AO-JANUARY-16-31-11.pdf - Apparel Resources

2 ApparelOnline JANUARY 16-31, 2011


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Contents January 16-31, 2011

Editor-in-Chief

DEEPAK MOHINDRA

Deputy Editor

ILA SAXENA

Deputy Editor-Supplements

VINITA PANDEY

Copy Editor

VEERESHWAR SOBTI

Asstt. Editor (Fashion)

SHRADDHA GUPTA

Special Correspondent (Europe)

CLAUDIA OLLENHAUER-RIES

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Creative Team

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The year that was ...

10. MindTreeRound-up 2010

16. HotDebateBuyers Cornered into Giving BetterPrices... Really?“Garment Industry in India uses ChildLabour”: US Department of Labor

Employee Engagement only way to Retainthem today

20. Buyers’Speak

23. IndustryWireExpansions Made Or In Pipeline

Starting New Product Categories

Going Green

Partnership/Mergers/Acquisitions

30. NaturalCluster

36. EmergingMarkets

37. Impressions...Sustainability

38. TextileUpdateExpansions in capacity on the rise… Moreto come in 2011Processing StrengthSave EnvironmentTechnical Textiles Gaining Momentum…Round up 2010Product Talk... Advancements & LaunchesUpcoming Textile ParksAO Benchmarked... Some Very Fine UnitsTechnical Textiles... The Thrust Area

50. RGHaberdashery

57. BuyersNews

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VOL. XIII Issue 20


RewindRewindRewindRewindRewind2010


January 1-15

Has your business been affected byincreasing cotton prices?

I had to reject a huge order because I amnot sure what to quote as prices of fabricsare increasing almost on a daily basis. Thisproblem can only be sorted out if theGovernment restricts the cotton exportsand gives preference to domesticconsumers first. If things continue thisway, the country will lose substantialbusiness in garment exports which will goto competitors.

Sudhir Dhingra, CMD, Orient Craft,Gurgaon

January 16-31

What agendas would you like the newChairman, Premal Udani to adopt for thebetterment of the industry?

Firstly, the Chairman should try anddevelop more clout with the Governmentwhile working on critical policies.

He should create a database of regularbuyers and also keep them updated aboutthe Credit Ratings, which will help the smallexporters to have an idea about thefinancial soundness of the buyers. He

should also develop a legal or advisorycell in order to advise the exporters onissues like dealing with paymentdefaults and unreasonable discountsdemanded by buyers.

Regulatory mechanism should alsobe built to keep a tab on the unfairpractices of buying agencies/agents.More aggressive promotion ofIndian Apparel Industry is necessaryin new and emerging marketsacross the globe.

Animesh Saxena, Managing Director,Neetee Clothing, Gurgaon

February 1-15

Bangladesh is keen to corner 10%share of India’s growing domesticapparel market and also neutralize itsexcise duties on imports. What’s yourtake on this?

The Indian Government should takesteps to promote the export trade ratherthan offering grants to other nations. TheGovernment should increase thedrawback rates by almost 7% to competewith the other countries.

Ravi Poddar, Managing Director,Cheer Sagar, Jaipur

ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED DURING 2010


MINDMINDMINDMINDMINDTREERound-up 2010

JANUARY 16-31, 2011 ApparelOnline 11

February 16-28

What are you doing to offercompetitive prices yet maintain yourmargins?

We follow a two-pronged strategy toachieve this, namely, working on theproduct mix to maximize sales realizationand controlling input costs by achievingself-sufficiency in raw material productionthrough vertical integration.

Manish Mandhana, MD, MandhanaIndustries, Mumbai

March 1-15

What according to you are the ways inwhich new markets can be developed?

The need of the hour is to develop newmarkets. But the choice of the markethas to be done judiciously keeping inmind the market potential and thepurchasing power and taste of thepeople of that market. Taking delegationsand organizing buyer-seller meetings willhelp. The Government should subsidizesuch meets for greater participation.

Rajeev Bansal, Director, CelestialKnits & Fabs, Noida

March 16-31

Recently the Union Textile MinisterDayanidhi Maran lashed out at India’stextile industrialists for coming to theGovernment with a “begging bowl”instead of taking steps to innovate…Do you think that his remarks werejustified…?

The statement from the Union TextilesMinister is unjustified and uncalled for atthe time when the prices of cotton yarnand fabric are towering high and it isindeed very difficult to compete withother garment manufacturing nations inthe international market today. Thoughour presence across the globe is growing,we surely need the Government’ssupport to fuel this ever-growing industry.

Gyan Prakash Mittal, Director,Kanhaiyalal Kalyanmal, Jaipur

April 1-15

There has been a 33% hike inminimum wages... How will this affectorders already in hand?

There are two ways of looking at thisissue, from workers point of view thismove is welcomed. I have talked to 4-5exporters in Delhi and of them three planto move out of Delhi while one at leasthas already stopped taking further ordersfrom buyers saying that he plans to shuthis Delhi unit and shift base.

PMS Uppal, MD, Pee Empro Exports,New Delhi

April 16-30

Would you invest in an apparel park?If yes, what advantages do you seeand if no, then why not?

I would definitely like to invest for myoperation in the upcoming Textile/Apparel Park. Textile parks are new facesof Indian apparel and allied industryand these state-of-the-art parks ifdeveloped well, will give buyers a newand great confidence to work withIndian manufacturers and exporters, asbetter infrastructure means betterquality products, higher efficiency andfaster delivery.

Vikas Mehra, Director, MehrasonsIndustries, Ludhiana

May 1-15

What measures are you taking to rideover the fluctuating currency rate?

Due to the dollar and rupee difference,we suffered losses of lakhs of rupees,which the buyer never compensates for.We recommend that the Government fixa dollar price for one year, at aroundRs. 47-48 per dollar, for exporters.

Pradeep Nahata, Owner, KarniExports, Jaipur

May 16-30

What are the reasons for the shortfallin labour and how are factoriesaddressing this problem?

The labour shortage is majorly due toNREGA. In order to overcome thisproblem, we are trying to source labourfrom the local area, which is a difficulttask. We are also assuring betterfacilities like hostels and transportationto the existing labour. We would suggestthat there should be better trainingfacilities in village areas so that thelabour is well trained and can come towork in our units at better salaries.

R. Muthu Kumar, MD, TextureClothing Company, Tirupur

June 1-15

Should the industry accept theorders to keep the buyers in thecountry or allow the situation tosettle down first?

It is not wise to allow our customers tolook elsewhere as sudden increase inraw material prices has shocked themas well and their demand will graduallyfall in place. We should think on long-term basis and accept the businessfrom our customers and keep theirinterest alive for sourcing from India.

Hari Kapoor, MD, Allied Industries,Noida

June 16-30

Will an Integrated Textile Policyeliminate the problems that the textilechain from yarn to garmenting hasfaced due to rising cotton prices?

An Integrated Textile Policy is the need ofthe hour. Some tips for success ofIntegrated Textile Policy are: Exports ofcotton in a selective manner; measureslike incentives to farmers and ginners ifcotton is sold in domestic market;balanced rate of drawback for yarnexports; increase in rate of DEPB andduty drawback for fabrics exports;attractive incentives for exports ofgarments and made-ups; simplification ofcustom procedures; and security inforeign exchange price fluctuations.

Bharat Chhajer, Director, BumacoFabrics, Ahmedabad (Chairman,PDEXCIL)

July 1-15

After the US, it’s the EU which issliding into a recession phase… wouldthis affect business or exporters havespread their market base enough toremain largely unaffected?

Yes, the downturn in Europe will definitelyaffect us, more so as due to theappreciation in currency the number oforders received is less. The productioncosts and the labour costs have gone up,but the European buyers are not raisingprices. We are left with no option but towork at breakeven or lower margins.

Ujjawal Garg, MD, Garg Acrylic IndiaLtd., Ludhiana

July 16-31

Will the landmark move to unpeg theyuan have a positive impact ongarment exports from India?

The unpegging of yuan would definitelyhave a positive impact on Indian exportsin the long run. The buyers may pull outfrom China if its currency appreciates andlook for other markets in India, Korea,Brazil, etc. If the value of yuan hardens,the Indian exporters may increase theirprice as well, because they would havereceived the imported raw material athigher rates from China.

Raj Kumar Goel, IndependentConsultant, Foreign Exchange Matters

August 1-15

Many experts feel that the potentialgrowth of Indian exports is 30-40 percent over the next years... justify suchpredictions?

There are some major issues pertaining toour industry at present like cotton prices,



fluctuating currency, labour policy, whichare adversly affecting growth. Once theseissues are resolved our industry willdefinitely grow. The abilities of ourmanpower and entrepreneurs to grow areproven worldwide with fine performancebut the problems created due to theseissues cannot be controlled by them,the Government needs to take measuresto control them.

O.S. Pasricha, MD, TCNS, Gurgaon

August 16-31

The Indian Apparel Industry has beenput on the EO listing by the USDepartment of Labour. What do youthink the AEPC should do to impressupon the DOL that Indian garmentindustry is free of child labour… Are theactions they are taking now, enough?

It is tragic that such allegations are beingput on the Indian Apparel Industry.

The AEPC has undoubtedly been slow intaking action. It should now act quickly andtake the necessary steps to clear theimage of the Indian Apparel industry. If anyof the factories is found indulging in forcedchild labour practice, they should bepunished severely for it and it should bemade sure that the entire industrydoesn’t suffer because of the insensitivityof a few persons.

Atman P. Shah, Vice-PresidentMarketing, Artex Apparels, Ahmedabad

September 1-15

Is the manufacturing of disposableproducts made from technical textilesthe growth direction for the garmentindustry?

Yes, non woven textiles do have a goodfuture. I would like to harness theopportunity as the growth rate of nonwoven textile in the domestic market isabout 12% whereas in the Westerncountries it is about 7 to 8%.

K. Kandasamy, MD, Majestic Exports,Tirupur

September 16-30

Annual Supplement to Foreign TradePolicy (FTP) 2009-14 was announcedrecently. Are you happy with theincentives granted?

Though many promises are being made,the delivery is not at par with expectations.In the long run, the industry needs tangibleschemes to increase market share and theGovernment has to appreciate that we arean industry with the potential to providemaximum employment provided ourfactories keep running.

Vijay Jindal, MD, SPL Limited,Faridabad

October 1-15

The Government of India iscontemplating a move to make itcompulsory for corporates to invest inCSR… Do you think it will be an addededge for the garment industry?

It’s an appreciable thought. This move willenhance the image of Indian industries inthe global market and will go a long way inassuring the international clients andultimate consumers of the commitment ofthe Indian Government and industries inthe world of sustainability.

Not only will it make Indian industriesmore responsible but will also be a majorinstrument towards the country’s socialgrowth and development.

Shreyaskar Chaudhary, MD & CEO,Pratibha Syntex, Indore

October 16-31

China gained 15% in exports to the USin first seven months this year yet afew industry-informed people claimthat the orders are shifting from Chinato India. What are the indications fromyour buyers that justify or contradictthe claim?

Several factors like wage inflation,strengthening of yuan, increase in energycost and stricter enforcement ofcompliance norms are affecting China’sexport competitiveness and buyers arebeginning to look elsewhere and developalternate sources of supply. There hasbeen a marginal “not substantial” shift inbusiness from China to low cost areas inAsia; and given that these new suppliersare able to deliver as per the qualityspecifications of the customers, wecould witness a gradual yet substantialshift in business to these newmanufacturing destinations.

Bipin Sehgal, Head India, WFB Baird& Company (India), New Delhi

November 1-15

Do you look at polyester as a viablealternative with cotton prices rising?

The Indian Apparel Exports arepredominantly cotton-based and we arenot expecting any major change in nearfuture in spite of new Governmentinitiative to promote use of polyesterfabric. At present our polyester apparelshave cost disadvantage and thereforeout-priced in the international market. TheGovernment should, therefore, providemore incentives to promote polyesterfabrics. We, therefore, do not expect thepolyester boom in India at least for thegarment export sector till adequate fiscalincentives are provided by theGovernment. However, the consumption

may increase as the textile industrysupplying for domestic market use morepolyester then the cotton if the priceadvantage remains in near future.

Rakesh Vaid, President, GEA, Delhi

November 16-30

Is the buyer ready to foot the bill forincreased cost of production?

The buyers who would like to maintain thevendor relationships on long-term basisare accepting the price increase but notto the extent that it has risen.

There is a dire need that the buyers paythese increased costs in India as well,since the same buyers are paying theseadditional prices in other countries of theirsourcing. India is an important sourcingdestination so we are confident thebuyers will have to compensate us forthese increased costs too.

Anurag Goenka, MD, KGI Clothing,Chennai

December 1-15

How can an exporter quote a pricewhich can be maintained for at leastfour months under thesecircumstances?

Retailers need to understand morecomprehensively the manufacturer’spriorities, costing and production planningin order to help take waste andinefficiencies out of the process that theretailer’s current systems create. Inaddition, the Indian exporter needs towork more closely and transparentlywith the retailers to ensure a high level oftrust in intent. Lastly, Indian exportersneed to establish themselves as themost innovative industry in the worldby creating meaningful, alternativesin design and materials to offsetthe cost pressures.

Trip Wood, MD, TSS India, TargetSourcing Services, Delhi

December 16-31

Retail predictions from both the USand EU indicate that holiday seasonwill be better than last year. What doyou think is there any negativeinfluence that could reverse theexpectations?

