEAVING

“I have to say that even if India is traditionally

a market with more air-jet machines, our prod-
ucts have always garnered a lot of interest and
we have a lot of loyal customers in this region.
– Carrara

the innovative approach of Lamiflex

combined with the solidity, strategic
mindset and the dedication to innovation of
Itema Group provide both companies with the
opportunity to become more competitive together,
guaranteeing an enhanced value that is unmatched
elsewhere in the market owing to the optimisation of the
processes and improvement of product performance.
Today, Lamiflex is worldwide famous for its flexible rapier
tapes and accessories, including sprocket wheels, tapes
openers, grippers and supports.
emerging market of composite products, completely Scope in India
revolutionised the rapier weaving machinery world forever, Lamiflex has a strong presence in traditional rapier
taking Lamiflex to the pinnacle of the textile industry today markets such as China, Turkey, India and Italy and Europe.
with a turnover of more than Euro 20 million per year, Says Carrara: “I have to say that even if India is traditional-
more than 100 employees in Italy and Hong Kong, and ly a market with more air-jet machines, our products have
a global network of distributors. But Lamiflex did not stop always garnered a lot of interest and we have a lot of loyal
there. Over the past few years, the Italian company, based customers in this region.” What allows Lamiflex’s products
in Ponte Nossa, has diversified into different sectors, taking to truly stand out is its deep and wide know-how on com-
advantage of the technical know-how on composite prod- posite products and related manufacturing technologies.
ucts acquired over these 40 years.
Collaborative Effort
Lamiflex boasts of the widest technological in-house
availability on the market, from pultrusion and
pullwinding to wrapping, RTM and many oth-
ers. In 2017, the company joined Itema Group
to maximise market efficiency and competitive
strength. Together, the two Italian companies
work on a co-engineering platform to develop
innovative solutions to make the lives of the weav-
ers easier and to help them get the most out of their
looms. Itema Group and Lamiflex aim to jointly develop
and produce highly innovative and high-tech solutions, not
only for the textile machinery industry but also for a wider
range of industries.
The long-term vision, the forward-thinking mission and

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 WEAVING

“We have been working in this field for over 40 years and With Lamiflex based in North Italy, and in particular in
we feature the widest range of manufacturing technologies the province of Bergamo which was highly affected by the
available on the market. We guarantee our customers the corona virus outbreak, the company had to close for some
best quality thanks to the highest standards of ‘Made in weeks as required by the Italian government in order to
Italy’ products,” Carrara states. prevent the virus from spreading further. “When we had
“And thanks to our global network of agents and the authorisation to restart our activities we implemented
distributors we can satisfy customers in any corner of the the same stringent safety protocols introduced within all
world. Moreover, the experience gained by working in such the Itema Group companies with the aim of protecting the
diverse markets is a key advantage to develop tailor-made health of our employees and their families. Despite the dif-
solutions according to our customers’ needs. Beside this, ficult situation across Europe, we attracted good response
the internalisation of the production processes and re- from many of its countries,” Carrara informs.
search and development, along with a globally widespread “Unluckily, the second wave is still hitting hard many
network of distributors, makes it possible to have short lead of our strategic markets, but we are working to find new
time to satisfy every request in a fast and reliable way,” he ways to reach our customers and to make them feel sup-
adds. Carrara envisions huge scope of growth in the Indian ported even if we cannot be physically close to them. We
market on account of the fact that an increasing number of want them to be sure that we are always ready to respond
Indian mills are investing in new factories. Records sug- to their needs,” he adds. Carrara strongly hopes that the
gest great sales of high-speed looms such as the bestseller second half of 2021 will be characterised by an improve-
rapier machine from Itema – R9500 – and its second ment in the overall global situation and that the company
generation – R9500-2. will emerge stronger and with new competence developed
Post Pandemic Possibilities of Growth in managing this unpredictable and never-seen-before
Lamiflex participated in ITMA 2019 Textile and Gar- situation.
ment Technology Exhibition. The exhibition was a success “Regarding the Indian market, we see a very big oppor-
and generated leads and important new contacts for the tunity. We need to develop fresh approaches and strategies
company thanks also to the synergies with Itema Group. to adapt to the new scenario derived from the pandemic.
At the trade fair, Lamiflex launched with Itema Group the We will do all the needful to continue to support the growth
iBOOSTER. Developed for weavers who want to work of Indian textile sector and to always keep as a priority
extremely fast, the package literally boosts a machine’s the requirements of our customers in India as well as all
performance without compromising reliability. Thanks to a over the world,” he adds. And while textile components
deep material study made by Itemalab® in close coopera- for rapier weaving machinery will continue to be a priority,
tion with Lamiflex, Itema Group and Lamiflex succeeded Carrara says that other areas and sectors will be explored
in developing new reinforced tapes, sprocket wheels and too, including composite solutions for medical applications
micro smart coolers to ensure extended lifetime. and aerospace. w

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 TECHNICAL TEXTILES

Strategic Relocation of AVGOL’s

SMMS and Additional Meltblown
Lines to India
In a strategic investment Increasing Demand
move, the global leader in non- The demand currently stands
woven fabric, Avgol, increases at 165% as against the local
its capacity in South Asia by supply capacity, according
relocating its SMMS and an to Rachim. He attributes the
additional meltblown lines to relocation to the projections
India. The Israeli company is that show regional organic
part of Indorama Ventures growth, improved promotion on
Limited and leads the global feminine health and increased
hygiene market with the most awareness of hygiene owing to
comprehensive range of the COVID pandemic.
ultra-lightweight spun-melt The hygiene segment,
nonwoven fabrics. including baby diapers, adult
Currently, the relocation of incontinence and feminine
the 5 production lines from hygiene products, is one where
Barkan, Israel is underway locally ‘the demand is only go-
with the expected deadline for ing to go up’.
completion of the installation The investment in the new
set for the end of 2021. production capacity in India
Speaking about the move, “This is part of our company’s commit- is a step in the direction of
Shachar Rachim, CEO – ment to continue increasing our presence supporting Avgol’s product
Avgol says: “This is part of and services across India and South Asia. development efforts under the
our company ’s commit- company’s Forward Innovative
This establishes our facility right at the
ment to continue increasing Thinking (FIT™) strategy. The
our presence and services
heart of the local market. There is a huge
company consistently invests
across India and South Asia. demand locally for hygiene products in In- in its R&D to continue to create
This establishes our facil- dia and across the South Asian region but value, flexibility, sustainability
ity right at the heart of the going by the massive tariffs on imports, and reliability for brands and
local market. There is a huge manufacturers.
this move works positively for us.
demand locally for hygiene With this relocation, Avgol
products in India and across – Shachar Rachim, CEO – Avgol aims to increase nonwoven
the South Asian region but fabric production and be in a
going by the massive tariffs strategic location to serve the
on imports, this move works increasing needs of the Indian
positively for us.” subcontinent in the future. w

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 APPOINTMENT

The LYCRA Company appoints Rishi Suri as South

Asia Export Market Business Development Director
The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing innovative fibres
and technology solutions for the apparel industry, has appointed Rishi Suri
as Business Development Director for South Asia Export Market, a new
position created to strengthen the company’s presence in the region.
As Business Development Director, Rishi will focus on value chain
management across South Asia, especially India, as it is a focal point for
The LYCRA Company’s global downstream organization and South Asian
mills. Facilitating business activity between the South Asia, EMEA, and U.S.
teams, he will be responsible for helping to drive increased downstream
brand specification while also focused on generating topline fibre sale
growth.
Rishi has over 20-year working experience in multinational organiza-
tions, Indian corporations, family- owned businesses and start-ups that
operate across the global apparel/textile value chain. He has broad expe-
rience in Greenfield projects, team building, market development and in-
novation commercialization. Rishi joined The LYCRA Company in 2009 as
Regional Business Head - South Asia where he was responsible for topline
growth. In 2015, he moved to a global ready-to-wear market segment cant export business opportunities given his
role and drove fabric technology innovations including LYCRA® dualFX® expertise in the commercial and technical
technology in the woven segment His core strength has been working and sides of our business, as well as his entre-
nurturing ideas that create value for all the business stakeholders. preneurial mindset and strong regional
Rishi is uniquely placed in this new role to drive development of signifi- sourcing network. w

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 EVENTS

“Lot Size 1 - The wish to make

it right for all customers”
- A dilemma for every manufacturer
India ITME Society, has announced
free Virtual Buyer Seller Meet
(BSM) exclusively for India ITME
2021 Exhibitors on 4th & 5th
December 2020. Since the flag ship
textile machinery Exhibition “In-
dia ITME” scheduled in December
2020 had been postponed to 8th
– 13th December 2021, in lieu of
this postponed business event this
interim Virtual Buyer Seller Meet
is organized to bring back momen-
tum to the networking & revitalize
customer connect from the comfort
of home / office.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Yves-Simon Gloy

On 3rd December, a day prior to BSM, India ITME is textile technology”. He is also active in numerous commit-
organising a Virtual Technical Seminar which is expected tees and as an expert. He is an Adjunct Prof at Clemson
to be attended by over 1000 industry professionals from University in South Carolina, USA. He is the author of over
across the world. As part of the technical seminar, Prof. Dr 260 specialist articles. Since 2020 he has been active as a
-Ing. Yves-Simon Gloy will be conducting the Knowledge senior consultant for Gherzi van Delden GmbH, Chemnitz
Session on the topic “Lot Size 1 – The Wish to Make It Right and as an entrepreneur is dedicated to the topic of Produc-
for All Customers”. tion on Demand in Berlin.
Prof. Gloy studied mechanical engineering with a In an exclusive chat, Prof. Gloy spoke in detail about how
specialization in textile mechanical engineering at RWTH changing customer preferences and the relevance of the
Aachen, France and Canada. After receiving his diploma, Lot Size 1 approach for the textile industry.
he did his doctorate at the RWTH Aachen Institute for Here are the edited excerpts.
Textile Technology on the subject of “Self-optimization in Beginning the interaction by offering an overview of
the weaving process”. Then he did research as a post-doc the topic and how it impacts the textile industry, Prof Gloy
at the institute. Most recently, he was a member of the ITA’s explains:” In order to produce textiles economically and
executive board, where he heads the textile machinery / successfully, modern and highly efficient means of produc-
production technology division. During 2018-2019 Prof. tion are usually used. Air jet looms z. For example, rattle
Gloy worked as Managing Scientific Director at the Saxon easily at 1400 rpm in continuous operation. These means
Textile Research Institute (STFI) in Chemnitz. At the RWTH of production along the textile chain function in the sense
Aachen, he habilitated in 2019 on the topic “Industry 4.0 in of an economies of scale. A planning-oriented approach is

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 EVENTS

often used as a basis: central- “The consumer pays for your products, his demand mentions:” In my opinion, it
ized knowledge manage- is above all consumer goods,
is driving your business. It was never a bad idea to
ment and a strong use of i.e. clothing, shoes, accesso-
resources. It’s about synchro- put the customer first. Besides that, a fundamental ries, and home textiles, which
nized processes, standardized understanding of textile production technologies are affected. In the field of
products and high-frequency and ways for Lot 1 production will for sure help the technical textiles, it is about
production.” students to give answers to upcoming question in the fulfilment of technical
“Lot size 1 runs counter to functionalities and less about
textile production. The capability to design and evalu-
this approach. The means of the satisfaction of needs for
production should be able ate technologies will help a lot. And I always advise be individuality. This area is also
to produce an individualized critical! Asks for! Check the premise! And then bring more strongly shaped and
product every time. A lot of a better answer in the synthesis specified by standards.”
article changes and set-up – Prof. Dr.-Ing. Yves-Simon Gloy “But exciting things are
times are associated with this. happening in the field of
Production scientists speak of an economies of scope. It’s special machine construction. Another exciting area is
about aspects like one price flow, flexibility, dynamic and medical technology, where textiles enable customer-specific
more complex product creation processes. This is often treatments. The trends described can already be observed
based on a value orientation approach: decentralized strongly in high-wage countries, but are by no means lim-
near-process decision making, elimination of waste, stand- ited to these countries,” he adds.
ardized methods,” he adds. Sharing his views on whether this approach will result in
“Both approaches are justified and offer advantages reduced need for mass production of textiles and garments
and disadvantages. It will be interesting to overcome this and a move into more customer specific products, Prof.
polylemma in the production of textiles and to manufacture Gloy observed that many philosophies will certainly prevail
them in batch size 1 using mass production methods. So, on the market, in the extremes and in all the gradations in
this promises to combine the advantages of the approach- between.
es.” “So, there will always be textiles that are mass-produced
Lot Size 1 is the complete opposite of mass production. and which are strong and tailored to individual needs. Cer-
Does Prof. Gloy think the change is already taking place? tainly, there will be solutions which reduce the polylemma
Answering in the affirmative he says:” Yes, it is already tak- described above, but not which can resolve it forever. Much
ing place. Companies are experimenting with the best way can be successful in the market as long as it is based on a
to resolve this polylemma. E.g. adidas with this approach valid business model,” he says indicating the possibilities.
has Storefactory - knit for you or MyZXFLux. Recently H&M Prof. Gloy feels that it is important for textile engineering
jumped on this concept and is experimenting with individu- students who are looking to enter the world of textiles to
al denim production.” understand and estimate consumer preference.
“All these implementations are accompanied by adapta- “The consumer pays for your products, his demand is
tions to the means of production in an evolutionary way. driving your business. It was never a bad idea to put the
In production planning, product design and customer customer first. Besides that, a fundamental understand-
interaction, digitization and Industry 4.0 solutions are more ing of textile production technologies and ways for Lot 1
and more used. As always, it is interesting to take a look at production will for sure help the students to give answers
other industries. There are very successful solutions in the to upcoming question in textile production. The capability
automotive or food (mymuesli) sector,” he pointed out. to design and evaluate technologies will help a lot. And I
Driving factors always advise be critical! Asks for! Check the premise! And
Elaborating on what is driving the need for such a then bring a better answer in the synthesis”, he opines.
change in production and consumption of textiles and ap- With specific reference to markets like India, does he
parels, Prof. Gloy reveals:” A big driver in B2C is the great think that the concept of Lot size 1 is already relevant? With
desire to express individuality. In many cultures around the the increase in ecommerce, does Prof. Gloy see this con-
world, this is a strong value and driving force of the respec- cept becoming more relevant? Replying to these key ques-
tive society. A nice example of this are row houses in Ger- tions, he remarked that like a lot of developments, it will
many, which initially look more or less the same as desired. take it time, but it is becoming more and more relevant.
But as if by magic, the residents customize their house over “Especially e-commerce is a booster for these develop-
the years and beautify it with additions and colours. In the ments. The customer can visit your shop 24 hours a day,
B2B area, it is simply the large variety of different questions worldwide and configure easily on a PC or a smart person-
from a wide variety of industries for which textile products al device his product. He can easily share his design with
provide the right answers. For example, a narrow fabric friends. And at the end he can even more quickly share
that is used as a headband for protective masks, knee pictures of the product over social media. Is there a better
brace or retaining belt in the car.” way for marketing?” he said highlighting the enormous op-
Sharing some examples of product categories in which portunities that are possible with the concept.
this concept is becoming increasingly relevant Prof. Gloy w

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 SUSTAINABILITY

Accolades for Hayleys’ Waste Water

Treatment Process

A pioneer in weft knit fabric manufacture in Sri Lanka, As per the company, Hayleys has earned another ac-
Hayleys Fabric has reiterated its commitment to superior colade confirming the consistent maintenance of superior
waste water treatment. standards of water quality in the form of GREEN status
With its modern waste water treatment plant, Hayleys awarded to it by NIKE Since 2016 - the highest rating for
boasts of a superior treatment process to purify and guar- compliance with stringent NIKE Water Quality Guidelines
antee the quality of the water being discharged so that it under the NIKE Sustainable Water.
meets the prescribed standards. About 4500m^3 waste Hayleys Fabric’s pledge to build and adhere to good
water is treated through their plant through screening, sustainability and environmental standards are shown
equalization, biological and chemical treatments. The puri- through its partnerships with global movements such as the
fied water is constantly checked in-house, and by external United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), Zero Discharge
parties such as the Central Environment Authority (CEA), of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) and by its commitment to
the Water Board and the Board of Investment (BOI), prior the SBTis.
to being released into the neighbouring river. Hayleys has complied with the Zero Discharge of Haz-
ardous Chemicals (ZDHC)
programme ahead of the
granted timeline. In recogni-
tion of its award-winning
achievement in complying
with the ZDHC requirements
ahead of time, Hayleys was
invited to share their best
practices at the 2020 ZDHC
South Asia regional confer-
ence held in Bangladesh.

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 MAKE IN INDIA

Growing customer preference

for KARL MAYER’s ISOWARP
Machines to be Made in India
S ectional warping is one of the crucial processes in warp preparation to produce quality and
defect-free warp beams. The ISOWARP sectional warping machine ensures quality warp beams
for all types of yarns suitable for shirting, suiting, dress material, upholstery, etc.

KARL MAYER is a pioneer in manufacturing world-class has been decided that this model will now also be manu-
machines for warp preparation. They have been produc- factured in India by KARL MAYER Textile Machinery India
ing many types of sectional warpers, and over the years Private Ltd., Ahmedabad. Sectional warping is one of the
have supplied these machines across the globe, including crucial processes in warp preparation to produce quality
hundreds in India. For example, there are close to 150 and defect-free warp beams. The ISOWARP sectional warp-
machines of a single model, the ERGOTEC, running suc- ing machine ensures quality warp beams for all types of
cessfully in India! Based on market needs, KARL MAYER yarns suitable for shirting, suiting, dress material, uphol-
had also introduced the ISOWARP model sectional warper, stery, etc.
which has been manufactured in Germany and China. ISOWARP has been proven to run at higher warping
Several ISOWARP sectional warpers are also working well and beaming speeds and, in particular, with a substantial
in India and Bangladesh. simplification of operation, resulting in improved produc-
To meet the growing demand for the ISOWARP model, it tion. Beam-to-beam reproducibility is guaranteed with

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 MAKE IN INDIA

KARL MAYER’s in-built KAMCOS system, which addition- Several factors are responsible for high productivity. A
ally has easy access to the teleservice network to remotely combination of high speed with minimal yarn tension and
support machine maintenance. Only warps of the highest optimal operator ergonomic preconditions guarantees
quality guarantee optimal efficiency and fault-free fabric in maximum productivity. The highest precision with long-term
the weaving department. This modern sectional warping reliability is required to ensure the best warp quality while
guarantees perfect warp quality at maximum productivity, preparing warp beams on a section warping machine.
which is a decisive factor for the weaving department. Also, all ends are wound on to the drum with exactly the
So how does ISOWARP ensure the best quality warp? same length and uniform tension – this is a key assurance
• Optimum warp build-up on the drum with precise posi- from KARL MAYER.
tioning of the reed headstock to the cone is achieved fully The ISOWARP further guarantees:
automatically and with the highest precision. The reed 1. Exact cone alignment.
headstock feed movement is followed automatically. 2. Precise section width determination.
• Uniform cylindrical build-up guaranteed through evener 3. Extremely precise feed calculation.
roller ensures that the yarn count variations and yarn 4. Evener roller at the running-on point.
volume changes do not cause any density variations. 5. Automatic section alignment.
• The reverse rotation of the drum is important in ensur- 6. Automatic section tension control.
ing a perfect warp sheet laying at its winding point on to Need for Section Tension Control
the drum with maximum levelling effect from the evener Through the consistent application of electronic control
roller. engineering and the perfect position of an evener roller,
• The KARL MAYER system permits the optimal winding modern sectional warping machines can reliably produce
density while at the same time ensuring minimal yarn a cylindrical material build-up on the warping drum. Equal
loading. Thus, an absolutely cylindrical build-up of the end length over the whole width of the warp is thus guar-
warp is achieved from the first to the last section. anteed. It ensures that the ends are not only wound to be
• Thanks to a short distance between the measuring roller the same diameter, but also with the same thread tension.
and the evener roller, section spread is practically negligible. Advantages of Section Tension Control
ISOWARP is designed to produce production warps for The section tension control measures the overall tension
all types of suiting, shirting, sheeting and furnishing appli- of the warp section immediately in front of the winding-on
cations with the most competitive price-performance ratio. point on the drum, coverts it into the value for a single end
Unique Features and then compares this figure with the specified figure en-
Its features include: tered in the system. When any divergence occurs, the CPU
1. Uniform thread tension. adjusts the thread tensioners on the creel until the specified
2. High residual elongation. tension range is reached again. Control is so quick and
3. Exact thread array. precise that the figure specified is held even in the run-up
4. No crossed ends. phase. This means it is possible to achieve fully constant
5. No missing ends. thread tension conditions in every phase of the warping

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 MAKE IN INDIA

process, independent of: tenance-free and require very few spare parts. The KARL
• Changes in speed, even in the start and stop phase. MAYER ISOWARP made in India is real value for money
• Diminishing package diameter. and is on par with the machines made in Germany. We
• Any warp bobbin change in the middle of the warp. will continue to buy from KARL MAYER India for our future
Indian Scenario needs. We are proud to have contributed to KARL MAYER’s
A.T.E. Enterprises Private Ltd. is the sole selling agent for ‘Make in India’ efforts,” he added. Mohanarengan further
KARL MAYER in India and can guide customers in select- said, “We also appreciate that A.T.E. Enterprises and KARL
ing appropriate technologies and machine configurations MAYER teams have guided and supported us in selecting
to meet their requirements. There are many customer the right machine configuration and in the smooth running
testimonials, as for example, sectional warper ISOWARP of our greenfield project.
from KARL MAYER India delights Rajapalayam Mills. The Similarly, Morarjee Mills is impressed with KARL MAYER
Rajapalayam Mills Ltd., Rajapalayam, is the textile arm technology. Morarjee Mills, Nagpur, focuses on the pre-
of the Ramco Group and includes spinning mills with mium and high-value niche product segments with two
a total capacity of about 3,60,000 spindles and about divisions: premium yarn dyed shirting and fashion fabric.
14,000 OE rotors. They manufacture top-quality compact They produce approximately 25.4 million metres of pre-
yarns. Recently they also commissioned yarn-dyed shirting mium and high-quality fabrics per annum with complete
fabric manufacturing operations with 122 looms, weav- in-house quality yarns. They have a high profile list of cli-
ing preparatory and yarn dyeing system. Ramco uses only ents that includes domestic and international brands across
high-tech machines to produce high-end products. KARL 44 countries. The mills installed many warp preparations
MAYER is the sole supplier of weaving preparation for their machines from KARL MAYER that includes one KARL MAYER
complete weaving production lines. ISOWARP sectional warper.
Rajapalayam Mills installed two ISOWARP sectional Commenting on the performance of ISOWARP, Subrato
warping machines recently and N Mohanarengan, Chief Mukherjee, Plant Head, Morarjee Mills, said, “We are very
Operating Officer of Rajapalayam Mills was all praise for satisfied with the KARL MAYER ISOWARP sectional warper
the excellent performance of ISOWARP. “We are the first installed in our mills. We have been processing all types
one to install the ISOWARP sectional warping machines of shirting yarns – from medium to superfine cotton yarn
manufactured by KARL MAYER Textile Machinery India. We varieties – and it produces high-quality beams with almost
have installed two ISOWARP machines with double creels. no defects or wastage of material. We also find that ISO-
These machines are working at the highest production level WARP’s maintenance cost is minimal compared to other
and produce high-quality warp beams, enabling the suc- machines installed in our mills. We are glad to note that
cessful performance of our weaving machines,” he said. we will now get German technology made in India. We are
“Since the commissioning of these machines, we are very happy with the excellent support provided by A.T.E. En-
producing the best warp beams for almost all types of terprises and KARL MAYER Textile Machinery India. Both are
yarns, including the finest shirting, with minimum wastage our suppliers of choice for all our future warp preparation
of expensive, high-quality yarn. The machines are main- requirements.” w