Even as most retailers are bullish abouttheir expansion plans in the USA, I feeldemand for retail will be on a high in thenext year. So yes, 2011 will see a rise inconsumer spending in both the EU andthe US barring Ireland which is still reelingunder a huge deficit.Ashraf Zaidi, Managing AE Kids 77,Apparel United, Delhi




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Top 20 questions in themind of industry…

1. When will cotton prices level off?

2. What will be the new base price for future’s of cotton?

3. Hanes Corporation announced 10% increase inproduct pricing!

4. Will retailers raise their prices accordingly?

5. Sri Lanka running positive Labor Compliance ads invarious trade papers!

6. Mexico apparel exports to USA and EU, up 19% for2010 so far!

7. Pakistan not exporting cotton!

8. New Cotton crops in March 2011, will they coverthe demand?

9. What restrictive protectionist regulations by variouscountries will make for USA to slow down trade?

10. The Republican Party has taken over House ofRepresentatives, and they are a FREE TRADE Party!

11. What will be the actions of USTR and US Congress,for moving Free Trade Agreements forward?

12. Status of Korea, Columbia, and Panama, and suchothers in the pipeline?

13. Will there be a slowdown of cargo shipping due toless vessels, and inspections for terrorism attacks?

14. When will the Banks in the USA start lending tosmall and medium size businesses, start flowing ata consistent pace?

15. Jobs rebuilding a very slow process, and will holdeconomy growth down!

16. Cap on Trade seems to be tabled, will this allow formore USA jobs?

17. What spending cuts wil l the new House ofRepresentatives attack, and will it help the economy?

18. Trade shows in the USA for apparel, closing becauseof less traffic and high costs to exhibit and travel too!

19. Higher costs in China now for most commodities,where will and is this business going to?

20. What natural catastrophes will be taking place aroundthe world, volcanoes, floods, earthquakes, typhoons,hurricanes, tsunamis, revolutions, etc.?

Top 20 suggestions forsurvival…

1. Operate Lean and Mean;

2. Review each and every job description;

3. Do you really need to exhibit at a trade show oradvertise;

4. Is meeting your customer face more important toservice them;

5. Not relying on rumours, but doing your ownresearch;

6. Enhance you vendor relationship;

7. Taking the time looking for new vendors;

8. Review all areas of expense, even if you think it isfixed;

9. Visit your customer directly, and learn theirneeds;

10. Let everyone know your goals and objectives;

11. Create morale that is positive;

12. Take a hard look as to the information you reallyneed to operate;

13. Eliminate waste or fringe from non producingareas;

14. Lead your employees and do not accept negativeattitudes;

15. Learn when to say NO, as well as a well investigatedYES;

16. Your Plans must have a Time Action Calendardates;

17. You must manage and monitor these calendars;

18. Learn where your weakest links are and fix them;

19. Correct Problems; Detect Problems; Prevent it fromhappening again;

20. Put people to work

BruceS.BertonExecutive VicePresident & COO,Roochi Traders Inc.,USADirect your queries to:[email protected]


The global apparel industry isat a crossroad today withboth the retailer and themanufacturer looking at newoptions to stay competitivewhile meeting evolving needsof fashion on one hand andincreasingly demandingconsumer on the other. Thefact that the industry haspassed through a slowdownphase has made thingsworse… Even the biggerplayers, though showing topline growth, have beenchallenged on the bottomline to remain ‘healthy’. Thethree critical elements thatare responsible for rise incost of production aresoaring cotton prices,increasing wage rates andfluctuating currency… (Nov. 1-15)

HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTDEBATE


BuyersCornered intoGiving BetterPrices...Really?

“We are entrepreneurs and when we startedbusiness there was hardly anything to workon, even in the metros; now we are acommunity of intelligent and experiencedpeople who recognize that the future of Indialies in the villages”

“Nobody is willing to pay higher pricesthat have become necessitated withincreasing cotton prices. There isresistance from every buyer. While wagesincreased and cotton prices zoomed,export realizations are more or less static.How do I absorb this cost?”

RAJENDRA HINDUJAMD, Gokaldas Exports

SUDHIR DHINGRA, CMD, Orient Craft

“Even if last year’s ending stock of 40.5 lakhbales as estimated by CAB is taken intoaccount in full, there will be practically nocotton stock left in the country if 55 lakhbales get exported during this time. This willlead to a cotton famine in the country andmills will be forced to close down or scaledown production drastically”

SHISHIR JAIPURIA, Chairman, CITI

“We want to take training into the heart ofthe country where the real workforce livesfor that we have already completed thefirst stage of ‘training the trainer’ and nowwe are ready to mobilise workers fromsmall cities and interior villages”

“For the first time a push back ishappening and exporters are actuallytelling the buyer that they cannot workat the prices offered. We can afford todo this because we are getting goodorders”

GAUTAM NAIR, MD, Matrix Clothing HARI KAPOOR, MD, Allied Industries



SANJAY K JAIN, JMD, TT Limited

“Unfortunately, all threefactors are not in the handsof the manufacturer and helives in uncertainty on howthe market will drive thethree in the future”

VIMAL KIRTI SINGHDirector General, AEPC

PREMAL UDANIChairman, AEPC

“Working on internal systems andimproving productivity, product andservice is definitely important butcoming together to address macroissues for long-term growth andsustainability of India as amanufacturing hub is the key tosurvival… and it is now happening.”

“Cotton isn’t a perishable commodity, why can’t the Cotton Corporation ofIndia buy and stock cotton like FCI is doing for food grains. The cotton canbe sold in off-season to Indian users or internationally at better prices, plusthe objective of maintaining buffer stock would also be achieved”

Exporters in Delhi Worried asMinimum Wages increase morethan 33%

The recent hike in minimum wages for Delhi and Haryana hasbrought smiles on the faces of both the workers as well as the

NGO bodies battling to get ‘living wages’ right. Other states areexpected to follow suit. The wage hike particularly in Delhi hasbrought wages nearer to the living wage which is being mooted atRs. 6,000 per month.

The Apparel Exporters & Manufacturers Association (AEMA)had written a letter to the Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dixithighlighting the difficulties that the industry is facing and theimpact that the increased wage rates will have on the alreadydifficult situation… Responding to the letter, the Chief Ministerupheld the raise saying that the Government has responsibilityto address the aspirations of all sections of the society and sincethe increase is not specific to the garment industry, no exceptioncan be made. She further informed that all procedures required forsuch raise were duly complied with. (April 16-30)

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Bangladesh, an EmergingManufacturing Base for IndianExportersAs manufacturing cost in India increases with rising wages,spiralling input cost and appreciating rupee, more and moreIndian exporters are looking at Bangladesh to outsource a sectionof their buyer needs. While Bangladesh is certainly an option, thegoing is not a walkover and companies already working in thecountry caution that dedicated and close involvement of theIndian counterpart is critical to achieve targets. No doubt, thesector is a privileged one and the viability of manufacturinggarments in Bangladesh has attracted many Indian exporters tothe country including players like Orient Craft, TCNS, Pearl,Orient Clothing, Matrix, Gokaldas Images, to name a few. Themost obvious reason for working in Bangladesh of course is lowwages, which are around one-third of what Indian manufacturersare paying. (April 16-30)

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“Certainly both [lists] are an unsettling stigma for responsiblemanufacturers because they are industry wide, not companyspecific, allegations. That means the reputation of Indianindustries is at risk because no socially responsible USbuyer wants to be affiliated with child labor or forced labor of

any sort….”

BRENDA JACOBSAttorney at Sidley Austin

“There are many global labor compliance firms that ourcustomers’ demand we use to certify our vendors. WRAP, SGS,CA Safety, are just a few of these labor compliance companies.Now these issues are going to get even more stringent.”

BRUCE BERTONCOO of Roochi Traders

Among the many compliance norms that are mandatory to work with international buyers, ‘child labour’ isconsidered as one of the most critical. The issue has time and again challenged the industry, more so as alot of handwork is outsourced to home workers. Now the concern has grown even bigger as despiterepresentation from the industry, the US Department of Labor has just put the Indian Apparel Industry on itsExecutive Order 13126 (EO List) pertaining to ‘forced or indentured child labor’ along with 20 other industriesfrom 28 other countries. The Indian garment industry is already on the Trafficking Victims ProtectionReauthorization Act (TVPRA) list relating to forced labor or child labor… The Department stated that itsdecision not to include Indian carpets in the final EO list was based on the detailed and analytical informationthe CEPC provided, which others who contacted the Department did not provide. (August 1-15)

“Garment Industry in India uses ChildLabour”: US Department of Labor

Most apparel & textile organizations today are realizing that a ‘satisfied’ employee is not necessarily the‘best’ employee in terms of loyalty and productivity. It is only an ‘engaged employee’ who is intellectuallyand emotionally bound with the organization and feels passionately about its goals. He goes the extra milebeyond the basic job responsibility and is associated with the actions that drive the business. Moreover, intimes when loyalty is losing ground, employee engagement is a powerful retention strategy, the fact that ithas a strong impact on the bottom-line, adds to its significance.(Sep 16-30)

Employee Engagement only way toRetain them today

“The Government, the council and the industry have allcontributed to make the efforts to eradicate child labour visibleto the DOL and we are very committed to the cause. We arejointly working to ensure that through constant vigilance andeducation the incidences of child labour are continuouslyreduced”

SHIV KUMAR GUPTAED-cum-Secretary CEPC

“The council has hastened its efforts to create a common codeof conduct for the industry as also an audit procedure to ensurethat the industry complied by the laid out rules… We are ontrack and in another month or two we will be ready to lobby forremoval of the garment industry from the list.”

PREMAL UDANIChairman, AEPC

“This is of particular importance in an export-import industry.The eminence of output and competitive advantage of a companydepends on the quality of its people”

SAMIDHA BHATNAGARManager, HR, Shahi Exports

“A greater number of loyal employees ensure low recruitmentand training costs, in effect enhancing the productivity of theorganization. They are also more willing to put in extra effortwhen the organization needs it.”

S. KOTHANDAPANIManager HR at SP Apparels

“It has been proved that there is an inherent link betweenemployee engagement, customer loyalty, and profitability.”

ANIL SHARMAHR Head, Nahar Spinning Mills Ltd.

“The upshot of HR engagement practices is evident throughthe regular feedback from our employees collected throughconferences and surveys; apart from the employee engagementsurvey conducted. The proof is the latest increase in employeeengagement and decrease in attrition,”

PARTHA SARATHI BHATTACHARYAGM, HRD, Integra




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The apparel export industry is standingtoday at a very interesting juncture,whereas at one end are the many macroissues that are affecting thecompetitiveness of the industry and at theother end there is a major influx of orderswith most exporters admitting that they arebooked for the season. Buying offices tooare very upbeat and after nearly two quietyears, most of them are looking at growthabove 20% in the current year.However, while the industry is happybecause of increased business, they arealso worried for fear of losing theopportunity because of factors beyondtheir control… increased cotton prices,appreciating rupee, upward movingwages, labour shortage and dwindlingmargins. Everyone is concerned andthe general opinion is “getting orders isnot the problem, but executing them isa challenge.”

At this critical crossroad when the industryis grappling for directions, four buyingoffices talk about the factors that arebringing business into India and how touse them to our best advantage…(May 16-31)

ImpassiveEuphoria: OrdersFlow in… SmilesYet to Follow

A lot of areas that were only dragging Indiadown earlier are now also a concern with China,which is resulting in buyers being more open tolistening to problems and cooperating toovercome them. We have to let go off pastopportunities because of our short-sightedness;the industry needs to think in long-term andkeep the buyers in the country… Buyers arenow looking at India for many non-traditionalproducts. Exporters must offer what the buyerbuys and not what he buys from him.”

Rajeev Tyagi, CEO, PARDESH

We are very upbeat of the quality and variationof the garments made in India and withshoppers back into stores, the going can onlyget better. Fashion will always survive and evenduring the slow period the segment was leastaffected. And with time, India has grown as acompetent supplier in the segment, which willcontinue to bring in business for the country.”

Les Blackston,SALES CONSULTANT AT FIGURE CLOTHING

Orders are certainly coming in and with the US looking up and the EUstable, we are projecting 20-30% growth in the coming year. Prices are nodoubt tight, but they are not impossible, and if factories get more professionaland transparent, there is a huge chunk of business that can be grabbed.”

Abha Kalsi, DIRECTOR, TAFFLES

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Today I am working with all major importers and retailers in Latin America...It is not difficult for the big export houses to get business and it is only nowthat they are showing interest in new markets, but the smaller exporters arehungry for work and they have been the backbone of building the businessin South America” Ashoo Sharma, UNIMATRIX

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I N D I A P O S I T I V E V O I C E S . . .

BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’SPEAK


“We have been rejecting many enquiriesbecause either the cost is unviable orthose who do have the capability tomanufacture at tight price limits areoverbooked with no additional capacitiesto take on more work.”Ranjeet Chawla, CEO, East-End ApparelsRanjeet Chawla, CEO, East-End ApparelsRanjeet Chawla, CEO, East-End ApparelsRanjeet Chawla, CEO, East-End ApparelsRanjeet Chawla, CEO, East-End Apparels

Buying agents have never felt theheat as much as they do today, asthey are the thread that connectsthe price-sensitive retailer/brandwith the cost confusedmanufacturer. At one end theyunderstand the cost limitations ofthe vendors and at the other theyare not unaware of retail realitiesthat forbid products from beingsold above a certain ticket price.Squeezed between the pressuresof the two, buying agencies arenow looking at new ways to keepboth the sides happy andprofitable. Team AO interactedwith some buying agencies ontheir strategy for retaining andgrowing business in these difficulttimes…(December 16-31)

Buying AgenciesSqueezed…Going All-out toFind Solutions


I N D I A P O S I T I V E V O I C E S . . .

BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’SPEAK

“If we want to get decent prices it isimportant to present a differentialproduct.”Kalpesh Kabra, MD, Kalp EximKalpesh Kabra, MD, Kalp EximKalpesh Kabra, MD, Kalp EximKalpesh Kabra, MD, Kalp EximKalpesh Kabra, MD, Kalp Exim

“We are pushing buyers forfirm commitments within afew days of submittingsamples with costing so thatexporters can place orders fortheir fabrics immediately,

before the prices increase.”RRRRRoopak Malikoopak Malikoopak Malikoopak Malikoopak Malik, MD, T, MD, T, MD, T, MD, T, MD, Teeeeextile Sourxtile Sourxtile Sourxtile Sourxtile Sourcingcingcingcingcing

“Why only garments, buyersare equally keen to pick upfabrics from India and manyof my buyers are askingabout the possibility to importyarn/fabrics from India, as

China faces crises in cotton yarn.”- Anil K- Anil K- Anil K- Anil K- Anil Koccoccoccoccoccharharharharhar, MD, Es, MD, Es, MD, Es, MD, Es, MD, Esttttteem Buyingeem Buyingeem Buyingeem Buyingeem Buying

“China has become a victimof its own success… Peopleare no longer scared thatChina is the invinciblecompetitor they thoughtit was.”

William Fung, Group MD, Li & FungWilliam Fung, Group MD, Li & FungWilliam Fung, Group MD, Li & FungWilliam Fung, Group MD, Li & FungWilliam Fung, Group MD, Li & Fung


“I feel the best approach is ratherthan competing, India and Chinashould complement each other.Each country has its ownstrengths. For instance India isbetter than China in coming upwith new ideas and samples. Weare far better in putting colourstogether. On the other hand Chinais much better with white andembroidered textiles.” (August 1-15)

Dr. P. VasudevanPresident, IndiaMerchandising Services

“India will come back in a big way this year andthe China phase will come to an end, as theIndian manufacturers have now realized that lowmarkups are the only way to get better business.So now, we have better markups and greatercreativity, while prices in China and Pakistan aregoing up every hour.”(March 16-31)

Dickey Massey,Director, Tradewinds Services

“Ladies blouses are a strong category from Indiaand with the type of value addition that Indianexporters can do the country is certainly a majorsourcing destination for us. We realize that theindustry is going through a very difficult time, butwe are ready to work with our suppliers to re-engineer the products to match our pricepoints.” (May 1-15)

Vikram RawalDirector of Production,Jones Jeanswear Group

“I think there is a lot of opportunity for Indian exporters to increase penetration into the internationalmarket and the offerings are limited. In fact, there are still many customers who don’t see India or theIndian sub-continent as a viable option and we want to tap that opportunity.” (December 16-31)

Anant Sadana, CEO, Apparel United

“From 2012 onwards (could even be from 2011),the next 10-15 years are going to be great forIndia… If we take the right steps forward, India caneasily grab 35-40% of business that is shifting fromChina, as who besides China, has the completesupply chain from fibre to the most sophisticatedplants backed by more than 35 years ofinternational industry exposure?” (September 16-30)

Rajive SuriChairman, Impulse

BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’BUYERS’SPEAKI N D I A P O S I T I V E V O I C E S . . .



Apparel Online introducedIndustryWire from mid of2010. This column hasreceived encouragingresponse from the industry.IndustryWire carries firsthand report of latesthappening in garmentexport industry. We talkabout expansions, entryinto new product categoryor new market, adding newmachinery or upgradingexisting technology,backward or verticalintegration, mergers,takeovers, new initiativesin the companies andmuch more…

INDUSTRYINDUSTRYINDUSTRYINDUSTRYINDUSTRYWIRE

N E W C O L O U M N . . .

EXPANSIONS MADE OR IN PIPELINE

Golden Seam looks for Expansion;adds Second Shift May 1-15

Bangalore-based Golden Seam, one of the garment manufacturing units ofMandhana Industries, in an expansion move is planning to add 200 more stitchingmachines. “Second shifts are a good way to increase output from the sameinfrastructure, however it has its own set of problems, so we are planning to

implement in stages starting with a single line,” says Sanjeev Mukhija,Director, Golden Seam.

Network Clothing CompanyExpands Capacity May 16-30

NCC, Tirupur is adding 200 machines to increasecapacities; the company has also invested inupgrading its printing technology to deliver multi-colour prints to the buyers. “Buyers are asking forIndian techniques with Western interpretations andwe are adding capacities in rotary printing, dischargeprints and digital prints,” says Akhilesh Anand,CEO, NCC.

BSL putting up new VertexSpinning plant; appoints J.C. Sonias Business Head June 16-30

BSL Ltd. is putting up a newvertex spinning project inBhilwara. The unit will produce100% viscose yarns for theexport market. R.N. Gupta,CEO, shares that this projectis one of its kind in Rajasthanin which five Murata Vertexmachines imported from Japanwould be installed with acapacity to produce 120tonnes of viscose yarn/month.

In a move to strengthen themanagement cadre, BSL hasalso inducted J.C. Soni asBusiness Head since May 1.A CA of 1978 batch, Soni hasa vast experience in the textileindustry. R.N. Gupta digging the land

for Bhoomi Poojan along withnewly appointed BusinessHead J.C. Soni



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E Cantabil on expansion path;New units to come up inBahadurgarh, Sonepat June 16-30

Cantabil Retail, which has threefactories in Delhi tomanufacture clothing for men,women and kidswear for thedomestic market, is looking foropportunities in the export arenawith increased capacities fromnew factories comingup in Bahadurgarh andSonepat (both in Haryana).Vijay Bansal, MD says, “Weare very enthusiastic about futureplans, which include an IPO (InitialPublic Offer) of Rs. 105 crore.”

Laguna Clothing opens new unitin Seegekote Village, KarnatakaAugust 16-31

Laguna Clothing, Bangalore-based shirt manufacturer, has justcommenced operations at a new factory in Seegekote Village,in Karnataka. The company will produce high-end formal shirtsat the new location in collaboration with its partners – Italianmill Gruppo Tessile Monti SPA and French – Mauritian textilemanufacturer Aquerelle, updates Arnaud Dalais, GroupChairman of the CIEL.

Gupta Exim, Faridabadinstalls 800 machines inNew Factory December 1-15

Gupta Exim, Faridabad, is all setto start a new factory of 800machines in Prithla near Palwal(Haryana). A massive recruitmentdrive is in process for this unit andcommercial production isexpected to commence inFebruary next year. “We willproduce four lakh pieces permonth mainly for the US marketas we are already in US. Our current turnover isRs. 200 crore and with this expansion we areexpecting 50% growth,” says Sandeep Gupta, MD.

Winsome Yarnsputting up new DyeHouse in DerabasiSeptember 16-30

Chandigarh-based WinsomeYarns is going to putup a new dyeing facility in Derabasi, theindustrial town near Chandigarh informsRaman Deep, Senior GM. With an approximateinvestment of Rs. 15 crores, the dye house wouldbe setup with latest technology from Fong’s witha dyeing capacity of 1000 tonnes/month. Thecompany has also introduced banana fibre/yarnand is getting good response, shares Raman.

Kitex Garmentsengages in Rs. 100-Crcapacity expansionDecember 16-31

Kitex Garments, Hyderabad is doubling itsproduction capacity from 20 tonnes per day to 40tonnes per day with an investment of Rs. 100 crore.The capacity expansion would take shape by June2011. “The launch of the product is slated forFebruary 2011 in the US and will be extended toother parts later. The order itself is about $ 12million and the first launch order will be 40 lakhpieces at a time,” said Sabu M. Jacob, MD.

Sara Textilesexpansion in HP’sNalagarh Unit isalmost complete October 1-15

Sara Textiles has gone for expansion in its terrytowel manufacturing unit at Nalagarh, HimachalPradesh. “We have become a one-stop-shop for allkinds of home furnishings for our buyers. From thebathroom to the bedroom, from the floor to thewindows, we can meet all the requirements ofoutfitting a home,” states D.P. Singh, Group MD.

Madura Garments plans to double Production Capacities July 1-15

Bangalore-based Madura Garments, a division of Aditya Birla Nuvo, has eight factories in Karnataka, five of which caterto customers in India and three dedicated factories for exports to the US and EU. According to Kumar Mangalam Birla,Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, the company plans to double production capacity of Madura Garments over thenext four years at an incremental investment of Rs. 2 billion.



Mandhana Industries putting upthree Garment Units inMaharashtra October 16-31

Mandhana Industries is setting upthree garment units in Maharashtra– one at Tarapur and two inBaramati. All the units put togethershall add manufacturing capacity ofapprox. 8.5 million pieces by theend of next financial year to ourexisting capacity of 3.6 millionpieces. “Tarapur garment projectwill entail a total capital outlay ofRs. 85 crores, while the Baramatiprojects will require investment ofapprox. Rs. 95 crores. Total capexwill be Rs. 180 crores which ispartly funded by IPO proceeds andpart by term loan under TUFS,” saysManish Mandhana, MD givingdetails about the estimateinvestment costs on the new units.

Mccoy Clothing, Chennai hasrecently invested in machines forjean manufacturing. To start with,one line of 65 machines has beeninstalled and production capacityis targeted at 1000 jeans per day.Another line on similar structurewill be installed by March 2011informs Mario D’Souza, Partner,Mccoy Clothing.

TT Limited takes SustainableRoute in Expansion December 16-31

TT Ltd., has recently invested Rs. 150 crore to enhance its yarn andgarment manufacturing capacity. The company is looking to fund itsexpansion through Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme and internalaccruals. “We will invest Rs. 75 crore to add 12,500 spindles byFY’11 and another 25,000 spindles by FY’13 to take our total yarncapacity to 95,000 spindles at Rajula near Pipavav Port in Gujaratwhere we own about 100 acres,” says Sanjay K. Jain, Joint ManagingDirector, TT Ltd.

Shirt specialist MccoyClothing invests in newDenim plant August 16-31


STARTING NEW PRODUCT CATEGORIES

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Nahar starts PC ShirtingFabric Production July 1-15

Neetee Clothing ofGurgaon and Delhi’sBrinell to foray intoMeditech ProductsSeptember 1-15

Gurgaon-based Neetee Clothing is all set toget into manufacturing of meditech andhygiene products. Inspired by anarticle published in Apparel Online,Animesh Saxena, MD shared that as of nowthey are doing trial runs for Ahlstrom, aleading Finnish non-woven company.

Delhi-based Brinell, a vertically integratedunit is also keen on foraying into meditechbusiness. “After seeing Ahlstrom’s coverage inAO, we were also interested to startmanufacturing SMS for Canadian marketsas we have our own offices there,” statesRahul Dewan, Managing Director.

Ludhiana-based Nahar IndustrialEnterprises has recently started PCshirting fabric manufacturing whichaccording to the company is very rarein India in the organized sector. Thecompany has imported latest Vertexair-jet spinning technology. “WithVertex technology, the quality of theyarn improves tremendously and alsothe production is much faster whichenhances the efficiency andproductivity,” says Amit Miglani,Sr. Manager, Marketing.

Suryajyoti Mills to get intoGarment Production December 16-31

Suryajyoti Spinning Mills is moving up the value chain with plansto get into garment production. Simultaneously, the company isin the process of ramping up its production capacity by adding25,000 spindles to its existing capacity of one lakh spindlesfrom three plants in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs. 75 crore bythe next fiscal. “To fund these expansion plans, we may considerraising some equity through the QIP route next year,” saysA.K. Agarwal, Executive Director of the company.

Concord Venturesstarts manufacturingin IndiaShifts Buying Operationto Bangalore September 1-15

Dubai-based Concord Ventures, has recently forayedinto garment production in India with two units inBangalore’s Peenya Phase II, Industrial area. Accordingto Legi George, Director Marketing &Merchandising at Concord Ventures around 860sewing machines have been installed with a capacityto manufacture 300,000 units; however as of now theproduction is of around 120,000 units. Concord startedits innings in India with its buying office in Gurgaon.

ANIMESH SAXENA


Shree Bharat Internationaladds 2 Flat Knit IntarsiaMachines July 1-15

Shree Bharat International, whichspecializes in both circular and flatknits, has recently expanded itsproduct offering by adding two intarsiamachines from Stoll. With a capacityof 30-35 sweaters in a day themachines will not only add value tothe production line but also allowdesign innovation. Sanjay Aggarwal,CMD, Shee Bharat Internationalclaims that they are among thefew exporters in Delhi to invest inthis technology. Most of thecapacities in intarsia are available inLudhiana today.