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 TECHNOLOGY

Lenzing creates unprecedented

supply chain traceability
Incorporating Lenzing E-Branding fabric certificates and blockchain-
enabled traceability platform powered by TextileGenesis™
With the COVID-19 pandemic, more changes have
been brought to the already transforming fashion and
textile industries. To date, supply chain traceability has
become a top priority for apparel and home brands1. To
address both consumer demand and compliance risks in-
creasingly faced by brand partners, Lenzing is introducing
a brand-new blockchain-enabled supply chain traceability
platform powered by TextileGenesis™. The platform will
go live from 5 November 2020 onwards, accessible by
all brands using TENCEL™ and LENZING™ ECOVERO™
branded fibers, and supply chain partners globally across
Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Phased onboarding and new digital certificates to
ensure traceability and sustainability
A follow-up of a 12-month pilot program and field trials
with four leading sustainable brands (H&M, ArmedAngels,
Mara Hoffman and Chicks) and supply chain players from
10 countries in three regions, the global roll-out of Lenz-
ing’s blockchain-enabled supply chain traceability plat-
form will be conducted in phases. During the first phase,
Lenzing’s supply chain partners based in South Asia
(India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) will complete
Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer & Board Member, Lenzing
the onboarding process within Q4 2020. An estimated
300+ supply chain partners in
China and Turkey will also join
the program in Q1 2021. It is
estimated that by Q2 2021, most
eligible Lenzing supply chain
partners will be onboarded into
the platform, ensuring full supply
chain traceability.
One of the core components
of the platform powered by Tex-
tileGenesis™ is integration with
the Lenzing E-Branding fabric
certification system, which allows
brands and retailers not only
to access the full supply chain
traceability for TENCELTM and

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 TECHNOLOGY

LENZINGTM ECOVEROTM branded fibers but also to

view the results of forensic (physical) verification of fab-
ric samples via the digitally signed Lenzing E-Branding
fabric certificates.
“Over the past year, during the pilot program and
field trials we have been receiving very positive feed-
back from brands and supply chain partners. Our
brand partners have also been encouraging us to
accelerate the global roll-out for traceability of Lenz-
ing fibers. With this new system and the integration
with Lenzing E-Branding fabric certificates, the entire
Lenzing ecosystem will create an unprecedented level of
transparency. This will provide consumers with the most
sustainable and climate-friendly clothing and home
textile products that are made of TENCEL™ or LENZ-
ING™ ECOVERO™ branded fibers.” says Robert van de
Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer and Member of the
Board at Lenzing.
“With increasing compliance and reputational risks,
CEOs and Boards of top 100 fashion brands have
committed to using 100% sustainable and traceable
fibers over the next 5 years, with transparency be-
ing a core part of business priorities2 . Sustainability
and traceability are two sides of the same coin, and
it’s great to see Lenzing paving the way for the entire
fashion industry to follow. Our supply chain traceability
platform will create digital accounting for Lenzing’s in-
novative and sustainable fibers across the entire supply
chain using Fibercoins™ traceability technology.” says
Amit Gautam, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of
TextileGenesis™
Fibercoin™ technology to ensure traceability
across supply chain
Through using the innovative Fibercoin™ technol-
ogy of the TextileGenesis™ platform, Lenzing and other
brand partners are now able to issue digital tokens
(blockchain assets) in direct proportion to the physical
shipments of TENCEL™ and LENZING™ ECOVERO™
branded fibers. These digital tokens provide a unique
“fingerprint” and authentication mechanism, prevent-
ing adulteration, providing a more secure, trustworthy,
digital chain-of-custody across the entire textile supply
chain, and most importantly, ensuring the materials are
sustainably produced.
For more information about the Lenzing Blockchain-
enabled supply chain traceability platform and the
Lenzing E-Branding Service, please visit https://texti-
legenesis.com or https://brandingservice.lenzing.com/”
https://brandingservice.lenzing.com/
w

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 EXCLUSIVE

TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION

MAHLO
Celebrates 75 Anniversary th

For 75 years Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG from Saal on the Danube has been setting worldwide
standards in the measurement and control of web-shaped goods. In spite of the ‘old’ age,
the machine manufacturer never tires of constantly developing in order to be one step
ahead of the challenges of their customers

“My grandparents laid the

foundation for Mahlo’s suc-
cess. Our task now is to lead
the company towards an
equally successful future
without forgetting our core
values. Mahlo is a family
business that takes respon-
sibility for its employees and
values fair and respectful
treatment of customers and
business partners.

– Ralph Greenwood-Mahlo,
owner of Mahlo

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 EXCLUSIVE

Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG be-

longs to the worldwide leading
manufacturers of measuring, con-
trol and automation systems for
the textile and finishing industry as
well as the coating, film and paper
sector. Mahlo is located in Saal on
the Danube in lower Bavaria but
operates worldwide – five branch
offices in Italy, Belgium, Spain,
China and the US serve as support
stations for the key markets. Nu-
merous international agencies and
service stations offer customer sup-
port throughout the whole world.
If Dr. Heinz Mahlo could see
what has become of his small
company, which he founded in
1945 after the end of World War
II, he would certainly be very
proud. As a visionary engineer
with a flair for technical innova- “Our 75th anniversary marks an important milestone in the com-
tion, Dr. Mahlo focused early on
pany’s history. We see it as a confirmation of the continuous de-
the development of measuring and
control systems for the textile in- velopment of the company and at the same time as an incentive
dustry. His work culminated in the to further increase the competitiveness of our customers with
patent for the first automatic weft
straightener at the end of the 50s technologically leading products and tailor-made services.
and established Mahlo’s position
as the world market leader in the – Rainer Mestermann, CEO, Mahlo

industry. Today the name Mahlo is not only synonymous with straighten-
ing machines, but also describes quality and reliability.
Mahlo’s weft straighteners and process control systems for textile
finishing can be found in all the important markets. Countless products
of many large and well-known brands have passed through a ‘Mahlo’
during their production. Says Ralph Greenwood-Mahlo, owner of Mahlo:
“My grandparents laid the foundation for Mahlo’s success. Our task now
is to lead the company towards an equally successful future without for-
getting our core values. Mahlo is a family business that takes responsibil-
ity for its employees and values fair and respectful treatment of customers
and business partners.”
Quality Control
In spite of an indescribable success story in the textile sector, the think
tank from Lower Bavaria proved early on that it had the foresight not to
rest on past laurels and its own showpiece product. In the mid-nineties,
engineers at the company, who carried on the innovative spirit of the
late founder, developed the Qualiscan QMS quality control system. The
system enabled the nonwovens, plastics and paper industries to measure
and control critical process parameters such as moisture, basis weight or
layer thickness. It was a trend-setting decision. These markets are becom-
ing increasingly important.

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 EXCLUSIVE

S RAJENDRAN, Senior Vice President, Textile Engineering - Processing, Accessories and

Customer Support, A.T.E Enterprises
During the year 2006 we started working on providing a one-stop solution for process-
ing. We mapped the gaps in our product portfolio and we started working for filing up
the gaps by bringing in the market leaders. We signed an agreement with Mahlo during
the year 2008 and started working on strategies for improving the business in India. We
realised that there was scope for improving the after-sales services and we decided to
focus on it. We trained our engineers at Mahlo, Germany and implemented many process
improvements for strengthening the after-sales services.
At the moment, we have nine well-trained engineers across India who can provide
services for Mahlo products. We conduct customer satisfaction surveys which confirm
that all of our customers are highly satisfied with our services. We have established
the business of weft straighteners and process control equipment very well across the
Indian market. We have overall increased the population of Mahlo products in India, many of our products are being used
for processing woven apparel fabrics, home textiles, knit fabrics and nonwoven finishing.
Mahlo is known for innovation. They introduced the concept of weft straighteners and they keep upgrading their prod-
ucts regularly for retaining market leadership. The Indian market is looking for suitable equipment for improving produc-
tivity as well as conserving energy. Mahlo has a package of products by which we can offer a perfect solution to our Indian
customers. The team of Mahlo is very supportive and they have complete knowledge about the Indian business which
helps us to meet the requirements of our India-based customers. It has been proved that the partnership between Mahlo
and A.T.E has created a positive impact on business.

How strong has been proved in this ‘special’ year in progressing in giant steps. Mahlo has therefore developed
which the nonwovens industry is growing but the textile a digitalization concept that opens the doors to Industry 4.0
industry is shaken by the crisis. This makes it all the more for customers. The data generated by the systems can thus
important for a company not to stand on just one mainstay. be called up at any time to optimise processes and control
Elaborates Rainer Mestermann, CEO, Mahlo: “Our 75th equipment online.
anniversary marks an important milestone in the com- International Presence
pany’s history. We see it as a confirmation of the continu- Technical know-how combined with renowned products
ous development of the company and at the same time as and high service quality has bonded Mahlo with customers
an incentive to further increase the competitiveness of our all over the world. In order to serve the international mar-
customers with technologically leading products and tailor- kets as reliably as its home country, the company has set
made services.” up branches in the USA, Italy, Belgium, Spain and China
Industry 4.0 in addition to the headquarters in Saal. In addition, Mahlo
Changes are not only occurring in the markets, but also works with service stations and sales partners in over 100
within industrial plants. The networking of production is countries. Despite the worldwide business, Mahlo’s focus

Apprentice workshop 1991 Apprentice Workshop today

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 EXCLUSIVE

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS
Here is what some of the long-standing customers of Mahlo have to say about their products and after-sales service:

AMIT BHANDARI, Senior Vice President, Welspun India

Welspun has been using Mahlo products since the very beginning of our operations at
Anjar around 2004. We have used various solutions including moisture-sensing equip-
ment, PCS camera systems, weft correction systems for our terry towel, bed sheeting,
carpets and nonwoven divisions, beta gauges for web thickness measurement and
systems for energy conservation and steam saving on our drying ranges. They are a
supplier of repute who can offer customised solutions for all kind of measurements and
problems. The team led by Thomas Hoepfl has always been diligent in understanding the
technical issues underlying every problem and have always come up with a proper sci-
entific approach to solutions. The service levels are great and we do enjoy a very special
relation with Mahlo since many years that has been fruitful to both the companies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MOHIT JAIN, Managing Director, Indo Count

We have been associated with Mahlo ever since we started our processing facility in
2006. All our stenters are equipped with weft straighteners and moisture controllers
from Mahlo. We also have temperature and moisture controllers from Mahlo on our
VDRs. Mahlo products have certainly contributed towards achieving the high quality
standards that we at, Indo Count, have been able to maintain over a period of time. We
are very happy with services from Mahlo’s Indian agent, A.T.E. Enterprises. They are
responsive and quite customer-oriented.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAJARSHI GHOSH, Vice President-Operations, Arvind Limited
We have been associated with Mahlo since the last 25 years and have had a very satisfy-
ing experience. We have been using weft straighteners and process control equipment
like moisture controller on different machines and setups. Mahlo product offerings are
wide, versatile and capable of handling a wider range of products like coarser to finer
fabric, high GSM to low GSM fabrics, different weaves and structures. Mahlo has been
providing very satisfying performance in products like yarn dyed checks, prints, solids,
voiles, etc. It has been a great experience with Mahlo weft straighteners. Continuous
innovation and refinement of technology keeps Mahlo ahead of competition.
We have started with hydraulic RVMC 9 and now are using electronic RVMC 15 with
especially loaded software to handle finer fabrics with more accurate control of bow
and bias. The combination of weft straighteners with front scanners at exit end of the stenter frame is a great help to
control and deliver right quality products. The two-roll weft straightener at sanforiser helps to deliver the final product
with more precision. The reliability and reputation of Mahlo is augmented by good technical support and service of
A.T.E India starting from installation, commissioning to trouble-shooting. A big round of applause for Team A.T.E!

has always remained in Germany, or more precisely in Mahlo even more than the economic success is the fact
Bavaria. All machines are developed and built at the head- that the family spirit that he planted right at the heart of
quarters with motivated, mostly self-trained employees. This his company is growing stronger than ever. Mahlo is still
guarantees the ‘Made in Germany’ quality and also creates family-owned today and the cooperation between owner,
independence from supply chains, which can be of great management and staff plays a major role. Mahlo is more
importance in times of bottlenecks. than just a workplace. It is precisely this combination that
Company Spirit creates the best conditions for writing the next successful
But what would have pleased company founder Dr. chapters together. w

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 COVER STORY

KPR MILL
AN ICONIC SUCCESS
STORY
F rom its modest origins more than three decades ago, KPR Mill has indeed come a long way
and is now recognised as a leading manufacturer in the Indian textile industry. In fact, it has
further strengthened its portfolio with diversification into other segments, including its most
recent foray into garment retail. What applies here are the words of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu
who said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a small step”

K P Ramasamy, Chairman

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The year was 1984. An

enterprising young man in
a small town in South India
decided to set course on a
new journey. He ventured into
unchartered waters and set
up a small textile company.
He was none other than K
P Ramasamy, Founder and
Chairman of KPR Mill Ltd.
Following him, his brothers, K
P D Sigamani and P Nataraj
joined the venture, and toiled
with sweat on their brows
and passion in their hearts.
Their combined efforts bore
fruit. In 1989, the company
started manufacturing fashion
apparel and carved a niche
in the buzzing export market.
The company then expanded
its frontiers to encompass spin-
ning and processing and set up
state-of-the-art manufacturing
facilities.
These are located at Co-
imbatore, Sathyamangalam,
Perundurai and Tirupur in Tamil
Nadu. In 1995, it set up its first
spinning unit at Sathyaman-
galam with 6,000 spindles to
produce cotton hosiery yarn. This was expanded to 30,240 The facility at Arasur was set up in 2005 with a spinning
spindles in 2000. The following year it set up a spinning unit of 1,00,800 spindles and a garment manufacturing
mill at Karumathampatti with 30,240 spindles along with a unit. KPR Mill is now a formidable group of companies that
knitting facility and a green power wind mill for captive use. has earned it the title of being one of the top 500 listed
In 2003, another spinning unit was established at Neelam- corporates while the company’s CEO has been counted
bur with 50,784 spindles along with a knitting facility and among the top 100 corporate leaders of India. Today, KPR
a wind mill. Mill manufactures and markets cotton yarn, compact and

LMW draws immense pleasure in continuing a long-term association

with KPR Group for over three decades. The group is one of the largest
vertically integrated business conglomerates globally and is a frontrunner
in quality and operational excellence. Under the dynamic leadership of
Chairman K P Ramasamy and the Board of Directors the group has grown
from strength to strength and has set many standards for the textile
industry. LMW through supply of advanced technological and innovative
products has been a strategic partner in KPR Group’s journey of excel-
lence. We congratulate KPR Group and wish it the very best in their jour-
ney. We look forward to the company expanding their business activities.

– SANJAY JAYAVARTHANAVELU,
Chairman and Managing Director, LMW

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KPR Mill is one of the largest vertically integrated manufacturers of

high-quality yarn, fabrics and garments. It also is a large manufacturer and
exporter of knit garments in India and has been equally successful in its
foray into retail with its own FASO brand of innerwear and athleisure wear
and also has spread its wings to Ethiopia with its first international opera-
tion. We, at A.T.E. Enterprises, are very closely associated with the KPR
Group since more than a decade as a technology supplier. We have so far
supplied 20 blow room lines, automatic blending installations and 240 high-
production cards from Truetzschler Germany and India apart from 64 speed
frames from Zinser India.
A.T.E. Enterprises has also participated in their knit processing pro-
ject by supplying rotary printing machine from Zimmer (Austria), slitting
machine from Corino (Italy) and fully automated dyes and chemicals dis-
pensing system from Color Service (Italy). We are extremely proud to be a
technology partner to KPR Group for a long time. KPR Mill always invests in
the latest and best technology without any compromise. It has one of the best manufacturing facilities and it maintains
a high compliance standard towards quality and housekeeping.
One of the biggest success factors for KPR Group’s strong position is the foresight of its Chairman K P Ramasamy.
Today, KPR Group has one of the best facilities and excellent team of technicians on account of which they produce the
best quality products on a consistent basis due to which many of the major global brands are their loyal customers. We
wish all the best to the management and team of KPR Mill for its future endeavours and look forward to the continuation
of an enduring relationship for decades to come.
– G V ARAS, Director (Textile Engineering Group), A.T.E Enterprises Ltd.

melange yarn, knitted fabrics, readymade knitted garments expansion initiatives with grit and gumption, but addresses
and sugar. Meanwhile, wind power coupled with co-gen employee needs with a personal touch. Managing Director
power boasts of a healthy bottom-line. K P D Sigamani is a dynamic entrepreneur with over three
The KPR Brotherhood decades’ experience in the apparel industry. He currently
Chairman K P Ramasamy is a pioneer with more than heads the apparel division of the company and its export
four decades’ experience in the apparel business. He is business.
a hands-on leader formulating innovative ideas towards His strong leadership skills and immense focus on
HR and new business avenues. He spearheads strategic customer satisfaction has ensured KPR Mill an enviable

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Quality is in their DNA

With a focus on innovation, quality and service and by combining
latest technology and modernisation, KPR Group is one of the larg-
est conglomerates in the Indian textile industry. With its futuristic
thinking and rich experience in the textile industry for many dec-
ades, the group has successfully managed to acquire a prominent
position under the visionary leadership of Chairman K P Ramaswa-
my. Uster Technologies is very proud to have had a strong business
relationship with KPR Group for more than two decades. With quality
as core in their DNA, they have established state-of-the-art quality
labs from their emergence, and they have constantly driven their
quality-testing efforts by equipping their lab with Uster Technolo-
gies’ equipment in every spinning location.
Consistency and quality are the prima facie of KPR Group. With highly set benchmarks, they have continuously strived
to meet top-standards, providing quality products to their customers. Uster Technologies takes pride in shouldering
this responsibility with USTER®QUANTUM clearers installed in every winding room and USTER®JOSSI VISION SHIELD in
blow rooms to deliver the required quality. With various departments like sales, marketing, after-sales support, train-
ing and electronic repair station, we are glad to provide comprehensive support to enable KPR Group deliver the right
products made with the right quality every time. We thank KPR Group for their continuous patronage of our products.
We wish to grow along with KPR Group by supplying quality management solutions.

position in the apparel exports market. Managing Director garments from Coimbatore has now established KPR Mill
P Nataraj, who is also a Chartered Accountant, manages as a leading business conglomerate in India, engaged in
the financial aspects of the business, cotton procurement textiles, sugar, ethanol, automobiles, power generation and
and yarn marketing. Armed with two decades’ industry education. The brothers’ determination, untiring hard work,
experience, strong interpersonal skills and sharp analytical perseverance and team efforts have crossed miles to be
skills, Nataraj has managed to create a strong rapport with where they are today. The Indian apparel sector with a his-
clients and has helped the company sustain and succeed in tory of fine craftsmanship and global appeal has emerged
a globally competitive market. as the most preferred destination for international brands.
Consistent Growth The strong raw material base and availability of skilled
KPR Mill has witnessed steady growth in business over the labour carries huge opportunities for Indian textile players.
last four decades. The company’s attempt to export knitted The current market situation and global scenario offers a

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lot of opportunities favouring the Indian garment sector. ment facility in Ethiopia, not to forget industry-acclaimed
In such a scenario, KPR Mill has demonstrated high level ETP embedded fabric processing capacity of 22,000 MT
of quality consistency, commitment, best sustainable prac- per annum equipped with advanced cold processing tech-
tices, deployment of green manufacturing practices and nology and sophisticated printing division with the capacity
the empowerment of rural workforce, more particularly the to print 7,500 MT per annum (1,00,000 high-fashion gar-
women fraternity, all of which has helped garner trust and ments per day). It also has 66 wind mills with a total green
reputation among the international buyers. As the manage- power generation capacity of 61.92 MW, co-gen cum
ment puts it, the enquiries from the current clientele as well sugar plant with a capacity of 30 MW and 5,000 TCD and
as from the new markets are encouraging and there exist an ethanol plant with 90 KLPD capacity. Recently it has also
bright prospects to be explored aggressively while focusing ventured into the retail sector under its own brand ‘FASO’,
on the US and other potential markets. producing first-of-its-kind 100% organic cotton men’s wear.
Driven by Technology Outstanding Performance
KPR Mill has 12 manufacturing units equipped with In FY 2019-20, KPR Mill clocked total revenue of Rs
advanced technology and over 22,000 dedicated person- 3,389.09 crore with profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 376.68
nel. It has the capacity to produce 1,00,000 MT of yarn crore. Despite the ongoing pandemic, KPR Mill has clocked
per annum, 40,000 MT fabrics per annum and 115 million turnover of Rs 952 crore during the second quarter of FY
ready-made knitted apparel per annum, thus making it one 2020-21. Commenting on this performance, K P Ramas-
of the largest garment producers in India. It also has a gar- wamy, Chairman, KPR Group, says, “The entire world is

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passing through an uncertainty it

has never seen before due to the
pandemic. Like many other sectors
of the economy, the textile industry
has been hit hard due to closure of
business during the lockdown peri-
ods. During these challenging times,
our priority has been the wellbeing
of all of us.”
“Our entire focus has been on
supporting the government’s public
health initiatives and instructions
regarding social distancing. I would
like to assure you that we remain
operational and continue to serve
all our stakeholders. In the face
of this pandemic, KPR Mill has
implemented systematic procedures
to safeguard its employees while
continuing to best serve our clients.
Our executives have successfully re-
positioned to ensure that our work
progresses,” he adds.
Expansion Plans
In order to cater to the growing
market demand and taking a step
towards increasing the efforts of
tapping potential markets, KPR Mill
is investing in garment manufactur-
ing by establishing a new factory
with a capacity to manufacture 42
million garments per annum at an
estimated project cost of Rs 250
crore. The factory is currently under
construction near Coimbatore,
within the proximity of existing
facilities so as to avail the benefits
of integrated activities. As stated
earlier, in totality, KPR Mill currently
has the capacity to manufacture
1,00,000 MT of cotton yarn, 4,000
MT of viscose yarn and 40,000 MT
of fabric along with 22,000 MT of
fabric processing capacity, 7,500
MT of fabric printing and 115 mil-
lion units of garment manufactur-
ing. In FY 2019-20 the company
erected the latest technology-aided
vortex spinning machine which pro-
duces various blends and range of
viscose yarns, creating a new wave
of world fashion at its Neelambur
unit.
It eliminates two major processes,
thereby saving labour and power,