INDUSTRYINDUSTRYINDUSTRYINDUSTRYINDUSTRYWIREGOING GREEN

Rainbow Fabart convertstwo Factories for OrganicProduction June 16-30

NCR-based Rainbow Fabart running 1400 machines in 5 factories inNoida and two in Gurgaon with a turnover of over Rs. 100 crore, hasconverted two of its factories to suit organic production. “I have achallenging assignment to support the company’s movement towardsorganic and sustainable textile,” says Raman Dutta, GM.

Orient Craft, Bhiwadi inProcess of Acquiring GreenCertification May 1-15

AnkeyExports, DelhiGetting intoOrganicProductionNovember 16-30

Ankey Exports, is nowentering the organicclothing segment, as ittoo brings good value. “Itis in kidswear categorythat we have startedsampling for garments inorganic cotton as moreand more consumersworldwide are looking foreco-friendly products fortheir children and sobuyers are willing to payextra for such garments,”says Nitesh Kumar, MD,Ankey Exports. Delhi-based Ankey Exports is avertically integratedcompany that specialisesin knit garments.

Orient Craft’s new unit at Bhiwadi hasbecome operational. Spread over a 30acre area, the first of the six phases of2,50,000 sq. ft. facility is already servicingbuyers like GAP and M&S. The unit hastwo floors each with provision of 1,250machines along with space marked forhand embroidery, cutting, finishing andend to end supply chain.

“We have invested in training inassociation with IL&FS and when thefactory is completely functional it will havea thriving workforce of more than 10,000people,” says Sudhir Dhingra, CMD,Orient Craft.

Achiever Apparels Venturesinto Sustainable & HealthyGreen Fashion November 1-15

Noida-based Achiever Apparels, under the dynamic leadership ofHarvinder Singh has joined hands with Advantage Organic NaturalsTechnologies – headed by Rajiv Rai Sachdev – and which is developingnew Green Cleantech processes & techniques in technical collaborationwith IIT Delhi to manufacture ‘Green products’.

Alankar Global, Naraina goingfor GOTS CertificationJuly 16-31

Naraina-based Alankar Global isworking on its processes to reducewastages and overheads. “When I washanded over the responsibility to runthis company, I had many challenges inhand. The biggest was upgrading thework process as it was the need oftime,” says Rahul Rohila, Director,Alankar Global.

Century Apparels adds GreenBaby UK, a 100% OrganicBrand, to its Buyer Profile June 1-15

Century Apparels, Tirupur, has recently added UK-based organicbuyer called Green Baby, a 100% (Fair Trade) organic brand, exclusivelyselling organic products ranging from organic clothing and reusablediapers to organic bedding. “Green Baby is a commitment to thenatural way of living,” unveiled Vivek Khona, Production Manager,Century Apparels.


PARTNERSHIP/MERGERS/ACQUISITIONS

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Celebrity Fashions, ChennaiLooking for Strategic Partnerfor its Bottoms Division May 16-31

Celebrity Fashions Limited is looking to give value to its shareholdersby restructuring its businesses. In the process, the company is alsoopen to a strategic tie-up with a partner who can bring in valueproposition. “The decision to separate the units is based on manyfactors including operational and logistics implications,” saysS. Surya Narayanan, ED & CFO, Celebrity Fashions Limited.

Bombay Rayon Fashionsacquires 70.56% stake inSTI India November 16-30

Bombay Rayon Fashions(BRF) is set to acquire70.56% stake in STIIndia. The investment willsee BRF part with aboutRs. 70 crore and the dealpegs the value of thetarget firm, STI India atRs. 99.20 crore. Indore-based STI India is a publiclisted firm, a fact thatmeans the transaction will

initiate a mandatory takeover of an additional 20% stake.“Presently, we are the largest shirt manufacturers in India. Ourfabric manufacturing facilities are 50 million metres perannum. Our garment manufacturing facilities are 35 millionpieces per annum and we employ over 32,000 people,” saysAman Agrawal, Vice-Chairman, BRF.

Malhar Fashions,Mumbai Ties up withItalian company July 1-15

Mumbai-based Malhar Fashions has enteredinto a 50:50 joint venture with Gianel Italy toset up a new venture – Innovation Clothing –to manufacture high-end ladies wear forbrands in Italy. The factory in Thane has anarea of 30,000 sq. ft. of which the firstphase of 15,000 sq. ft. is ready. “Gianel waspreviously buying from India for its customersin Italy, but the potential of manufacturing inthe country has led to the JV,” saysNirad Jhaveri, MD, Malhar Fashions.

SKNL acquires Hartmarx Corpof US; …Takes Reid & Taylorto US market December 1-15

S Kumars Nationwide Ltd. (SKNL) is taking its Reid & Taylor apparelrange to the US. “The brand should be available in the American marketin the next 6-8 months,” says SKNL Director Ashesh Amin. SKNL,with integrated facilities for textile and garmenting is well known forits men’s collection of fabric and garments. The brand had earlier thisyear acquired US-based clothing company Hartmarx Corp makingmenswear, whose high profile suit customers include that of US PresidentBarack Obama.


‘Apparel One’ takenover by NSL Textiles,becomes PriyaGarments September 1-15

Apparel One, the garment manufacturing arm ofPriyadarshini Spinning Mills Group Ltd., Hyderabad,has been bought over by NSL Textiles Ltd.,Hyderabad with effect from July 2010. NSL Grouphas a wide business base from seeds to cotton,textiles and garments. All the operations ofgarment facility are now under NSL Managementand Apparel One’s name has also been changed toPriya Garments Ltd. Rohana D’silva, GeneralManager Operations of the company shared, “Weare looking to be put up washing and embroideryfacility at Pashamylaram, Textile Park nearPatancheru, Medak district within a year’s time.”



“Radical changes needto come about atdifferent levels if Suratwants to grow further...We have to present to theGovernment a white paper thatclearly chalks out the road mapfor the city over the next fiveyears and create the rightinfrastructure to ensure that thenext generation of entrepreneurscoming into the industry takes astep forward into garmenting.”

Dr Ajoy Bhattacharya, (then)V-P of the Southern GujaratChamber of Commerce &Industry and now President ofSGCCI.

Every apparel exporter working inwoven ladies wear is familiarwith ‘Surat fabric’… this smallindustrial town in Gujarat is thehome of 65% of polyester fabricmanufactured in India andalmost 80% of polyester fabricbeing used for export purposes.With around 6 lakh looms and500 processors, the city isproducing nearly 40 millionmetres per day… amazing for acentre that is a decentralized,small and medium sector with nocomposite mills to its credit.Today, the industry seems to beawakening to the potential that ithas been making visible efforts tomove up the value chain. Unitsare modernizing, looking atintegration and new areas ofexpanding their reach...(April 1-15)

NATURALNATURALNATURALNATURALNATURALCLUSTER

Surat Lookingat new Avenuesto growGarmenting the nextfocus for Industry

“We feel thatspecializing in onearea gives us a bettercompetitive advantageas there are a number ofweavers from wherewe can pick up thegrey fabric… In case ofexporters’ requirements most ofthe times, the design inputs orinspirations are well defined andwe only fine tune them.”

Gaurav Gupta, Director,Gupta Group of Companies

“The culture of systems and following norms is notprevalent in a majority of players and they findworking for the international buyers cumbersome…The requirements of the export market is so different that the wholechain has to be sensitized on quality, delivery, compliances and designand even the trader needs to understand the way the system works todeliver as per demand.”

Girish Luthra, Chairman, Luthra Group of Companies



“We have introducedtunics and if the marketresponse is positive wewill look at the areamore aggressively bothfor the domestic andinternational markets…The influx of embroiderymachines has been so fast andhuge that today 25% of theembroidery market in thecountry is controlled by playersin the city.”

Aman Saluja, Director,Sahiba Fabrics

The garment export industry is at a very interesting

juncture today… Over the last few years, the industryhas seen a shift in global buying patterns, discoveringthat their ‘cheese’ has been moved. The industry needsto accept the changes and move on… it is therefore

important to identify the changes, monitor the change, adapt to itand then enjoy the benefits of the change. AO presents a whitepaper based on a survey of the Delhi-NCR regionon what has changed and suggestions on how toadapt to them to remain profitable and grow…

Progressively, over the last two years, Delhi-NCRexporters have struggled to keep pace with thenew global buying strategies as ground realitiesare increasingly making it uncompetitive tomanufacture from the region.

The major product from the region iswomenswear, followed by kidswear and there arevery few players in the men’s segment. Amongwomen, it is mostly dresses, blouses and skirts…The majority of exporters and buyers who AO

interacted with felt that there was no constraint inthe products that the region was manufacturingas fashion was the need of every market, but what could be doneis providing more options in fabric and techniques to meet differentprice points. Within the knits category, nightwear segment hasgood potential for growth and many exporters are now looking atthe option.

All said many exporters feel that Delhi will certainly survive andthe pessimistic predictions for the region are baseless… No doubtthere are problems, but the very nature of the industry which ismaking it difficult to survive today will help it pull through asthere is great flexibility in the working culture of the region and aslong as fashion is equated to value addition, the industry will be indemand… hick-ups withstanding. (May 1-15)

AO White Paper on Delhi-NCR

Who moved myCheese?‘Value’ Keeps Delhi in Demand Despite Problems

As of today garmentingin Surat means themanufacturing ofdesigner sarees. “Wewant to put our money wherethe returns are high.”

Rakesh Sarawagi, Director,Laxmipati


“The labour situation is only going to getworse and we have prepared ourselves bybringing in greater automation on the lines.”– Aman Agrawal, Vice-Chairman, Bombay Rayon

Over the time Bangalore has earned the reputation of being one of the most strategic destinations forprofessionally run apparel companies in India with proficiency in manufacturing ‘tailored’ products and largecapacities. The city is the home of big names like Gokaldas Exports, Gokaldas Images, LT Karle, FFI, Integrabesides being the chosen manufacturing destination for exporters of other regions like Shahi Exports, TexportGroup, Bombay Rayon, K. Mohan, Go Go International, Mandhana Industries, Raymonds, Madura, SKNL and ahost of Mumbai-based exporters. Though there are hundreds of units in and around Bangalore, there are but 12major players controlling the industry, all others are small and medium players with niche product strengths orworking as contract factories for bigger players both in the international and domestic retail. (June 16-30)

White Paper on BangaloreRegion evolving from structured products to fashion –Professional approach to manufacturing the way of life

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“The only reallycompetitiveintegrated knitunits are inTirupur, but thereagain the focus ismore on massproducts and notfashion knits, sothere is a gapwhich can befed… Watch outin a few yearstime andBangalore will begiving very seriouscompetition toDelhi-NCR.”– Dinesh Hinduja,ED, Gokaldas Exports

“We don’t have labour disputes and themaximum that happens is a worker changesfactory if he/she has an issue with themanagement.”– Sarbajit Ghose, Executive Director, Laguna Clothing

“We have been doing a lot of handwork itemslike those done in Delhi and have created apositioning in the market with ourprofessional approach and commitments ondeadlines.”– Gautam Jain, CEO & MD, Jole Clothing

“Shirts and trousers are bulk products andthey require scales to be productive. Issueslike productivity are very important andfactories have to implement systems toachieve targets.”– Ashish Kumar, CEO, Integra

“Our IE department is involved in theproduction stage also. Just giving somemathematical calculation is not enough, theyare also responsible for practicalimplementation.”– Sanjeev Mukhija, Director, Golden Seam

“We don’t start any style till the IEdepartment breaks down the operations andwe know exactly how the process has to flow.Almost 99% of the times the calculation bythe IE department is right.”– Mukesh Agarwal, MD, HCM




Known for its culture and socialist way of thinking, Kolkata is also the birth place of the hosiery industry in Indiaway before independence. With a textile lineage, the Kolkata industry has moved on to become a knowndestination for workwear and intricate hand embroidery for the international market. It is ironic that whileKolkata is so entrenched in the international arena in the above two categories, the city lost its direction inhosiery despite progressing to become the biggest supplier of knitwear in the country in the 60s. Subsequently,with political climate unfavourable to fresh investments, the industry continued to suffer, coming to an all timelow with the labour crises in the mid 80’s.

In the meanwhile, taking advantage of the growing demand in knitwear, the small town of Tirupur developed itsgrowth as a major knitwear segment, marching ahead into the international market. Today, every buyer workingin knits is familiar with the city.