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besides producing an ideal structure of yarn. KPR Mill has first-of-its-kind 100% organic cotton men’s innerwear
also established a new advanced technology knitting fac- and athleisure products under its newly launched ‘FASO’
tory housing contemporary imported knitting machines of brand, catering to three different premium ranges – com-
Mayer and Cie at its Karumathampatti unit. The company fort, style and supreme. This is in recognition of the fact
has also added another most effective and technically that the need of the hour is nature-oriented fashion that is
advanced effluent treatment system at its processing unit in toxic-free. FASO as a brand has been curated after doing
SIPCOT Perundurai, thus enlarging its wastewater treatment extensive research on customers’ needs and comfort. FASO
capacity. It has successfully established an ethanol plant innerwear is ‘Italian at heart’ which means slick designs in
with the capacity of 90 KLPD at its sugar factory in Karna- trending colours and meticulous craftsmanship. FASO of-
taka. The ethanol plant has commenced production and its fers a collection of innerwear and athleisure wear designed
full-fledged commercial operation is expected during the with greater ecological integrity.
current financial year. Organic cotton of the highest quality is used in a manner
Ethiopia Venture that is good for the environment. In addition to providing
KPR Mill has established a new plant in Ethiopia which a stylish collection with bright trendy colours, the 100%
has received approval from leading global buyers. The superfine combed organic cotton products offer ultra-soft
company is now ramping up its production capacity with comfort that naturally makes it very skin-friendly. “Our ma-
the setting up of a garment unit with the production capac- jor strength is the vertically integrated operations where we
ity of 10 million garments per annum. Employees were have end-to-end in-house manufacturing facilities for yarn,
recruited and trained at its
unit at Arasur. The required
capital equipment and
materials were imported and
commercial production has
already commenced while
trial consignments have been
shipped. In order to cater
to the growing demands of
international buyers, KPR
Mill established an entity
at Singapore, KPR Mill Pte.
Limited. Singapore has sub-
stantial international brands
and retailers well-connected
to the international garment
industry.
Retail Business: FASO
KPR Mill has introduced

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fabrics, processing, printing, embroidery and garment. This ed by the employees’ continuous remarkable achievement
helps us to keep a check on the quality and enables pro- in government examinations, securing medals, ranks and
ducing organic cotton products that are skin-friendly and certifications every year,” the management informs.
breathable. With these eco-friendly products, KPR Group “The whole world is battling to curb the impact of the
hopes to make a stride in the retail segment. Our launch in corona virus but all of us should try our best to overcome
South India has met with success,” the management states. this challenge in solidarity. We should convert this threat
Human Resources into a new opportunity available to the nation to progress
Safe, healthy and happy workplace creates positive as regards its ‘Make in India’ aspirations and enhance its
business culture. It drives employee engagement, job exports to the world. Business conditions must be conducive
satisfaction and staff retention, and in turn defines business to position India as a viable competitive alternative to Chi-
success. Good HR practice plays a key role in developing, na which the Indian industry is fully capable of. The Indian
reinforcing and changing the culture of an organisation. textile industry possesses inherent and unique strength such
Having recognised the importance of human resources as abundance of raw material, presence of entire value
right from the beginning, KPR Mill has been concentrating chains, competitive manufacturing costs and availability of
on adding value to the employees by extending the best fa- skilled manpower,” the management states.
cilities for its work force. And in the current scenario of the “A large and growing domestic market, higher youth
pandemic, it is the ‘feel at home facilities’ provided by the population, rising per capita income, higher disposable
company that has helped it retain its manpower at a time incomes and preferences for brands and increase in
when the industry witnessed the return of migrated employ- organised retail landscape and e-commerce are the other
ees in large numbers to their hometowns. contributing factors. Besides, various governmental flag-
“At KPR Mill, employees chose to stay back on the ship programs are expected to further drive growth,” the
factory premises where they continued to enjoy comfort- management adds. The success of KPR Mill is an example
able accommodation, nutritious food and recreation and of a business that started from a humble beginning and
education facilities besides best health and safety meas- eventually grew into a force to be reckoned with. The jour-
ures. Higher education facility, an important aspect of the ney, however, has had its fair share of challenges but has
company’s HR policy, continues to add bright prospects to also been one of dedicated and diligent efforts along with
the employees at large. So far over 27,000 employees of employing the right strategies to be able to survive and also
KPR Mill have benefited through higher education. The best grow in as competitive a sector as textiles.
educational facilities extended by KPR Mill can be manifest-

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Our journey with KPR Group is almost two decades old and it has been a
pleasant experience working with them. The teams across all units are very
professional, well-equipped and planned. They are always on the lookout for
new technologies to improve. They clearly explain their requirements and un-
derstand our difficulties as a supplier and provide us enough space to cater to
their needs. We take pride as their prominent vendor of electrical and mechan-
ical accessories for all kinds of machines from blow room to automatic cone
winding machines. Their cooperation is excellent in evaluating components
for new developments with proper and focussed feedback. One can experi-
ence the ease of doing business with KPR Mill provided you give good quality
products and cost-effective solutions.
Their immense support and cooperation during the uncharted times of the
pandemic-triggered lockdown phase has improved our relationship, going
from strength to strength and it definitely has been one of the highest points
in our relationship. Our experience in doing business with KPR Mill will not be complete without mentioning their re-
sponsibility on executing their commitments on commercial terms which is vital for sustainability of any enterprise and
a long-standing relationship between us, built on the platforms of mutual trust and commitment. We feel content to be
associated with them and wish them greater success in the journey ahead.
– VIKAS SHARAN, Director, India Operations, Saurer

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We got an opportunity to present a brief seminar about our products

to KPR Group’s technical team in 2014. Before the seminar, the team
analysed and compared us with our competitor’s product. Finally, the
technical department raised a pattern and gave a sample test on Slub over
Slub parameters with SKAAT Slub machine. We took it up as a challenge
and satisfied them with amazing results. A technical team from the group
visited us and got trained at our customer training centre. After a week’s
time, we got an order for one machine. From that moment, our order for
machines has been increasing year by year.
We are happy to state here that we have also developed a project on Ly-
cra Colour Slub for their requirement. We are having a very good relation-
ship with their entire team. They provide equal opportunity to all textile
machine manufacturers and are open if there is any issue so that we can
arrive at a positive solution. We admire the discipline and process followed
by the KPR Mill team. We want to cite here a small example: Normally, we send an instruction manual with our machine.
After four years, we found that the same instruction manual was pasted on the right side of the machine with a different
maintenance person. The highly disciplined approach of their team, from bottom to top, is the same. My best wishes for
all their upcoming projects.
– G RADHAKRISHNAN, Managing Director, SKAAT

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Our journey with KPR Group is almost two decades old and it has been
a pleasant experience working with them. The teams across all units
are very professional, well-equipped and planned. They are always on
the lookout for new technologies to improve. They clearly explain their
requirements and understand our difficulties as a supplier and provide us
enough space to cater to their needs. We take pride as their prominent
vendor of electrical and mechanical accessories for all kinds of machines
from blow room to automatic cone winding machines. Their cooperation
is excellent in evaluating components for new developments with proper
and focussed feedback. One can experience the ease of doing business
with KPR Mill provided you give good quality products and cost-effective
solutions.
Their immense support and cooperation during the uncharted times of
the pandemic-triggered lockdown phase has improved our relationship,
going from strength to strength and it definitely has been one of the highest points in our relationship. Our experience
in doing business with KPR Mill will not be complete without mentioning their responsibility on executing their commit-
ments on commercial terms which is vital for sustainability of any enterprise and a long-standing relationship between
us, built on the platforms of mutual trust and commitment. We feel content to be associated with them and wish them
greater success in the journey ahead.
– R SUNDARRAJ, Managing Director, Naren Group

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Circular knitting machines from Mayer & Cie.

Foundation of a lasting partnership
Mayer & Cie., the German manufacturer of circular knitting machines
has become a key supplier of KPR Mill Limited in Coimbatore. The Indian
textile company unites spinning, knitting, processing and confecting
under one company roof. With its knitting mill comprising several hundred
machines, it is one of the largest entities in the area.
KPR mills and Mayer & Cie. revived an existing relationship starting in
2018. In 2019, the premium supplier and their Indian sales representation
Batliboi were able to convince KPR of the benefits of Mayer & Cie.’s Relanit
machines. They are the manufacturer’s signature products offering
outstanding productivity and reliability with a wide range of yarn qualities.
Since their market launch in 1987, the Relanit machines have remained
Abhay Sidham,
President, Batliboi Textile Machinery Group unsurpassed in these respects.
Relative technology: gentle on the yarn
Relanit machines take their name from Mayer & Cie.’s relative technology. In contrast to conventional technology with
its horizontal sinkers, relative technology knits by means of a contrary movement of needle and sinker. This movement
has given the technology its name: contrary or relative technology. It is a technical refinement resulting in a gentler
stitch formation process. Relative technology works with half the number of deflection points compared to conven-
tional technology which results in considerably lower stress on the yarn.
Relative technology: tangible benefits
The benefits of this technology are tangible: they include less yarn breakage and fewer machine downtimes. Even
when processing inferior yarn qualities, the machines maintain their high operating speed and still deliver the desired
quality. For the most recent member of the Relanit family, this fact manifests itself when working with elastomeric yarn.
The Relanit 3.2 HS features extraordinary reliability and productivity in this realm.
“It were those well-known benefits that convinced KPR mills of our Relanit machines”, says Abhay Sidham, CEO of
Batliboi. When extending their production facilities, KPR mills invested in a substantial number of Relanit 3.2 HS and
Relanit 4.0. The latter is a league of their own in terms of productivity for cotton single jersey fabric, while the Relanit
3.2 HS is often used for knitting
fabrics with elastomeric yarns.
Increased productivity pays off
quickly
“KPR very quickly realised that
increased productivity is far from
being an end in itself”, Batliboi CEO
Sidham states. “Increased produc-
tivity indeed has an impact on the
entire production.” His reasoning
is easy to follow: “If I can use fewer
machines to produce a certain
output, this means less space, less
personnel, less wear and tear and
less consumables. Therefore, a
premium machine by Mayer & Cie.
is prone to pay off very quickly.”

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 COVER STORY

Voltas strong partnership with KPR Mill

KPR Mill is a reputed and progres-
sive organisation in the textile indus-
try with its focus spanning across
yarn, fabrics and garments. FASO is
a leading brand of KPR Mill through
which the group has also forayed into
the retail space and created brand
identity. Voltas TMD has always been
a trustworthy business partner in the
textile industry and our long-lasting
association with KPR Group stands
Mr. C. Kamatchisundaram, testimony to this fact. Our focus
Vice President – TMD, Voltas is on continuously enhancing this Mr. Nizar Ali, General Manager, Voltas
relationship not only by offering the
right products and solutions but also by providing end-to-end service support throughout the lifecycle of the products.
Voltas TMD has been a preferred partner to KPR Group since inception for capital machinery as well as after-sales prod-
ucts. The details given below are some of the examples where we have been a valued partner to the KPR Group for the
past two decades.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fabric Dyeing Machine from THIES: We are

privileged to be a partner to KPR Group in their dyeing
project with a capacity of more than 30 tons per day by
supplying a set of 10 Ecomaster machines with auto-
matic dispensing MPS units from our principals, Thies of
Germany. Subsequently we had also supplied a further
set of two Minisoft machines in the year 2018. Excellent
dyeing results with high reproducibility are continuously
achieved in these machines for almost every type of
fabric by KPR Group. Thies GmbH, Germany is a global
leader in soft flow dyeing machines.
The current range of iMaster dyeing machines have a
series of unique value propositions which include dyeing
quality, consistency, repeatability, low liquor consump-
tion and high level of user-friendliness. Exceptionally
reliable fabric transport is guaranteed by innovative
features, including internal winch, nozzle and plaiter
delivery pipe in one unit and a two-dimensional adjustable fabric chamber. The amount of free liquor in the machine is
reduced to a minimum, improving water consumption.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finishing Machine from BRUECKNER: We are also privileged to be chosen by KPR Group for their finishing
project through the finishing machines from our principals, Brueckner of Germany. Initially, we supplied one six-
chamber and one eight-chamber stenters. Delighted with the performance of the machine, KPR Group favoured us for
the supply of four more stenters, which were supplied in 2016. Brueckner has always been a preferred supplier of KPR
Group when it comes to finishing and it demonstrates the confidence bestowed on our relationship and our delivera-
bles.

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The stenter is the heart of textile finishing. It develops more and more into a multi-purpose line for the production of
technical textiles and other web-shaped materials. Several thousands of Brueckner stenters are in use all around the
globe. Every day they are stentering, drying, heat-setting, functionalising and coating uncountable metres of the most
different fabric types. Since many decades Brueckner stenters stand for highest quality and performance and ensure
production with sustainability and energy-efficiency.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flat Knitting Machine from

SHIMA SEIKI: Our partnership with
KPR Group got strengthened further by
participating in their project for making
flat-knitted fabrics. We were favoured
for the supply of 20 SVR202® flat-knitting
machines from our principals, Shima Seiki
of Japan. By using this high-class latest
technology in flat-knitting, KPR Mill is in a
position to deliver the best-in-class finer
garments to its buyers. SVR202 supports
a variety of production needs with its
wide 80-inch knitting width and tandem
knitting capability. High productivity is
achieved with a maximum knitting speed of 1.4 metres per second and the R2CARRIAGE® system that permits quicker
carriage returns.
It also carries over established Shima Seiki technology such as the renowned digital stitch control system (DSCS®),
spring-loaded full-time sinker system and stitch presser. Proven technology along with ‘Made in Japan’ quality, reli-
ability, productivity, user-friendliness and cost-performance all combine to satisfy the high expectations of the world’s
fashion industry.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apart from capital machinery arena, we have also been serving KPR Group for a range of after-sales products including:
a) ring travellers from our principals, LAKSHMI RING TRAVELLERS, b) card clothing from our principals, LAKSHMI CARD
CLOTHING, and c) speciality lubricants from our principals, KLUEBER LUBRICATION INDIA LTD.

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 COVER STORY

“We value KPR team’s feedback”

– SENTHIL RAJA, JMD, MEC Growths Texmach P Ltd
KPR is amongst the most discerning clients that you can meet. The
company has set exceedingly high standards in performance, quality,
service and the entire vendor selection process. Once you meet their
requirement, best rest assured of a long and mutually enriching associa-
tion.
At MEC Growth, when our initial top arm trial was successful, it all
looked so easy. But subsequently we realized that we had taken only the
baby steps towards climbing Mount Everest! After the initial trial, then
started the product analysis, technical clarifications, price negotiation,
S. Arunachalam, Managing Director, (right),
etc.
and A. Senthil Raja, Jt. Managing Director,
Though we supply to other OEMs, it is only KPR that has thrown light on
MecGrowths Texmach Pvt. Ltd.
our product. We value KPR team’s feedback, which can help further im-
provements on our product. This has boosted our confidence level to promote our product fearlessly throughout the world.
We started with two machines in October 2018, with the KPR Group, which further went to 0.2million spindle top
arms by the beginning of 2019. We received another order in 2020. We can now say that our product is perfectly alright.
Thanks to the entire KPR team and management for such fabulous support and advice. We truly cherish this relation-
ship.

SETEX software to handle manufacturing performance.

To be sustainable, a textile production facility project typically demands a high level
of both excitement and interest from all parties. For the automation part of the dyeing
department, SETEX was involved in the turnkey project from the start in 2008 as a
technology partner of the machine supplier THIES.
While the majority of textile finishing mills increased the efficiency of systems in
small steps with embedded software in controllers, for KPR Mill it was about the whole
factory. The OrgaTEX MES software is linking therefore operational and information
technology by integrating multiple machines on a single platform.
With the goal of production excellence, KPR Mill wanted to use less chemicals and
colorants from the start and run optimized dyeing cycles with the best possible “right
first time”.
This was achieved with the synergistic effects of:
- Machine controllers with identical user interface and intelligent processing
- “Look ahead” functions for integration of dissolving and dosing systems to achieve the most efficient possible utiliza-
tion and precisely fitting injection on the dye-machine process-step.
- Combining the recipe and process management information in a software module with dynamic optimization of stand-
ard treatments.
This system provides the relevant information on production order cost, consumption, and energy, including perfor-
mance KPIs to make the manufacturing smart, streamlined and efficient.
Regular on-site inspections with equipment or software upgrades make KPR Mill´s focus on customer satisfaction
intricately connected to the requirements for the systems up-to-date status, high availability, and fail-safe operation
possible.
With full commitment from the customer´s staff and being always on the most recent software version, KPR Mill gains
more meaningful information from the increasing flood of data in order to get even more out of the production and con-
serve important knowhow all at the same time. w

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 COVER STORY

FASO establishes a
‘winning’ presence
KPR launched its brand FASO innerwear and athleisure wear in 2019, which has received enthu-
siastic response in the market. In an exclusive interview, E K Sakthivel, Executive Director, KPR
Mill Limited, provides detailed insights into the FASO brand, USPs and future plans

The FASO brand, which is the

first foray of the KPR Group into
the branded apparel segment,
was launched in May 2019 and
has already been creating ripples
in the market. Providing details
about the launch, E K Sakthivel,
Executive Director, KPR Mill
Limited, says, “We had launched
the brand initially in Coimbatore,
Madurai and Chennai. We
started with 15 products of men’s
innerwear – basically briefs,
trunks and gym vests. Within
three months’ time we expanded
across Tamil Nadu. Right now we
are offering 42 styles in men’s in-
ner wear. We have briefs, trunks,
vests and athleisure wear consist-
ing of jogger shorts, pants, gym
vests and T-shirts.” The company
has been expanding its presence
by steadily increasing its network
of distributors. E K Sakthivel, Executive Director, KPR Mill Limited
Overwhelming Response
According to Sakthivel, the
company is extremely satisfied with the response that the are perhaps the only brand in the country which offers a
brand has got till date. “We feel overwhelmed. It is more combination of being organic and fashionable along with
than what we expected. Right from day one we were clear affordability. While there are many brands which claim to
about our target audience. We are reaching out to consum- be organic, if you were to take a closer look you will find
ers in the age group of 18-35, in other words ‘millennial’. that only a few of their products would be actually organic
With respect to pricing we follow what is known as the whereas, in our case, the entire range is organic. We are
leader pricing strategy, which means you can get premium that way a truly organic brand. From day one we stand dif-
quality and fashion at an affordable price,” he states. ferentiated from other brands due to this reason.” Continu-
The Organic Factor ing on the subject, Sakthivel says,
Elaborating further on the strategy, Sakthivel states, “We “Even in the case of athleisure wear, the price that we

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 COVER STORY

are offering is affordable, again

without any compromise on the
quality, comfort and performance
front,” he adds. So how does the
brand manage this combination
of affordable pricing while being
an organic brand and at the same
time placing itself at the forefront
when it comes to fashion and
feel? Is it an economically viable
option? Replies Sakthivel: “It is
possible for us because we are
vertically integrated. We have our
own infrastructure from spinning
till garments.”
“We have a team of experts
who source cotton for our group
companies. We spin our cotton
and the yarn becomes fabric in
our own processing division along
with additional processes which
give the feel and texture to the
fabrics. We have always been
known for our modern infrastruc-
ture, featuring the latest top-end
textile making machinery,” he
adds. In terms of production
infrastructure, the KPR Group has
a capacity of 250,000 kg per
day in spinning and an average
of 250,000 pieces per day when
it comes to garmenting. A few manufacturing lines have member of the family. Similarly, for women and kids too we
been exclusively allotted for the FASO brand in the group’s want to have multiple product categories. You can say we
factories. are targeting having at least around 150 styles before we
Expansion Plans start our own exclusive FASO retail outlets.”
When asked about when the company intends to launch Huge Potential
its own exclusive FASO retail outlets, Sakthivel reveals: “We “As mentioned earlier, we offer a combination of an
plan to spread pan-India by 2023. We want to add our organic, fashionable and affordable product. The sheer
range of ladies and kids wear and go pan-India. It is only feel and comfort of our products are sure to make them a
after we accomplish this that we want to open our own favourite. This is how we have differentiated ourselves. With
exclusive retail outlets. For a family walking into any of additions to our product range planned, we are sure that
our showrooms, we want to provide them with a complete we will continue to surge ahead in this market segment in
shopping experience. There should be something for every the future,” Sakthivel says. w

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 TECHNOLOGY

FUTURE OF TEXTILE
APROL System from B & R
Enables factories to implement energy monitoring, condition
monitoring and process data acquisition in one system

W
ith digitization, manufacturing indus-
try in India is undergoing changes
in all areas rights from machine de-
velopment to factory shop floors. Companies
have understood the importance of IT / OT
convergence and many have already started
taking steps in this direction. Automation has
long changed manufacturing and digitization
is further changing the way factories operate.
Textile industry too is looking at digitization as
an enabler for quality improvement and cost
competitiveness. This has prompted the use
of connected equipment, software and
advanced automation technologies in
various areas such as yarn production,
fabric production, finishing, production
management, inventory management
and other areas.
Impact of trends and technology
The labor-intensive textile Industry is
using automation for many processes
like cotton picking, ginning, spin-
ning, weaving, processing and even
to some extent in garment making.
Commonly attributed advantages of
automation includes higher productivity, more efficiency, global manufacturing standards makes it imminent for
better quality, more customized products, improved safety the Indian textile industry to adopt latest technologies and
and reduced lead times. Higher degree of automation low- automation solutions.
ers cost and increases quality at greater speed and higher Machine builders and end users are closely looking at
output. However, human and machine safety, energy leveraging next generation technologies to control and
savings, less maintenance, self-diagnostics and predictive monitor machines, factories and processes. Textile being
maintenance to increase machine and plant uptime are one of the oldest industry in India has its own challenges
some of the challenges textile industry is facing. Cutting- while adopting technology advancements. Many textile
edge automation solutions and technologies help tackle factories have decade old machines still running on the
these challenges, achieve excellent performance and stay shop floor having legacy systems and networks and much
ahead of competition. New trends are not only reshap- of operations still being manual or semi-automatic. Within
ing manufacturing processes but also helping plants & this environment, existing equipment, machines, devices
factories become smarter, connected and more efficient. and sensors are not connected. Operators collect data
Adoption of these developments in textile industry ensures manually from every machine about production output,
high return on investments and helps India leapfrog global raw material consumption etc. to calculate RoIs and OEE.
competition. Increasing emphasis on governments “Make Disconnected machines is one of the challenge associated
in India” campaign coupled with the need of meeting with brownfield textile factories. Unavailability of real time