But, things are now changing in Kolkata which is making a strong comeback… Over the last three years therehave been noticeable movements in the industry leading it to become the largest manufacturer of knittedchildren’s wear for the domestic market and the hub of national brands in men’s innerwear. Team AO was inKolkata to get a first hand feel of the pulse of the knitwear segment and the directions for the future… (Sep 1-15)

Kolkata Knitwear IndustryGaining GroundInnerwear and Kidswear the two Growth Segments

SANJAY JAINJoint Managing Director, TT Limited

“While the Kolkata knitwear industry isdominating the domestic market, there is no realthrust on exporters… “We do not haveintegrated manufacturing units and the industryis scattered in and around Kolkata, what do weshow to the buyers”

KB AGARWALAManaging Director, Rupa

“After the labour crisesand union threats in thepast, nobody wants totake the responsibility of alarge number of workers ina single unit”

BD KOTHARIDirector, Kothari Hosiery

“Though manufacturersare placing supervisors atthe small manufacturingsites, quality is still anissue and the realizationhas come that toincrease businessintegrated units area must”

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“Not only have the big brands investedin processing but even thosecompanies which are specializing inprocessing have installed latest importedmachines for processing”

“With processing facilities improved,the hosiery industry is supplyingbetter quality fabrics with soft hand-feel; this has aided both the innerwearand the kidswear segment as both areproducts that require skin-friendlyfabrics. We have done some amazingprints for the knits industry and nowwe want to add some more rotaryprinting machines, as the demandoutstrips the supply”

SHREE PRAKASH CHANDOKDirector, Eastern Textiles

PRASANNA BEHERAVolstart Texnet Services

“Since January 2010, I havealready supplied more than100 circular knitting machines tothe Kolkata industry”

“The industry is geared for the leap and allplayers are looking to increase capacitiesand bring manufacturing into a moreorganized structure, but it cannot be donewithout the support of the Government…The best example is that of our neighboursacross the border in Bangladesh, where theculture of the people is very similar and thereis a shared history in hosiery, but which hasovertaken India in exporters riding on majorGovernment support”

SREEMOY BANERJEEPresident, The Bengal Hosiery Association

“I started my career in this line retailingchildren’s wear imported from HongKong; gradually it struck me that weshould start manufacturing the productlocally to meet the huge demand forinfant wear, as also the price points.Once I started, the response was sooverwhelming that it opened a door ofopportunities leading to over 200companies entering the fray and all aredoing good business”

PRADEEP ARORADirector Cotton Casuals

SANJAY TODIDirector, Madhva Textile Processors.

AMIT SONTHALIADirector, SR Textile & Yarn Sales

“About 700 trucks of yarn aredownloaded on a daily basis for theknitwear industry in Kolkata”


“There are four units with 10 tonnes per day capacity, 10units with a capacity of 5 tonnes fabric per day or more, atleast 15 units with 3-4 tonnes per day capacity and 30-40units of 2-3 tonnes per day capacity… All these units are ofgood quality dyeing and it is projected that over the next twoyears most of these units will increase capacity by 25% atleast on an average”

SUSHIL JAIN, MD, Dyechem International

“We have struggled to keep our mills in West Bengal andwe had to take one of our units to Orissa, however, ournext expansion of 150 tonnes is planned in West Bengal”

PK PATODIA, Director, Keshar Group


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China today undeniably is one of the fastest developing retailmarkets of the world with almost all major brands eyeingthe market with promise. The Chinese market has a three-layered structure with the low-end mass market beingcatered to by the economically priced products made inChina, a mid-level emerging segment and the high-end luxurymarket fed by international brands that have ‘prestige’ value.It is the second tier market, positioned between the high-end and mass market, catering to the emerging middle classthat is seeing increased activity. It is again this ‘fashion withvalue’ desiring segment that is slowly but surely emergingas a potential market for Indian garment exporters. (Feb 16-28)

Chinese Market a new Potential GrowthArea for Indian Exporters

Buying operations in India for Turkey market are estimatedto source more than $ 100 million worth of garments annuallyand another likely $ 10-15 million is coming from ‘floatingbuyers’ – wholesalers and importers who come to fairs likethe IIGF. Both the buyers and exporters working for the Turkishmarket are positive that India can capture bigger marketshare based on India’s core strength in value-added fashion.What Indian exporters are supplying to Turkey is value-addedgarments with some element that is beyond technology. Itwould not be wrong to say that today Turkey is the windowto exports into the eastern European countries…

Indian Apparel Exports to Turkey growsto around $ 115 million

“In a growing Chinesedomestic market, there aremany different segmentswhich are doing well such asladies high fashion garment,kid’s garments as well asmen and teenager garments.Even nightwear andundergarment section is agrowing segment,” saysShapoo Kohli, GlobeRider, Hong Kong, who isbuying products from Indiafor the Chinese market…

“Besides the re-exportingbusiness, Turkey also has ahuge domestic market forgarments as around 80million tourist visit thecountry annually and theyall shop for clothing asTurkey is known forapparels,” saysSercan Unsal, MD,Elifom, a thorough bredTurk running a buyingoffice working exclusivelyfor Turkey.

“Turkey has access to both Asia and Europe and all trade happening to Europe has to pass throughBosthorus Bridge in Istanbul which acts as the gateway, so traders in Turkey are in a position to controlexports/imports,” says Dr Ahmet Aykan, MD, Dr Aykan, a Turkish company which is marketing washingequipment in India.

“Many people feel that Turkey is only about small stores but that is not true, many big retailers having largenumber of stores also work from India,” says Mohit Jain, RNR International.

“It is very important to know and understand the working of different formats to be successful in Turkey,”cautions Rajesh Goel, Ankit International.

“We have been working with Turkey market for around three years and most of the shipments go by air asmany times they are further committed,” says Santosh Goel, Harshita Art & Craft.

“We do a lot of work with Turkey and the product is very important in determining the price, along withcreating a collection, offering options for price variations is also a key,” says Rajnish Chaddha, Rohan Inc.



IMPRESSIONS...IMPRESSIONS...IMPRESSIONS...IMPRESSIONS...IMPRESSIONS...SUSTAINABILITY

India stands tall on consumer safety issues… Consumer ProductSafety Commission (CPSC) expects industry to be aware of allregulations… Ultimately it is the vendor who pays the price forrecalls… I am pushing for harmonization but it is a challenge as itwill only work if the industry is involved. Further, we cannot overlookthe fact that these regulations may be used by some to createcompetitive disadvantages/advantages and as regulators we haveto address this concern also when working for a commonplatform.”(Feb 16-28)

– Nancy Nord, Commissioner, CPSC, US

SNQS Internationalbuilds India’s firstLEED Silver ratedTextile UnitTirupur-based exporterSNQS International hasrecently built a green ratedtextile unit at Avinashi. It isthe first garment unit inIndia which has been silverrated under LEED(Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design)New Construction (NC)programme of Indian GreenBuilding Council (IGBC).

This is indeed anachievement for thecompany as more and morebuyers seek green optionsin manufacturing.Elangovan, ExecutiveDirector, SNQSInternational, whiletalking about how they willbe overcoming the CO

2

emission that happens allthe time from human bodysaid, “The CO

2 inside the

unit is better controlledwith the help of naturalventilation as per theinternational norms. Thegreen belt surrounding thebuilding also neutralizesthe carbon emission to acertain extent.”

“All garment workers in Asia need a wage increase. But often, when workersstruggle to improve their wages and conditions in one country, companies relocateto another country where wages and conditions are lower. So workers are afraidto fight for better wages, because they might lose their jobs. But something hasto be done fast as the situation is now getting out of hand.” (March 1-15)

– Jeroen Merk, Clean Clothes Campaign

There are tangible financial benefits to becoming sustainable, andexporters are smart enough to realize this… Nordstorm wants towork in factories for real changes and has launched two brandsfocused on sustainability – Holistia, which was initially only aboutorganic cotton but now defines products that are from sustainablesources like bamboo. The second brand Stem is 100% sustainablebrand using only recycled material.” (July 1-15)

– Jayashree Rai, Triburg

Going sustainable is a commitment and unlike compliances inthe past, it is being picked up by suppliers on their own initiative,without the compulsion from the buyers. Though of course thefact that it is serious irreversible movements which will one daybecome a norm… has motivated the industry to re-look at howthey are doing their business.” (July 1-15)

– Anita Chester, CEO, South Asia, Cotton Connect

‘‘

“We are currently investing in suppliers to help them improve their social andenvironmental compliance and we want our suppliers to increase their energy-efficiency by 20%… The goal is to deliver products which are free of defects orcontain less than 1% defect, as we are very clear of what we want to deliver toour customers.” (Aug 16-31)

– Sunil Jacob, Reg. Manager, Ethical Sourcing, Walmart, India & Sri Lanka

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Established in 1950s, Ramkumar Mills started with spinning,adding weaving in 1970 and processing in 1980. The mill is

now specializing in offering top weight finished fabrics to thegarment export industry, fulfilling needs of high-end brands likeM&S, Columbia Sportswear, Esprit, Ann Taylor, H&M, Next andGAP to name a few. “In the last decade we have concentrated onstrengthening our processing infrastructure to create truly globaloperations,” says Lakshman G. Yadalam, Executive Director,Ramkumar Mills.

Indeed, the investments have been made in latest technology inprocessing with continuous bleaching range from Benninger,Switzerland, continuous dyeing range from Monforts, Germanyand Dimensa merceriser also from Benninger. Thesetechnologies support bulk quantities, better quality, faster deliveryand consistency of batches. Besides this, a fully equipped labfor testing and colour matching has been put in place with aninvestment of over rupees one-and-a-half crores, accredited byM&S, Ann Taylor and GAP for colour and M&S and ColumbiaSportswear for fabric performance testing.

Consistency is a common problem with fabric coming fromIndian mills. “We have a dual system of ensuring exactmeasurements roll after roll,” says Lakshman. The entire

Ramkumar Mills Processing Fabricswith International BenchmarksTop Weight Fabrics the Strength (June 1-15, 2010)

Since its inception in 1956 by Dr. Y. A. Agarwal, the presentChairman, Jindal Worldwide Limited has grown consistently

from a small private venture to a public limited company in1996. Growing at around 15% year-on-year, the company hasemerged as a progressive integrated player in the textile industry.The main products manufactured by the company are denim,bottom weight, yarn dyed shirtings and other high-end apparelfabrics along with home furnishing fabrics. Located inAhmedabad, Jindal has five state-of-the-art manufacturing unitswhich include weaving, printing, processing, stitching andpackaging. Amit Agarwal, Managing Director, Jindal WorldwideLtd., talks to Apparel Online about his company’s growth path.

Jindal is processing 50 million metres of fabric each year withits world class technology processing and finishing integratedfacilities. “We are having provision of processing up to 3-metrewide width fabric with continuous processing from singeing,mercerizing and bleaching to dyeing, printing, finishing and

Jindal Textiles Upgrades its Processing… Installs CDR & CBR (October 16-31, 2010)

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production is based on roll inspection, roll metreage andautomatic metering, wherein every role is monitored on twoparameters – length and weight, any variation in either meansthat something is wrong.

inspection which makes us one of the most sophisticatedcontinuous processing facilities in India,” claims Amit.

Well-equipped to produce a wide range of dyed and finishedsolids for bed stories comprising sateen, percales, flannels anddobbies, Jindal gives special finishes like peach, wrinkle-free,anti-bacterial, aromatic and dust-free in its processed fabrics.“We have recently added Continuous Bleaching and DyeingRange (CDR & CBR) for both wider and narrow width fabrics. Wehave added special finishing machines like Lisa, brushing,sueding for specialized finishes,” informs Amit.

While talking about the future direction of the company in termsof expansions, Amit shares that the company would continuouslyincrease its capacity in denim, bottom weights, yarn dyedshirtings and processing. “Expansion is an ongoing process, asour client base is increasing,” concludes Amit.


Lakshman G. Yadalam andShivakumar A Yadalam,Executive Directors, Ramkumar Mills



GITS 2010Around 120 fabric exporters/manufacturers from Coimbatore, Tirupur, Salem, Erode, Karur, Chennai, Madurai,Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Ichalkaranji, Varanasi, showcased their products at the Global India TextileShow (GITS 2010), an International Reverse Buyer-Seller Meet, held in Coimbatore in the month of March.The two-day event was organized by the Powerloom Development and Export Council (PDEXCIL) in associationwith the Ministry of Textiles under the Marketing Assistance Scheme.

Cotton-based fabrics in grey, dyed and yarn dyed, the strength of South India and ideal for home furnishingproducts, was the highlight of the fair. This does not mean that companies are not working on innovation andhigh performance fabrics like fire retardant and specialised coated fabrics were also showcased by someplayers. “Eliminate the middle-men,” said Bharat Chhajer, Vice-Chairman, PDEXCIL. In fact, GITSwas organized for the buyers and the manufacturers of fabric to meet and make business contactsdirectly. April 16-30, 2010

Source ZoneThe inaugural edition of Source Zone held recently at Apparel House, Gurgaon, kick-started on an upbeatnote with good visitation from both garment exporters and buying offices from across the country over thethree-day event. Organized by the AEPC, the fair is the first step towards consolidating sourcing of fabrics andaccessories not only from all the textile hubs of India, but also major textile centres from around the world,under one roof. Delhi/NCR being the major manufacturing hub for high-fashion garments and accessories,the exhibitors showcased their latest developments in fabrics and accessories. The participant profile waswide – from organized players in both the segments to the smaller companies with innovative products andalso included exhibitors from Taiwan and Korea. December 16-31, 2010

PDEXCIL and AEPC launchedtwo textile trade fairs this year;GITS (Global India Textile Show)and SourceZone. Both the fairswere well attended by theindustry and foreign buyers.GITS per se was promoted as areverse buyer-seller meet inwhich PDEXCIL invited buyersfrom various countries whereasSourceZone was primarilyfocused to garment exporters andbuying offices in India.

2010 LaunchesTwo NewTextile Fairs



Sunil Chari, Director, Rossari Biotech –“We have recently introduced Drapes of BSV Paste, aunique bodying agent with stiff/hard body properties,applicable on all types of fabric. This product requireslow curing temperatures and allows no sticking onpadding, mangles with good washing fastness.”

The challenge for chemicalcompanies today lies in bringinga stream of new and improvedvalue-added products into themarket in order to strengthenexisting product lines, as theinnovations in finishing will onlybe able to open up new marketsand new horizons for the textileindustry. While functional finisheslike water and oil repellents,flame retardants, handlemodifiers and specialty softenersare being manufactured by mostof the chemical companies, thereis urgency to constantly improvetheir performance properties forbetter results. Environment-friendly, biodegradable, comfortor health-oriented products in thefield of auxiliaries and finishingchemicals are gainingimportance. August 16-31, 2010

SAVESAVESAVESAVESAVEENVIRONMENT

Paradigm Shiftin TextileChemicals…Maximum Performance withMinimum Environmental Footprint

Dr. Milind Vaidya, Commercial Leader,Textiles Dow Corning, India – “Fashion andcomfort still remains the main drivers for selectingfabrics, but today’s consumer also considers theecological effects of producing these fabrics. DowCorning’s patented powder technology allows processorsto combine certain stages such as fading and finishinginto a single step, saving resources as well as time.”

Rohit Khanna, Regional Sales Head,South Asia and Middle East,Huntsman – “At Huntsman we strive to offer everyproduct and process with a lower environmentalimpact as opportunity lies in the widely discussedissue of greener manufacturing. These products aredesigned to help users reduce water and energyconsumption by 30-40% during textile processing.”

Hitesh Wadher, AM, GarmentTechnology, Resil Chemicals – “Resil hascome up with a product called ‘Greenule’ whichreduces the consumption of water, energy and time.The company has also launched an enzymatic bio-scouring product which reduces the consumption ofharmful chemicals like caustic and acid and therebyreducing the effluent load and the TDS levels.”

Rajesh Balakrishnan, MD, DyStar India– “DyStar practices ‘Resource Management’ andhelps its customers in minimizing their total processcost. We market the products like scour/dye andfinish in one bath, (package offer), allowing the userto save water/energy and process time, in turnallowing increase in production.”

Anjani Prasad, Head of TextilesChemicals, Clariant Chemical India –“We have introduced Easy Clean & Body ComfortFinish which helps easy removal of stains duringlaundry and better comfort properties to the wearer.”



According to Marks & Spencer, 85% of its surveyed customersclaimed that the company’s initiatives towards PET recycledproducts have made them happier to shop at the store.

Australian surf and skate brand Billabong’s Eco SupremeSuede. Five million plastic bottles that could have been chokingmarine life or filling up landfills have been given a second chance.Billabong’s Eco Supreme Suede, made from recycled textiles andplastic soda bottles (PET) is used to create sleek surf shorts andbikinis. Approximately 10 plastic soda bottles are used to createa single pair of boardshorts.

At present, the total recycling capacity in India is around 1,45,000TPA, out of which Reliance Industries Ltd. has a capacity of42,000 TPA and Kanpur-based Ganesh Polytex Ltd. (GPL)has a capacity of around 39,600 TPA and rest is with other smalllocal players.

Presently GPL is recycling about 1.4 billion PET bottles annuallyat its Rudrapur plant According to Gopal Agarwal, CFO, GPL,“The major customers for our PET recycled fibre are a spinningmills like Birla Cotsyn, Chenab Textiles, Orient Syntex tomention a few.

Delhi-based Orient Syntex is exporting its yarn to Malaysiaand in the domestic market it is selling its yarn through agents inErode, Tirupur, Salem, etc. who are selling these yarns tocompanies like Export Tex, Javan Knits Garments, etc.

According to Gautam Sureka of Eastern Silk Industries,Kolkata, the fabric made out of the PET fibre is basicallypolypropylene and it is ten times stronger than a normalpolyester fabric. Eastern Silks is exploring the possibility ofmanufacturing PET-based fabrics in India.

Richard James, Head Ahlens India, on his visit to Thailandmet a company which is making yarn out of PET bottles andfound the product very interesting. Now he is looking atdeveloping fabric with this yarn to do some product developmentin home furnishing items like for rugs and carpets. JCPenney toois looking for PET yarn and fabric makers in Taiwan.

Worldwide Green and Sustainability have becomeintegral part of the business philosophy. Walmart hasrecently introduced its sustainability index for all itssuppliers across the world. This would mean that allWalmart suppliers in India too will come under thisdirective and will be asked to measure and report theirGreen House Gas emissions in near future. M&S is nowworking with its major suppliers to find measures toreduce their emissions. Their sourcing office in SriLanka is working with a local clothing manufacturer todevelop greener factories which are more energy-efficient, use solar power and recycle water. Indiantextile companies are now getting serious towards thecause. Gupta Exim, Richa Knits, Jayashree Textiles,Renuga Textiles, Arvind Mills and KPR Mills are somecompanies in the industry implementing sustainableenergy options. February 1-15, 2010

Recycled Plastic Fabric aSustainable InitiativeThe textile recycling process receives a thumpsup from nearly all consumers for saving naturalresources while protecting the environment; incase of PET-reprocessing, the advantages to theecology are even greater. To what extent anintercontinental PET-recycling can be climate-protecting and environment-friendly is a matterof intense debate worldwide. May 16-31, 2010

Solar thermal is getting popular, the UShas largest number of solar thermal whileChina is fast catching up in solar thermaltechnology. The solar thermal generatorruns on solar heat and the solar ponds aremade with saline water which retainsheat 8-10 hours after the sun sets.”Gurmit Singh, Director, EcoYuktiTechnologies.

Renewable Energy Sourcesfor Textile Companies

Textile Industry is very energy consumingas power is required not just to run theheavy machines but to process the fabric.The carbon emission thus in this industryis quite high. There are various options forrenewable energy sources like biomass,wheeling (generating power through wind)and solar energy,” says Debtosh Mishra,Consultant, Emergent Ventures India(EVI), a consultancy firm givingsustainable solutions for the environment.‘‘

‘‘



“Among the latest trends is the use of a recently developedgeneration of sulphur dyes in which the yarn used in denimis dyed in a series of vats,” – Ashish Agarwal, heading thedenim division of Ginni International

PRODUCT TALK...PRODUCT TALK...PRODUCT TALK...PRODUCT TALK...PRODUCT TALK...ADVANCEMENTS &LAUNCHES

DenimTransformingWith Styling &Finishes

The leading Indian denimplayers are constantlyengaged in R&D to developnew weaves and finishesin denim fabric. Coatingsare another area to give afresh appeal.June 1-15, 2010

“We have a fully-equipped pilot plant for sampling of newproducts in denim and we try to come up with very innovativeproducts,” – Aamir Akhtar, CEO, Lifestyle Fabrics(Denims), Arvind Ltd

“LNJ has recently launched a new range of poly spectrumin both rigid and stretch with blend of 40% cotton/poly 60%and fabrics with 55%, cotton/45% poly, which is CVC. Tomake it skin-friendly, the warp is in polyester while the weftis cotton so the skin of the wearer touches the cotton,”– Y. C. Gupta, CEO, LNJ Denim

Amit Aneja, Textile Technologist, “Buyers are now asking for basic knits with lot of different fibreblends, like cotton/modal, modal/lycra, viscose/lycra, etc. Viscose fibre is very much in demand and lot ofbuyers are asking for 100% viscose and viscose/cotton blended fabric.”

Sanjay Shukla, Head, Knits Fabric, Triburg, “Single dyed cotton/poly fabrics with stripes/jacquards,light weight fleece, slubs in different textures are being given on knits.”

Vipin Sharma, Fabric Manager, VF Asia, “Heavy bust fleece and indigo washed look is in for knittedfabric. Compact fabrics in 30s-40s with little stiffer construction are also gaining popularity. Nylons withwicking properties are in great demand and cordura yarn for durable knitted fabric is being tried.”

Reeccha Dhawan, Merchandiser (knits/woven/ladies/kids), New Times, “Waffle fabrics for comingfall season is really hot along with yarn dyed jersey is evergreen in auto-loom and feeder stripe striper.”

Ramesh Menon, DMI, “Carbonizing is hot; anti microbial is also getting popular for inner wear.”

Tajinder Sachdeva, Managing Director, Mercury Fabrics: “Prints on knitted fabric is also gettingpopular, however, India is weak in printed knitted fabric so a lot of converters are getting the printed knitsfrom China and Taiwan. There are a very few knit manufacturers in India, barring a few in Ahmedabad whocan handle printed knits so the exporters are importing the same. Anticipating higher demands, we are allset to get into manufacturing of printed knitted fabrics.”

Subrata Roy, Director (I/C), CSTRI, “Cotton and wool blended with other yarns have so far been themain stay of knitting but now silk is being tried. Central Silk Technological Research Institute (CSTRI), aresearch wing of Central Silk Board, Bangalore is a leader for such efforts. Silk knitting is a special areademanding expertise.”

Sanjeev Sood of AVS Fabrics, a Gurgaon-based importer “India should explore the possibilities in theheavy weight varieties, especially the Jacquard knits, as Chinese are into light weight knits.”

Advancing Optionsin Knitted FabricsSilk Becomes aViable Preposition

The world produces over 17million tonnes of knittedtextiles and apparel –representing one-third ofthe global textile market.The output is forecast togrow by 25% over the next10 years, reaching morethan 21 million tonnes.With such a huge scope ofgrowth, the knittingindustry is striving hard fornew developments inknitted fabrics.August 16-31, 2010


UPCOMINGUPCOMINGUPCOMINGUPCOMINGUPCOMINGTEXTILE PARKS

Deesan Group coming up witha Textile Park in Shirpur

Mumbai-based Deesan Group, a Rs. 800 crore plus companyhas contributed significantly to a socio-economic revolution inan obscure tribal belt in Shirpur (Maharashtra). A barren landwas transformed into a fertile cotton producing zone which ledto the evolution of a booming textile manufacturing district. Thiseffort was initiated by Amrish Patel, CMD of the Group. ChintanPatel, Director of the company and son of Amrish Patel hasjoined the bandwagon and is equally passionate about takinghis father’s efforts forward. “We are going for a textile park inShirpur which has been our karma bhoomi,” says Chintan.

For the textile park, Deesan has acquired about 100 acres ofland in Shirpur for which it has attained sanction from theGovernment as far as the funds go. “Two loans have beenreleased by the Government and we have already started theconstruction of the dyeing and spinning unit and subsequently

the weaving unit would come up,” shares Chintan.

When fully operational, the park will have more than 50 weaving set-ups (the company is invitinglike-minded people to put up their manufacturing units here) with approximately 1.5 to 2 lakhmetres/day production. These companies would sell their fabrics to Deesan which in turn wouldprocess the fabric and either sell it or export it. The dyeing unit would have about 1 lakh metre/daydyeing capacity. The company is also considering to putting up a spinning unit so that the parkbecomes composite under one name ‘Deesan’.

Being an environment-friendly company, Deesan has planted lakhs of neem trees and constructedover 500 check dams to preserve the rain. (July 16-31, 2010)

KINFRA’s Textile Park in KannurThe first project initiated by KINFRA was the International Apparel Park at Trivandrum, which is alsoone of the 16 theme-based parks of KINFRA and is running successfully since last seven years withthe hands on support of the KINFRA management backed by wonderful infrastructure at the park.

The upcoming textile park at Nadukani, district Kannur, about 30 km drive from the main city, isspread across 125 acres of land, the total budget allotment for the textile park is about Rs. 50 croreout of which Rs. 20 crore is granted under TCID scheme. A major part of the textile park has beendivided into six zones. Forty acres of land has been allotted for wet processing and rest is for yarnmanufacturing and weaving. Additional 135 acres acquisition is in process. The textile park wouldhave a common dyeing plant for yarn (pre-loom processing) with a per day capacity of 1,500 kg.

CETP with a 750 kilo litres/day capacity has already come up along with hazardous waste disposalfacility which the companies can avail for 5 years.

“The idea behind this textile park is to boost textile exports from Kerala and to give power loommanufacturing facility to the weavers in this region instead of handloom,” states Kumar. The currentexport turnover from Kannur region which presently is quite fragmented is Rs. 250 crore, KINFRAwith this textile park wants to take it to Rs. 500 crore in about one year’s time. Products producedfor export market from Kannur are – bedspread/bed sheets, terry towel, table cloths, curtains,napkins, durries/rugs, table/kitchen linen, pillow cases, shawls/scarves, knitted garments and sewingthreads. (February 16-28)

CHINTANPATEL



The new sprawling unit of Pratibha Syntex inPithampur near Indore city is in the true sense avisual treat. Every corner of the garmenting unit has

been built up with a thought process… to use the resourcesmeticulously and in turn save environment along withincreasing its own profitability. One may not spot anythinglike solar energy or any specific energy saving devices;it’s all about good and comfortable working environmentwith minimal wastage of resources. The unit spread out in10 acres of land is a portable structure, a pre-engineeredbuilding. The conventional construction material like brick,cement and concrete has been just used at the plinthlevel beyond that it is all fabricated structure.

“We have never stopped growing and will continue togrow. Right now we are restructuring our garment business.Currently our facilities are more customer-centric, but bythe end of June this year it would be more product-centric. Each unit would be dedicated to one type ofproduct category like casuals, underwear, active wearand high fashion garments,” says ShreyaskarChaudhary, Managing Director-cum-CEO.