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 TECHNOLOGY

data restricts and and maintenance

delays decision- cost. APROL Con-
making and thus Mon monitors the
hampers profit- health of machin-
ability. However, ery making it ideal
upgrading these for implementing
machines for lever- condition based
aging technology predictive main-
is not a solution tenance. APROL
as it involves huge ConMon makes it
capital investment. possible to acquire,
Textile factories process and assess
are looking for relevant condition
solutions, which parameters and
gives advantages can be set up with
of new trends with minimal efforts.
minimum invest- It makes imple-
ment and maximum RoI. mentation of condition monitoring system and plant asset
APROL – Adding smart to factories management solutions considerably easier.
Many textile mills running isolated legacy equipment are Energy consumption in a textile mill is huge and with en-
not able to monitor real-time data of energy usage, prod- ergy bills soaring, it makes monitoring energy consumption
uct quality and productivity. To get more out of digitally iso- in factories the need of the hour for reducing operational
lated legacy equipment and make manufacturing processes expenses. APROL EnMon is an energy monitoring package
more transparent the solution is to make existing factories allowing factories to measure, record and analyze energy
flexible and modular. APROL system from B&R satisfies all consumption. Historical data allows detailed analysis of
the requirements of brownfield as well as Greenfield sites energy consumption, making it easy to identify cause and
with flexible and modular solutions without neglecting the effect. By monitoring real time energy utilization, compa-
high demands on availability and data consistency. APROL nies can reduce operating costs and eventually improve
enables factories to implement energy monitoring, condi- their competitiveness in the market.
tion monitoring and process data acquisition in one system. Centralized acquisition of operating and process data
This is a cost effective solution for factories, as they do not from machines and equipment is much easier using B&R’s
need different systems for satisfying different needs. This APROL system. Centralized data acquisition with APROL
can make new installation as well as existing installation PDA enables complete online performance monitoring and
smart and Industrial IoT ready. In a single, consistently visual overviews. Powerful and extremely reliable long-term
easy-to-use platform, APROL unifies process automation, archiving makes it possible to track quality for the entire
factory automation and infrastructure automation. The B&R manufacturing process. Calculation of overall equipment
Edge Controller makes it possible to acquire data, evaluate effectiveness, line effectiveness and possibility to view re-
it and then send it to the cloud. It also facilitates gathering ports and trends at the click of a button makes APROL PDA
data from various controllers on the field and moving it to a highly sought for solutions in factories. Highly flexible re-
the MES/ERP or the cloud. The powerful industrial PC can ports and trends with integrated analysis functions provide
even be used for big data analysis and machine learning, support for production optimization. The combined display
while at the same time serving as a full-fledged industrial of ongoing data, alarms and events in the trend viewer
controller. . provides management with a holistic view of their machine
The enormous benefits of APROL – hardware, software, and factories across the globe.
redundancy and out-of-the-box solutions coupled with Smart manufacturing with B&R
open source communication standards such as OPC UA, To remain competitive in era of Industrial IoT, digital
Ethernet POWERLINK and openSAFETY enable factories to transformation is the need of the hour. B&R offers complete
add value to their already available production processes hardware and software solutions, comprehensive service
by increasing profitability and reducing losses and wastage. and expertise in automation and digitalization of textile
Data at your fingertips machinery and factories. With next generation technologies
Those associated with textile industry are very much and open source communication standards such as OPC
familiar with the dilemma of improving product quality, UA, POWERLINK and openSAFETY as well as the power-
increasing system availability while at the same time cutting ful Automation Studio software development environment,
back on maintenance costs. Equipment is a major invest- B&R is the right partner for implementing Industrial IoT
ment for any company and keeping it up and running is solutions in both new and legacy equipment. With solutions
critical. Predictive maintenance plays a vital role in monitor- for machine to factory automation, B&R serves as a perfect
ing the condition of equipment in the factories. Equipment partner to textile industry for sustainability, flexibility, higher
condition monitoring helps to reduce machine downtime productivity and profitability. w

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 MAKE IN INDIA

Danfoss India to champion

‘Make in India, for India’
Expands production and product portfolio at its
Oragadam campus
drives technology since 1968, Danfoss Drives
has been an industry veteran in developing,
manufacturing and supplying energy efficient
technology & electrification solutions to meet
the global demand for sustainable technology
across key sectors including food processing,
water, ports, chemical & pharma, metal, cement
and paper among others.
By 2025, it is estimated that more than 5 bil-
lion people (over half the estimated world popu-
lation) will benefit directly or indirectly from the
value added by Danfoss Drives globally in their
everyday lives. Additionally, the current installed
base of drives is estimated to help to save the
annual equivalent of 60 hours of global energy
consumption.
Since the company began its independent
operations in India, Danfoss India has quadru-
pled its localisation efforts in terms of produc-
tion and supply chain capabilities and projects
90 percent localisation by 2022. Today, Danfoss
Drives’ India Design Center serves as a hub for
Global High Power Designs, Application Devel-
opment Center and Product Engineering Center
and Center of Excellence in heavy industries.
Vesa Laisi, President, Danfoss Drives Speaking on the Danfoss Global Drives busi-
ness, Mr. Vesa Laisi, President, Danfoss Drives

D
anfoss Industries Pvt. Ltd., an industry leader in energy ef- said: “At Danfoss Drives, we are focussed on
ficient solutions has announced its bullish stance on further- generating value from our decades of experi-
ing the presence of its Drives segment in India, to further its ence to help drive the sustainability goals of
localisation and support the GoI’s mission towards an ‘Athmanirbhar national and international governments, in a
Bharat’. The Danfoss Group has made significant investments to the bid to help engineer a better and more sustain-
tune of INR 1000+ crores in last six years, to further the company’s able future. Backed by a strong understanding
commitment towards strengthening its local manufacturing and pow- of the global megatrends that are powering the
ering its capabilities towards India-focussed R&D and innovation. world’s economic and social growth, we aim to
Being the world’s first mass produced drive player and pioneer in push the boundaries of technology by innovat-

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 MAKE IN INDIA

rently, the final products from the Danfoss India campus are also
exported to key markets such as US, Middle East, ASEA regions.
“Danfoss India’s commitment to India has been unwavering
from the start and the recent increase in India investments of
our drives segment reinforces this commitment. The added step
towards increasing our production lines is a testament to our
success story in addressing the needs of our customers and the
industry during these trying times. We remain steadfast in our
journey towards complete localisation and stand in solidarity with
the centre’s clarion call for “India for India” and the “Aatmanirb-
har Bharat Abhiyaan.”, said Mr. Ravichandran Purushothaman,
President, Danfoss India.
As part of Danfoss’ commitment to India, the company had
made extensive investments to further enhance the drives assem-
bly and manufacturing facility in 2019 and commenced the man-
ufacturing of P600 platform Drives from the Chennai campus,
which is currently also exported to global markets. The current in-
vestment allows for further expansion (since August 2020) for the
Palanisamy Lakshman P, assembly of the FC51/FC360 range of drives to cater exclusively
Director - Danfoss Drives, Danfoss India to the Indian market and further expand the P600 manufacturing
line in the coming months. The new range of drives will create
ing solutions to tackle climate change, helps cope a significant impact towards improving energy efficiency and
with rapid urbanisation and helps improve stand- maximising energy productivity. The latest additions to the drives
ards of living among the citizens of the world. portfolio to assemble in India will drive up the percentage of sales
Going into details about Danfoss Drives in India, of ‘Made in India’ drives to over 80%.
Mr. P L Palanisamy, Director – Danfoss Drives, Danfoss Drives find extensive applications across a range of
Danfoss India said: “Since its inception, Danfoss industries in India such as food & beverages, plastics, HVAC, air
India has viewed the region with vast growth po- compressor and textile OEMs, chemical, cement, steel, water,
tential. We continue to be the market leader across oil & gas, marine, paper to name a few. The 50 Acre Platinum
several verticals such as commercial buildings, rated Danfoss’ Chennai factory is equipped with two state of the
chemical, power, textiles, cement, pulp & paper, art assembly lines for drives, full load & harmonics testing facility
etc. due to our continuous innovation and value up to 1MW including EMC labs. Additionally, all the necessary
addition to customers. With the wide-spread adop- regulatory and customer approvals have been procured for the
tion of our drives across key Indian industries, we Chennai site.
have increasingly strengthened our resolve to make Since March 2020, with the implementation of the nationwide
our Danfoss Drives business self-reliant where lockdown, Danfoss India has demonstrated extreme business
~80% of our supplies are produced from India resilience and agility, ensuring minimal disruptions to its opera-
Campus with an increasing focus on building a tions. While select production lines have already been ramped up
local supplier base and enhancing process innova- to 100% capacity, a sizeable portion of the staff continues to work
tion for our customers in India. We are optimistic from home. Danfoss has ably leveraged its digital capabilities to
that the move towards increasing investments in conduct complex functions such as R&D and product inspections
the Drive segments will stimulate continued growth along with ensuring continued interaction with their customers
for Danfoss in India.” and other stakeholders.
With a steady focus on building a strong global In its continued efforts towards sustainability, the company has
R&D & engineering function, Danfoss India has committed to reduce the company’s energy intensity by 50% and
built fresh avenues for customer and industry double the company’s energy productivity before 2030 – both
collaborations within the country to enhance the measured against the base year of 2007. It is also set to change
product testing capabilities at global standards and its company car fleet to become all electric latest by 2030. In the
increase the speed of innovation. The company has coming years, Danfoss also aims to implement numerous meas-
also made huge strides in achieving maximum self- ures to further reduce our energy consumption and drive greener
reliance right from the sourcing of raw materials to technology investments in its buildings and processes.
the delivery of the finished products in India. Cur- w

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 TECHNOLOGY

Cables weighing tons guided by

quickly mounted igus energy chain
Harnessed and tested e-loop energy supply system increases safety and reduces procurement
and installation time

It guides cables safely at a defined bend radius

and even withstands shocks and impacts: the
e-loop. The energy chain system is specifically
designed for hanging applications, such as in
deep drilling rigs and is already replacing service
loops worldwide. In order to offer users a com-
plete ready-to-connect system from a single source
that operates safely even in extreme application
scenarios, such as in explosion zones, igus now
offers its energy chains with special connectors and
cables as tested readychains.
To guide cables safely in hanging applications,
igus has developed the e-loop as an alternative to
the service loop. This is because the service loop
often causes a number of problems: the cables
have no guide, have no defined bend radius, can-
not move and, in the worst case, break. When ser-
vicing or repairing the service loop, the complete
system must be replaced, as the cables are sealed
together. “With the e-loop we have developed
an alternative to the service loop. The three-dimensional provided by igus with special cables and special connectors
energy supply system combines the advantages of a poly- for shore power supply and explosive zones as a finished
mer energy chain with a high strength pull rope. The rope system. The energy supply system is harnessed by igus and
absorbs the tensile forces inside the chain and transmits tested with a Megger VLF Sinus 34kV. The readychain sys-
them to the mounting brackets. This means that the cables tem saves the user almost 90% procurement time and 68%
remain completely strain-relieved”, says Tim Schneebeck, of the assembly time. In addition, igus gives a guarantee
Industry Manager Oil & Gas at igus GmbH. The modu- of up to 36 months depending on the configuration of the
lar e-chain made of high-performance polymer offers a e-loop.
defined bend radius at all times and withstands vibrations e-loop series also expanded for stationary applica-
and shocks thanks to PU protectors. tions
Save procurement time and costs Due to the success of the system, igus has now expanded
The e-loop successfully replaces the service loop, espe- the e-loop series to include a version with crossbars every
cially in deep drilling rigs. But the e-loop is also used in 2nd link. The new version has been specifically developed
shore power supply or open-cast mining: “We have already for stationary applications, for example in shore power
won many projects. Customers often wanted a complete supply, for the energy supply from the mast to the power
energy supply system with the appropriate essential tests in container; it is lightweight and cost-effective. The e-loop
accordance with VDE and IEC”, says Schneebeck. “For low is also available with rollers and handle modules so that
voltage cables, for example for top drive systems, we were it can be easily moved from A to B over the floor at quay
able to supply a completely tested readychain system with facilities. When the machine and system reaches the end
chainflex cables right from the start. We now have the right of their service life and is no longer in use, igus will take
partners on board for high-voltage cables and special con- it back and guarantee pure recycling. In return, the user
nectors”, says Markus Hüffel, Product Manager readychain receives a credit note based on the net weight.
& readycable at igus GmbH. All e-loops can now also be w

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 SPINNING

Spin high-quality ring yarns

economically and flexibly
Rieter ring spinning machines offer spinning mills a degree of flexibility like no other spinning tech-
nology. Added to this are economic advantages that increase considerably when looking at a com-
plete Rieter spinning system. In a comparison with different suppliers, this system demonstrated
significantly better cost efficiency, offering a cash flow that is USD 310 000 higher per year.