“The new unit was not created per se with a green factoryin mind. What we have tried to bring in is our understandingabout what are the difficulties that we have faced in thepast in terms of hygiene, product management and flowand what we see people facing with respect to maintaininga good, healthy and hygienic environment around in anapparel facility,” says Aditya Goyal, Director, PratibhaSyntex, who joined Pratibha as a Management Traineein 2001 after completing his BE in MechanicalEngineering.. July 1-15, 2010

Panipat-based Om Sakk previouslyknown as Om Overseas hasgrown many folds in last four

years. Starting in 1982, with a smallhandloom set-up, today the company isvertically integrated with five units inPanipat, three in Delhi and one inAhmedabad and has a total turnover ofRs. 350 crore. The company’sChairman Krishan Kumar attributesthe success of the company to itsassociation with long-term partnershipwith companies such as Louis Vuitton,Ralph Lauren, Brentwood, KAS,and Europasonic… that helped themfind the best ratio between qualityand speed.

AO BENCHMARKED...AO BENCHMARKED...AO BENCHMARKED...AO BENCHMARKED...AO BENCHMARKED...SOME VERY FINE UNITS

Going Lean Brings RapidGrowth for Om SakkOne of the Finest Jacquard WeavingFacilities in India

A Walk ThroughEco-friendlyPratibha Syntex

ShreyaskarChaudhary,MD-cum-CEO

Om Sakk India Industries Ltd. (OSIL)attributes its phenomenal growth overthe past few years to theimplementation of lean processesalong with kaizen, which means‘continuous improvement’. “Today ifour production facility is liked by ourbuyers, I truly feel honoured but Iwould attribute all our learning to theabove mentioned partners,” says 44-year old Krishan Kumar who proudlysays he is a farmer’s son. Theproduction system at Om Sakk isbased on ‘lean manufacturing system’as devised by Louis Vuitton. At everystage there is recording of theproduction process, at every linethere is a supervisor who continuouslymonitors the production line and ifany fault takes place, gets themrectified on the spot. “We follow‘zero-defect policy’, all problems arecorrected before the end-productleaves factory,” says Krishanaccording to whom the efficiencylevel of the workers has doubledand there is 20% enhancement inthe productivity.

The flagship unit where Krishan sits isspread over a sprawling 20 acres ofland which is vertically integratedwith 5000 workforce, no noise justold Hindi movie songs being played onspeakers at the production area whichkeeps the workers entertained withoutstopping their hands or talking totheir colleagues. “One would not spota single worker standing idle at anycorner,” says Krishan. March 16-31

Krishan Kumar, Chairman Om Sakk with hisson Arun who joined the business recently



With fully automated knitting and processing facilitiesand online production control, Mercury Fabrics situatedin Bawal, Haryana specializes in high fashion ladieswearknitted fabrics producing 250 tonnes per month. Thecompany is now going in for major expansion to addcapacity of another 120 tonnes to take the totalproduction to around 350-360 tonnes of fabric.

The company’s Managing Director and promoterTajinder Sachdeva started his business in 1991 as afabric trader for woven fabrics and today stands as oneof the most promising knitted fabric manufacturer withtarget to touch a turnover of Rs. 100 crore in anotherthree years’ time. He shares his expansion strategywith AO.

“It’s mainly to meet the growing requirement of thecustomer base. Our products have been well taken byboth the domestic brands as well as the foreign brands.We have positioned Mercury as a value-added producerand today very few knitted fabric manufacturers canoffer the variety we do,” states Tajinder.

Mercury Fabrics Going for Expansion

Within the next three months the unit would beoperational. “Our new expansion will add not onlymore capacity but also product variety,” he adds.June 16-30, 2010

Mumbai-based cotton yarn manufacturer BST Textile Millshas gone in for a major expansion at its SIDCUL,Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) 100% cotton-spinning unit.Spearheaded by the Managing Director, Mukesh Tyagi,a textile technocrat and promoter of the company whobelieves in quick action says, “I don’t plan, I just take aplunge once I make up my mind.”

BST forayed into manufacturing yarn about fouryears back with 14,400 spindles producing 13 tonnesper day and a capital investment of Rs. 35 crore inwhich the land cost was just Rs. 2.5 crore for 8 acresof land. With the setting up of Unit 2 which would becommissioned by June this year (trial production in thefirst week of June and commercial production by mid ofJune), with a capital investment of Rs. 50 crore, thecompany’s yarn production will go up to 34 tonnesper day.

The BST unit in Pantnagar is laid out meticulously. Theplant has been designed by Pratap Parikh Associateswhich has designed manufacturing units of many wellknown mills. Care has been taken for optimal utilizationof land and placement of machines for smooth movementof logistics without hampering the work of any department.

BST Textile Goes for Expansion… More in Pipeline

Mukesh is also planning to put up a unit in MadhyaPradesh to produce medium count yarn. Not looking atgetting into fabric as he feels that it would be too earlyfor him to grow but yes he would definitely like to get intomore product categories in spinning like polyester spinningor poly cotton spinning depending on the marketcondition in the future. May 1-15, 2010

Shri Lakshmi CotsynExpanding Spree inTechnical TextilesShri Lakshmi Cotsyn Ltd.(SLCL) over the years hasemerged as one of the bigtextile manufacturers offeringwide range of products fordifferent applications with anemphasis on Technical Textiles.With its five manufacturingunits spread across the States ofUP, Uttarakhand and Haryana,SLCL is expanding in all of itstextile streams, but technicaltextiles is where the companysees value and growth.Thetechnical textiles businesscontributes 18% to SLCL’s revenuesand has been a high margin productfor the company. High altitudefabric, PU Coated nylon fabric,nuclear bio-chemical fabrics,ballistic plates are some of thespecialized products in its textileprofile. The company is planning todiversify into manufacturing 20million metres/annum of black outfabrics and 50 million metres of flexfabrics primarily for non-apparels.The other technical textile focus ison carbon fabrics and IRR fabrics,which the company is alreadymanufacturing with estimated totalcapital expenditure of Rs. 300crores. May 16-31, 2010

Indian CompaniesExpanding TechnicalTextiles Business

Bannari Amman Focuseson Technical TextilesCoimbatore-based BannariAmman Spinning MillsLimited, boasts of being known forits expertise in manufacturingfunctional fabrics like fire retardantfabrics. Its technical textile divisionconcentrates on coating andlaminating fabrics and has aspecialized coating and flocking linewhich is one of the most advancedand one of its kinds in the world.The unit has a capacity to laminatemore than 300,000 metres of fabricper month up to a width of 1.9

metres. May 1-15, 2010


Multinational OfferingPartnering With Converters

Italian Textile Giant Klopman, catering to the global need ofimage wear, workwear and protective wear since the last 40

years, today holds leadership position in Europe with anestimated 40 million Europeans wearing garments made fromKlopman fabrics. With a turnover of Euro 125 million last fiscal,the company has its marketing operations in India and nowlooking at starting its manufacturing in the country, offeringopportunity to garment manufacturers who are already producingworkwear or are looking at diversifying to this product category towork for its clients back in Europe. Holger Beule, Sales Director,Klopman International, Düsseldorf shares his India plans withApparel Online during his recent visit to India.

Klopman is currently in touch with all major associations in the country, whichare formulating the rules and regulations for workwear. “Strategically it hasbeen discussed and approved however it’s too early to say anything about it,but yes, India is recognised as a garmenting base for fashion garments and

TECHNICAL TEXTILES...TECHNICAL TEXTILES...TECHNICAL TEXTILES...TECHNICAL TEXTILES...TECHNICAL TEXTILES...THE THRUST AREA

Surgical gowns, medical drapes, facemasks,sanitary napkins and diapers are the most

popular non-woven disposable products for whichAhlstrom has invested Euro 40 million in its plant inMundra SEZ. According to Ajay Sahni, Sales &Marketing Manager, Ahlstrom India, DuPont wasthe market leader in spun-melt non-wovens in Indiabut Ahlstrom has now taken the major share of themarket. “Today, we have market leadership position,as we control 60% of the market share in India,”adds Ajay.

Though the hygiene concerns and awareness isgrowing amongst consumers and hospital industry,there are very limited suppliers and converters ofnon-woven disposable products in India. Thedemand has become so huge that companies likeJohnson & Johnson and Kimberly-Clark Corp are alsolooking for third party converters in India.

Ahlstrom too is keenly watching growth in this segmentand is looking forward to partnering with converters.“We can be a very credible source to tie both theends; we will provide the fabric as well as market thefinished products,” informs Ajay whose argument is

Ahlstrom Offering Opportunity for Meditech Convertersthat Ahlstrom’s manufacturing unit is in MundraSpecial Economic Zone “Converters just require threethings – stitching machines, ultrasonic weldingmachines and sterilisation plant,” avers Ajay.

Ahlstrom has around 10 customers who are buyingfabric from them, now they are searching forconverters who will work exclusively for them. “Wehave a third party converting unit in Chennai whichis making wraps and Ahlstrom would be brandingthe wraps.

Another converter, Mumbai-based Thea-Tex isworking with Ahlstrom to promote the use of SMSfabric masks to displace the commonly used 2-plymask in India. “The BFE (Bacteria Filtration Efficiency)of a 2-ply masks is only about 60%, whereas byusing a 1-ply SMS mask which is also fluid repellent,we can achieve a bacteria filtration efficiency of90%,” points out Anand Singh, Marketing Directorof the company.

The other converting companies like SurgeineHealthcarei, G. Surgi Wear and Sivshree Medittexttoo are working closely with Ahlstrom.August 1-15, 2010


Klopman to Play the Role of MatchmakerBetween European Workwear Manufacturers and Converters in India

we want to use our leadership position in workwear to makeIndia a large workwear garment centre also,” avers Holger.

According to Holger, all the big names in the European workwearindustry are presently producing garments in Europe and variousFar-East countries like China, Indonesia and Vietnam. “Wewould like to demonstrate India advantage and that would bemore viable if we have a fabric manufacturing plant in India asit’s easy to handle if fabric production is near the garmentproduction centre,” confides Holger.

Klopman has already initiated talks with some garmentmanufacturers in India. “They can be fashion garment

manufacturers who would like to start workwear production. For us it’simportant to identify the companies which value quality and timely deliverybecause for European garment makers it’s not easy to find quality productioncapabilities combined with competitive pricing. “We have all the ingredientsfor being the best match-maker,” avers Holger. September 1-15, 2010

Ajay Sahni, Sales & Marketing Manager, Ahlstrom India





DyStar to Continueits Activities inLeather Business

DyStar, after beingacquired by Ahmedabad-based dyes and derivativeproducts manufacturer KiriDyes & Chemicals Ltd.(KDCL), will continue tooperate as independentcompany to offer itscomprehensive range ofdyes, process and effectchemicals as well asservices to the textileindustry. The company willalso maintain its activitiesfor the leather industrythrough its formerlyacquired Boehme brands.March 1-15

Super Choice’sNatural ButtonsDemand GrowingExponentially

Manufacturers/suppliers ofshell buttons and natural‘Mother of Pearl’ material,Super Choice claims to benow one of the biggestnatural buttonsmanufacturers in theindustry.

“My business in last oneyear has grown more thandouble with Zara, H&M,Triburg and Impulse. Nowthe buyers are demandingmore and more of natural,organic products for whichI had to increase myimports from countriessuch as Japan, Australia andmany more.”– ALOK RAJ, Partner,Super Choice .October 1-15

Wendler’s 4 Strategic Pillars: Quality, CustomerSupport, Innovation and AvailabilityA top class product backed by a strong marketing strategy is the mantra for successat Wendler Einlagen, the German-based interlining major which is now eyeing forAsian markets after having consolidated its position in the two Western marketsof the US and Europe. “We have a wide range of offerings in interlining that to selectthe right one for different fabrics is difficult. Our labs support the customers, sothere is no mistake or delay because of wrong selection of interlining.”– Mahesh Pahwa, MD, Welco Agencies. January 1-15

STOLL of Germany Opens New Office in Noida;Looking to Expand Market ReachWhile Stoll is synonymous with quality flat knitting machines, it is the service thatit provides to its customers in terms of design and technical expertise that sets thecompany apart from competitors.

“Most quality-conscious technology providers can supply good hardware for flatknitting technology, but the involvement Stoll of with its customers at all levels isunmatched. We research continuously at the point of sale and co-operate withtrend offices. We work on yarn collections and colour selections together withinternational yarn manufacturers to provide inspiration and information on markettrends for own collections.” – Andreas Wilde, Sales Director and ThomasHoffmann, Area Sales Manager, Stoll. March 16-31

Byways Far East Steadily Growingits India’s PresenceSince 1962, Byways have grown to service the labelling and ticketing requirementsof retailers world-wide including a variety of custom-designed products such asover-riders, pocket plasters and die-cut packaging. Today the Group with an annualturnover of US $ 23 million and headquartered in UK, has production centres andsales offices in Hong Kong, Turkey, Bangladesh and India.

It’s not a new beginning for Byways in India which produces on average over onemillion products per day of which 98% are dispatched within three working days.“We understand how important it is to have products delivered into stores on time.”– Mark Cohen, Managing Director. April 1-15

Avery Dennison builds market-driven strategy fordeeper penetration of Indian MarketsAvery Dennison, a Fortune 500 company known for innovations that improveits customers’ businesses, recently marked its 75th anniversary. With amajor presence in India, Avery Dennison is geared up for greater penetration.The Indian country office is located in Bangalore.