Fig. 1: As a system supplier, Rieter offers the complete ring spinning system, including automation solutions such as SERVOtrail.

If a spinning mill wants to spin a wide variety of ning technology offers the same diversity and flexibility
different yarns, Rieter recommends the ring spinning for enabling customers to respond to the particular
system. Whether the spinning mill produces stand- requirements of the market.
ard yarns from various raw materials and in all yarn The economical advantage of a Rieter ring spinning
counts, or fancy yarns, core yarns or twin yarns, a system can be seen in a comparison. Here, a “mixed
ring spinning system always offers the most flexible system” consisting of machines from two different manu-
solution. With the Rieter compacting device on the ring facturers was contrasted with a Rieter system. A denim slub
spinning machine, it is even possible to quickly switch yarn was produced. The Rieter system (Fig. 1) comprised
between ring yarn and compact yarn. No other spin- the blowroom line VARIOline, the cards C 80, the draw

Fig. 2: The ring spinning machine G 38 offers full flexibility for producing standard and special yarns

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 SPINNING

Better Utilize the Raw Material

Fiber waste is a key factor in creating an
economical spinning process. Even small
savings pay off. Optimal raw-material
utilization is achieved in the blowroom
line VARIOline thanks to the combination
of microtufts, the function VARIOset and
progressive cleaning. An efficient blowroom
process is dependent on the raw material
being well opened from the outset. The
automatic bale opener A 12 is capable of
breaking down the bales into microtufts.
The removal of trash and dust in the
downstream blowroom process is consid-
erably gentler and more efficient. On the
high-performance cards C 80, the maxi-
mum technological carding areas with 40
active flats (Fig. 3) and a working width of
Fig. 3: The high-performance card C 80 with the largest active carding area allows low loss of
good fibers while retaining the same sliver or yarn quality. 1.5 meters and the pre- and post-carding
zones that can be equipped individually
frames SB-D 26 and RSB-D 26, the roving frames F 40, the roving bobbin ensure extremely low loss of good fibers
transport system SERVOtrail and the ring spinning machines G 38 with the while retaining the same sliver and yarn
integrated device VARIOspin for spinning slub yarns (Fig. 2). A cotton with quality. To summarize, raw-material savings
a staple length of 1 1/16 inches was used, which was spun into a slub yarn of 0.3% can be achieved with the Rieter
with a yarn count of Ne 14. Both systems each produced 2 078 kilograms system compared to the “mixed system.”
of yarn per hour. Save Space
Save 10% Energy The high productivity of the Rieter ma-
Energy-efficient solutions and a high production capacity generate en-
ergy savings of 10% throughout the Rieter process when compared to the
“mixed system.” The blowroom line VARIOline with the option ECOrized
plays a significant part in this. It reduces the energy consumption of the
pneumatic fiber transport throughout the blowroom line by 30%. High
production output, energy-efficient drives, and innovative machine com-
ponents on the card C 80 also lead to lower energy costs per kilogram of
card sliver produced. The draw frames with the drive concept ECOrized
are very energy efficient too. The largest contribution to the low energy
consumption of the Rieter system is made by the ring spinning machines G
38 with double-sided suction, energy-optimized elements and motors, and
energy-saving spindles and spindle drives.

Fig. 5: Produce fancy yarn at any time: the Rieter

Fig. 4: Customers who choose the Rieter ring spinning system generate a cash flow that is ring spinning machine G 38 with integrated slub yarn
USD 310 000 higher per year. system VARIOspin.

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 SPINNING

Be Flexible
The ring spinning
machine G 38 is an
all-rounder that allows
the business to respond
quickly to changing market
requirements. With up
to 1 824 spindles, it can
produce a wide variety
of slub yarns and special
yarns, such as core yarns
and twin yarns, and even
compact yarns too. The
Rieter slub yarn system
VARIOspin is integrated
into the machine. The
latest-generation servomo-
tors are ideal for the high
dynamics involved in slub
yarn production. A range
of effect designs can easily
be programmed on the
machine display or an
Fig. 6: The piecing robot ROBOspin increases productivity and reduces personnel costs external computer with the
appropriate software and
chines enables the same output as a “mixed system” to be reliably reproduced. This allows fancy yarns of outstand-
achieved with fewer machines. This saves a lot of space. In ing quality – that is to say Rieter quality – to be produced
the case study mentioned above, the Rieter spinning mill efficiently and profitably (Fig. 5). For producing compact
requires five cards, one draw frame and 5% fewer ring yarn on the G 38, the customer can choose between the
spindles than the “mixed system.” Space-saving machine optionally available compacting devices COMPACTdrum
concepts lead to a compact spinning mill layout. This re- and COMPACTeasy. They make it simple to switch between
sults in space savings of approximately 10% and therefore ring yarn and compact yarn.
correspondingly lower building investments and mainte- Profit Further
nance costs. The new piecing robot ROBOspin for Rieter ring spinning
Reduce Personnel machines (Fig. 6) was not included in the comparison, but
Fewer machines means also less operating effort, since offers further economic advantages. It makes work on the
the Rieter system needs 3% fewer personnel. Automation ring spinning machine considerably more attractive. The
solutions such as the automated roving frame F 40 with the piecing robot automates a very unpopular task in the spin-
fastest doffer on the market, the roving bobbin transport ning mill for which it is hard to find the personnel in many
system SERVOtrail and user-friendly machines likewise markets: repairing ends down that occur during spinning
reduce personnel requirements. or after doffing. The robot receives information about the
Earn More position of the ends down from the integrated individual
Taking raw-material utilization, energy and labor spindle monitoring system ISM premium. The two robots –
costs, interest rates and ongoing operating costs into one on each side of the machine – are used 24/7 without
consideration, the total production costs of the perfectly any loss of efficiency. Spinning mills benefit from ROBOs-
synchronized Rieter system from a single source are sig- pin in the following key aspects: increased machine avail-
nificantly lower than those of the solution with different ability, higher productivity and a reduced burden on the
suppliers. This means customers who invest in the Rieter personnel side, which in turn reduces personnel costs. The
ring spinning system generate an approximately USD quality of the yarn piecer is consistent, and contamination
310 000 higher cash flow per year at the same produc- or damage of the cop is a thing of the past. An innovative
tion volume than customers who choose the “mixed and intelligent solution that is also available as a retrofit
system” (Fig. 4). depending on the machine model. w

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 TECHNOLOGY

Grundfos’ digital solutions

supporting Textile Industry
Grundfos, one of the global leaders in advanced pump solutions, has been able to create a unique
mark in the water industry. One of its advanced products range includes the chemical dosing pumps.
Grundfos’ solutions help to determine the number of chemicals injected into each process and provide
the right-size of the dosing pump for any system to make sure the best performance and precision is
achieved in a textile industry. Digital dosing pumps are also used by various other industries like food,
manufacturing facilities, medical laboratories and mining operations.

Grundfos, one of the global leaders in advanced pump industries operate, dosing of chemicals has also become
solutions, has been able to create a unique mark in the wa- smarter. The transition from a silo system of dosing chemi-
ter industry. One of its advanced products range includes cals to automation has meant that these operations can be
the chemical dosing pumps. Grundfos’ solutions help to controlled remotely by software such as Building Manage-
determine the number of chemicals injected into each pro- ment System (BMS).
cess and provide the right-size of the dosing pump for any The challenges associated with chemical dosing are no
system to make sure the best performance and precision is longer just a technical problem, having different number of
achieved in a textile industry. Digital dosing pumps are also proprietary chemicals in the market combined with the chang-
used by various other industries like food, manufacturing es in the organisational set up demands multiple departments
facilities, medical laboratories and mining operations. like planning & procurement, logistics & inventory manage-
The dyeing applications in the textile industry have come ment, plant operations and other to converge in order to
a long way from the manual addition of dyes to mecha- optimize the chemical demand in the respective processes.
nised dosing. With industry 4.0 revolutionizing the way In the textile dyeing application, Hydrogen Perox-

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 TECHNOLOGY

ide (H2O2) is a commonly used process. The primary function of a dosing pump is to transfer precise dosing
bleaching agent. Assessments were medium (chemicals, syrups etc). Grundfos’ smart digital dosing pumps use the
conducted by Grundfos in a towel stepper motor - the lynchpin ensures the accuracy of dosing.
manufacturing industry in southern In an automated-process environment, the ability of individual devices to
Tamil Nadu, India that uses H2O2 as interact with other devices and the potential to generate and capture data
bleaching agent. The entire process are paramount. The real time data allows businesses to analyse and register
was a manual setup, in an attempt to continuous improvement in the entire process. Grundfos’ smart digital pumps
automate the process, few interesting enhance operational efficiency not only in an automated environment but can
observations were made: simulate an automated process even when operating in silos. The Grundfos
• Due to manual handling, chemicals DID controller can also be coupled with the pumps when multiple chemicals /
were lost in some batches that also dyes are used in a process – this can help synchronise the pumps.
led to spillage and other issues Grundfos SMART Digital dosing solutions have heralded a new era of intel-
• Visible differences in the quality of ligent chemical dosing. The cutting-edge drive technology, new dimensions of
towels that received less quantity of end-user comfort and intelligent flow control help in improving cost efficiencies
chemical during bleaching while continuing to support any high precision processes. w
• Chemical stored in abundance led
to high inventory cost
Some of the key issues are the
nature of the chemicals used in dye-
ing applications and their unregu-
lated quantities. Precise and accurate
dosage of chemicals ensures proper
dyeing while reducing costs and
simultaneously increasing the overall
productivity.
Textile units currently no longer
need a single product, but rather
needs holistic solutions to address the
problems while continuously improv-
ing the process. In the chemical
dosing context, the offered values
are perceived differently by end users
(plant operators), influencers (con-
sultants) and the actual purchaser
(purchase department). The end user
requires a system that is robust with
minimal downtime, the actual pur-
chaser seeks best quality at best price
and the influencer derives value in the
overall performance of the system.
Hence, the challenge in selecting the
right dosing pump becomes multi-
dimensional.
The rotating components of the
mechanical device is subjected to
constant wear and tear and dosing
pumps are no exceptions. Over a
period, the error percentage or toler-
ance of the pump widens and results
in dosing quantity variation. This
takes away the process control and
results in higher chemical consump-
tion. The purchase decision based
on price very often overlooks the
lifecycle cost of a dosing pump. Dos-
ing pumps, if rightly selected not only
bring down the operating cost but
also increase the productivity of the

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 116 l THE TEXTILE MAGAZINE l NOVEMBER 2020
Published by R. Natarajan from and on behalf of Gopali & Co., Quanta Zen Apartments, No.38/2, Thomas Road, 2nd Street, T.Nagar, Chennai-600017
and Printed by B. Ashok Kumar at Rathna Offset Printers, 40, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai-600014. Editor: R. Natarajan

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