“We have three focus areas for driving growth in India – the apparel exportmarket, domestic retail and the home textiles segment. First, we intendto capture a greater share of the burgeoning apparel export market bydelivering intelligent and sustainable solutions to customers.”– Roy Joseph, Avery Dennison India General Manager. July 1-15

THROUGH OUR RESOURCE CENTRE PAGES, WE BRING TO THE INDUSTRYLATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN TRIMS AND EMBELLISHMENTS, BESIDES UPDATINGON NEW RESOURCES AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE INDUSTRY. A FEW OF THECOMPANY’S AND PRODUCTS THAT WE COVERED IN 2010 ARE AS BELOW:



Sustainable Packaging the Future of Industry…Touch Providing Technology for Manufacturing DisposableNon-woven BagsInside, who has been providing the industry with reliable, cost-friendly and value-added technology from China, has recently introduced the non-woven fullyautomatic bag making machine. The machine being marked under the brandumbrella of ‘Baishide’ is making waves with many companies looking for newbusiness ventures, lapping in the technology.

“We have received enquiries from many companies from the packaging industryfor use in domestic retail and significantly there has also been interest from garmentexporters as more and more buyers are demanding that garments beshipped in non-woven bags rather than plastic bags.” – Sanjay Seth, MD, Inside.October 16-31

Bombay Rayon Launches Branded Rangeof Narrow Fabrics & LabelsAfter launching its pre-dyed buttons and buttons for children’s wear recently,BRFL’s trims division has now launched its range of narrow fabrics in the brandname of Arihant Organics. The brand has woven labels and woven narrow fabricsin cotton, polyester, nylon, viscose and polypropylene both in woven plain elastictapes and rigid (non-elastic) plain tapes under its umbrella. The company has alsointroduced knitted narrow fabrics in polyester and nylon-knitted plain elastic tapesunder the same brand name.

“We have also introduced elastic covered rubber threads in nylon and polyesterin various colours for smocking applications in Arihant Organics.” – A. R. Bhoobalan,GM – Trims Division. November 1-15

Shubh Swasan Entering Technical Textileswith Waterproof Breathable FabricWith a strong base in manufacturing thermoplastic adhesives finding applicationsfor interlinings and various other products, Shubh Swasan with a group turnoverof Rs. 120 crore have gone for forward and backward integration to be a majorplayer in Fusible Interlinings, Coated Textiles, Laminated Fabrics, Bonded Fabricsand Technical Textiles. “Our key drive is to give the best quality at par with Europeanstandards, but at rates that are economical.” – Krishna Kumar, Director,Shubh Swasan. July 1-15

GB Products: Sourcing Destination for allAccessory NeedsGB Products from Chennai is positioning itself as a reliable one-stop-shop for allaccessories needed by garment exporters. “We are sourcing agents who can offera huge variety of products to a garment manufacturer from suppliers, both in Indiaand abroad. For us commitment, quality and then price are the three guidelinesto service the industry.” – Vinod Jain, Director, GB Products. June 1-15

Nilesh Ribbon Industries: Servicing the Exporterswith Quality and Committed DeliveriesInvesting in technology and integration adds an edge to business and that is exactlywhat Surat-based Nilesh Ribbon Industries has done manufacturing ribbons forboth the domestic and international market. “Our focus has always been on givingthe best quality and that is the reason that we have been able to penetrate thegarment export market, which more than variation in design, is looking for qualityand timely deliveries.” – Manoj Jariwala, Director, Nilesh Ribbon. April 16-30


“Without ChineseTrims IndianGarment ExportersCannot SurviveNow”, says HongKong-based GlobeRiderEstablished in 2003, GlobeRider is a Hong Kong-basedtrading company withrepresentative office inGuang Zhou (MainlandChina). The product rangeavailable with thecompany for the Indianmarket is wide and includescotton laces, necklineslaces, chemical lace fabrics,hot fix studs, metal chains,value-added fabrics, meshand beads. Having strongnetwork across China andunderstanding the demandsof the fashion industry, thecompany has a strongsupply base in India,Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.“We are the first foreigncompany in China forexport rights for garmenttrims and accessories.”– SAM KOHLI, MD,Globe Rider. Sept. 16-30

SymphonyPolymers ProvidingTotally DegradableVanishing Plasticsfor PackagingSymphony Polymers,manufacturing totallydegradable plastics knownas oxo-biodegradableplastics, is offering aproduct range that includesgarment packing bags,hanger bags, self sealing zippouches, courier envelopesand pouch with weldedhangers, to name a few.

“Plastic is a very familiarcomponent of modernliving used in all sorts ofpackaging, households andcommercial application.Whilst the benefits arehigh but it becomes amajor problem whendisposal is required.”– MAHENDRA JAIN,MD, SymphonyPolymers. September 16-30


E.H. Turel Show in Bangalore attracts Industry,Technology from around the WorldRecently E. H. Turel organized a private show TUREL CLASSIC at “E.H. TURELCentre of Competence” (COC), in Bangalore for its various brands and theresponse was very encouraging.

“Many of our existing customers came for the show and we even receivedvisitors from new companies looking for options in technology.” – Viraf Turel,MD, EH Turel & Co.

“We are very happy with the way the Indian industry has responded to ourspecialized technology and going forward; it is one of the most importantmarkets for us.” – Enrico Guerreschi, Vibemac Sales Director,Worldwide Market. August 1-15

Shima Seiki CEO Dr. Masahiro Shima is AwardedHonorary Medal by Italian RepublicDr. Masahiro Shima, President and CEO of Shima Seiki Mfg. Japan has beenconferred an honorary medal for his contribution to the Italian Republic, in promotingand advancing Italian fashion as well as expanding economic relations within theItalian fashion industry.

Shima Seiki’s core business includes development, manufacture, sales andservice of WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines, computerized flat knitting machines,glove and sock knitting machines, apparel CAD-CAMs, and other relatedperipherals. The company has been selling its brand of computerized knittingmachines in Italy since 1982, and currently holds a major portion of market share.October 16-31

Garment Technology from Duerkopp Adlerto be Marketed in India by Mehala MachinesMehala Machines India a leading distributor of garment machineries from aroundthe world in India has joined hands with Duerkopp Adler of Germany to promotetheir high technology products in India. Now, Mehala would be the sole agent forGarment Machinery in India for Duerkopp. “This association will prove to be win-win situation for both parties.” – S. Carthic, Director, Mehala Machines.

“Duerkopp has repositioned its thrust in India with a separate agent for its differentsegments and while the heavy-duty industrial machines will remain with EH Turel,the garment machinery line will be exclusively with Mehala.” – Vikram Sona, AreaSales & Marketing Manager South Asia, Duerkopp Adler, India. June 1-15



RESOURCECENTRE


New range of User-friendly and InnovativeOptical Tools launched by ParamountParamount, keeping up to its reputation of being the pioneer and leader in the fieldof textile testing instrument technology, recently introduced some innovative newadditions in the instruments they manufacture.

“Concentrating more on style and convenience of the user, we have developeda range of optical tools with a unique design appeal which are extremely user-friendly, while remaining affordable for textile testing.” – Manjit Singh Saini, CEO& Executive Director, Paramount. December 16-31

Cheran Machines upbeat of the potential inUndergarment SegmentAn ISO 9001:2000 certified company, Cheran Machines India based in Coimbatore,is a well known name engaged in manufacturing and export of a wide range ofgarment printing machines and textile printing machines. The offerings includeproducts for heat transfer/fusing, label transfer, printing and curing, electric dryerand more. “We are a customer-focused company, with a strong commitment forquality that has helped us to build a strong client base over the past 14 years.”– Mohan Kumar, Managing Director, Cheran Machines. May 16-30

Krishna Lamicoat: Largest Manufacturer ofSpecialized Paper Products for the GarmentIndustry takes ‘Sustainable’ Route to BusinessLed by the dynamic Amar Chhajer, Krishna Lamicoat, known in the industry for itsspecialized paper and films for the garment industry has consciously chosen to takethe ‘sustainable’ route in all areas of operations as a way of life and work, creatinga cutting edge which differentiates company and product from other competitors.The commitment begins with its newly constructed factory on the outskirts ofBangalore which has been built from bricks made on site of local mud using thenatural terrain as a landscape. “We engage our workers and create an environmentwhere targets are achieved without the struggle.” – Ashok Chhajer, Director,Krishna Lamicot. August 16-31

Processing Solutions from Dilmenler, Turkey Readyto Storm the Textile Hubs in North IndiaDMS Dilmenler from Turkey has already established its strong presence in Tirupurwith a number of companies using processing machines manufactured by Dilmenler.Now the focus of the company is to enter the north of India with Mumbai-basedImperial as its partners.

“India is an important market for Dilmenler. “Turkey has always had a strongprocessing culture, but it is only since recently that Indian mills are looking to investin world quality technology for processing and as a huge country with manytextile clusters the scope for growth is immense.” – Ismail Sengueler,Sales Director, Dilmenler. April 1-15

Bhayani Plastic in JV with Visconti, USA tomanufacture Hangers in India“This is the first time that an Indian hanger company has been promoted by aforeign collaborator in plastic hangers for the use of logo to be fixed on all hangers.“This is indeed an achievement as stores own the design of hangers and are notwilling to incorporate any other logo.” – Atul Bhayani, MD, Bhayani PlasticJanuary 1-15


Eastman CuttingTraining CentreInaugurated at ALTTraining College inBangaloreTo address and enhance thequality and productivity inthe sewing and finishingdepartments of thegarment industry, EastmanCutting Training Centrewas inaugurated at theALT Training Collegein Bangalore.

Mwade Stevenson,President of Eastman USA,along with Akira Hirata,President of Eastman Asiaand Syed Hafeez, CountryManager of Eastman Indiawere present at the openingof this unique trainingcentre, the second of thiskind in the world (the firstone being in USA). Acomplete cutting roomtraining will be given toapparel and other sewnproduct industries not onlyin India but also to theindustry in Sri Lanka,Bangladesh and othercountries in Asia. Oct. 1-15

Groz-Beckert AsiaCompletes 50 Yearsof Operations inIndiaWith a history that can betraced back to 150 years,German conglomerateGroz-Beckert is celebratingfive decades of operationsin India. Known the worldover for its specializedprecision needles forknitting, weaving andstitching, the companysetup a production unit atChandigarh way back in1961 as a joint ventureunder the name of Groz-Beckert Sabu; today thecompany is a fully ownedsubsidiary of GB, Germanyunder the name of Groz-Beckert Asia, with over1100 employees in its twomanufacturing units andbeyond. December 16-31


WrapUp Eyes& Ears 2010

January 1-15

‘Unisource Ventures’ aims to tapsix new markets in 2010

Interconti Project willexpand market reach intoSpecialized Products

February 1-15

US Designer looking for Indianfactories to Manufacturehigh-end Garments

February 16-28

Street Legal Clothing opensSleepwear Division; Adds newCanadian and US Retailers

March 1-15

Sri Abhishek Merchandisingraises two new accounts forHome Furnishing

March 16-31

Savvy Sourcing enters Russiaand UK for Home Furnishing;Eyes Scandinavian nations forApparel Sourcing

April 1-15

The Imperial expands customerbase in Europe, Adds newProduct Categories

Hope & Glory renamed H&GTextile Pvt. Ltd.

April 16-30

Ujjwal Arora takes over IPGS(Intraport) as Vice-President

May 16-30

Visage will now be known asLF Europe

Anant Sadana & Uday Goel quitGAP India

June 1-15

Anuj Beniwal comes home toLi & Fung, joins as DivisionalManager for DKNY

Polish Buyer Urszula Puchalska visitsCE Fashions; Looks for both high-end and mass fashion

June 16-30

Far East Trading Asia searching forVendors in Knits; Expecting toincrease Sourcing by 50%

July 1-15

Montrose, India growing on Pvt.Label Business; To increase Sourcingin Knits and Junior Segment

JCPenney Looking for newCountry Manager

July 16-31

SAMA Baby, US – The Sustainableline of clothing for babies mayexpand Product Profile from India

Change of guards at Target:Asha Menon joins Sears

August 1-15

Esteem Buying Service developsMexican Market, new buyers inUS also

BUYERSBUYERSBUYERSBUYERSBUYERSNEWS



August 16-31

TJX opens its Liaison Office in India

JCPenney India Office gets a newCountry Head

September 1-15

CD Lifestyle looking at own SamplingUnit; Starts business with Russian,French, German and Turkish Buyers

September 16-30

Nitori Sourcing Home Furnishingworth US $ 14 million from India;Targets US $ 20 million for next year

October 1-15

B.A.A.S Sourcing looking for moreBuyers in its kitty

“Wanted Girlswear Manufacturers”…CD Lifestyle

October 16-31

AllSaints India growing huge YOY;Going for Leather Jacket, Scarves,Jewellery, Leather Bags &Footwear Manufacturers

November 1-15

Stalwart Sourcing enters intoManufacturing

New Heads at AllSaints andFrench Connection

November 16-30

Knit Sourcing looking forEco-friendly Garment Suppliers

East End Apparels looking forvendors in Jackets and Outerwear

December 1-15

Kalp Exim to open FranchiseStores Around the World– High Fashion the Target

December 16-31

IKEA looking for PotentialSuppliers as it increases Sourcingfrom India

Cecilia Oskarsson is the newCountry Manager atKappAhl Far East Ltd.

RewindRewindRewindRewindRewind2010BUYERSBUYERSBUYERSBUYERSBUYERSNEWS

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