● Fabric quality improving; new technology being adopted
● In 2008-09, Surat witnessed 40% growth in textiles
● Industry still depending on ‘Maters’ and selling through ‘Agents’
● Textile Parks and Apparel Park coming up in Surat
● 70-80 new units to come up in next 2 years
● Emerging as a city for embroidery and fresh thrust on home furnishing fabrics
Think of procuring polyester fabrics in georgette, chiffon, crepe, taffeta, cambric, crepe-de-chine, voile, habutae, dobby gingham, jacquard, lightweight or heavyweight, plain weave or designed weave, dyed or printed, embroidered or zari work, the only name which comes to mind is Surat. The city has its own fabric producing culture. Spinning, texturising, weaving, dyeing, printing and finishing all are done separately. There are barely any composite mills and the business is flourishing as ‘Job-work’. The Apparel Online Team toured the city, met the stalwarts to understand the changes in the last couple of years in the products and technology adoption as the young breed of textile technologists, MBA’s or graduates from premier textile and fashion institutes join the family businesses.
Industry stalwarts say that Surat is actually growing the way China has grown; they are processing bigger batches; in other words the city is offering volumes at very competitive prices. There are units in Surat which are printing around 8,000-9,000 metre fabric everyday on a flat-belt machine and there are units producing upto 80,000-90,000 metres/day on a rotary machine.
With around 9 lakh looms, Surat weaves about 42.5 million metres of grey fabric per day. Further, about 500 large process houses, each having a processing capacity of 50,000 to 200,000 metres of fabric per day ensures a steady supply of processed fabric. Interestingly, adding value to the city’s skills over the last few years, Surat has grown exponentially in embroidery capabilities with approximately 70,000 installed embroidery machines and the very new product category for the city is furnishing fabrics. There are around 50,000 traders in the city and 125 textile markets within a radius of one kilometre. There are four textile industrial areas namely Pandesara, Sachin, Palsana and Gadodra, and barring Pandesara (which would be operational in two months) all have their own Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP). Most of the Process Houses have installed pollution controlling systems. About two years back the PPM level of Surat was 500, now it has come down to 250.
The polyester fabrics manufactured in Surat are exported to more than 100 countries around the world. The garment export industry in India consumes about 15 to 20% of the total production of Surat fabrics. Previously garment exporters were using only 2-3% of processed fabric from Surat, which now has increased to 10-12%. One such exporter from Delhi who is largely depending on Surat fabrics is Lalit Thukral, Managing Director, Maharana of India, manufacturer of ladies garments with an office in Surat. “I am doing business with Surat for the last 20 years. My office in Surat helps in ensuring quality and deliveries within timeframes,” he says.
Genetically Fabric
The textile industry in Surat was started with weaving by the natives of the city popularly called as ‘Surtis’, who are quite laid-back in their approach. However, gradually the Patel’s from North of Gujarat, Marwaris and Punjabis with their professionalism, took over the textile business and today the units run 24 hours non-stop, 27 days in a month, shares Manubhai M. Patel, President, Federation of Gujarat Weavers Association (FOGWA).
Surat has grown exponentially because everyone is doing there own specified job in which they have a specialization in. Yarn is the domain of giants like Reliance Industries and Garden, then comes a set of texturisers who buy Partially Oriented Yarn (POY) from these companies and texturise the yarn (twisting of the yarn, heat treatment, apply a little oil to the yarn and make cones) and sell it to weavers, who in turn sell weaved grey yarn to traders/wholesalers, and further sell the fabric to dyers, printers, embroiderers or agents who then get it made as per specifications and sell it to exporters, retailers or brands. At each step an agent or a trader is involved to facilitate business.
Gen-Next Going for Upgradation in Technology
In most of the units now the young generation has joined the business. Every youngster AO Team met was either a textile engineer or an MBA or a pass out from a premier textile or fashion Institute of India. They all believe in inducting new technology in their production systems and strongly campaign for protection of the environment, but are however still pulled back in some areas by traditional ways of operations. “The new generation is very serious about this industry; they are modernizing the industry by upgrading the machines, importing new technologies with the help of TUF scheme,” states Thukral. The change is everywhere to see; just four-five years back only a fistful of process houses used imported machinery but now almost all the process houses in Surat have latest technology from Korea or Japan.
Young Manish Khurana, Director, Shrinath Tex Prints, joined his family business after completing his software engineering course. He emphasises that the younger generation has heralded in changes by bringing in imported machineries and newer technologies for better quality, faster production and less dependence on labour. “Previously, Surat was just into lighter weight fabrics which were made with yarns that were not twisted but now lot of twisted yarn is being used to give that ‘grainy’ effect to georgette,” says Manish. To give grainy effect, ‘drum washes’ are required as earlier this technology was not available in Surat. But now a process house without drum washes is unimaginable. Even wrinkling and Zero-Zero machines which are used after the final finish are a part of every processing house in the city.
Sanjay Gupta of A.G. Exports, a trading company dealing in viscose grey fabrics and dyed/ printed finished fabrics, talking about the changes in Surat comments, “For the last 4-5 years, weavers have become more quality-oriented and they are ready to interact and discuss issues with the processing mills with regard to the finished drapes and weaving standards.”
Earlier fabric qualities were not strong enough to sustain weight reduction technology for soft feel, but now weight reduction and softline machines are a must for any process house to attain better hand feel and grainy effect. The industry also has a number of mechanical shrinkage machines to add on to physical properties like feel and fall of the fabrics.
Meeting International Standards in Processing
A good quality fabric is a combination of many ‘must haves’ – flawless construction, good machinery, good quality chemicals and dyes and very seasoned technical person.
Surat textile industry is quite serious about implementation of REACH and are using Azo -free chemicals, and are focusing on quality production and processing of fabrics to match up the international standards.
There are about 4-5 units which are catering to the export industry using Azo-free, eco-friendly dyes and have been nominated by international giants like M&S and H&M. These units are Managal Geeta, Luthra, Shaurya and Niharika, to mention the prominent ones. “Our fabrics are going to Walmart, C&A, M&S, Mango, Promod so we are following the US and European norms of quality; our dyes have to be Azo-free and that goes for domestic market as well,” states Hari Kanodia, the Owner of Niharika Dyeing.
Shaurya Industries, doing a turnover of Rs. 35 crore, has the most modern unit in Surat. Set up with Korean technology, it has been audited by H&M and M&S. Sanjay Jain, the Owner of the company, “M&S has approved very few dye houses in India, three of which are in Surat and we are one of them. The kind of fabric we do, it’s not possible anywhere in Surat. We have the best weight reduction technology in India,” claims Sanjay. Shaurya management believes that to give exclusive products which only Korea, Turkey and Taiwan can produce, one has to import their technology. So the company has invested in continuous weight reduction machine and soft-flow technology to give the finest quality in sheer fabric, very state-of-the-art stenter with weft straightener with which not even a centimetre of fabric would go out of line. Then the company also has latest Shiner machines and Calender machines for softening and giving shine to cotton along with Synging machines.
Shaurya keeps trying to make newer fabric with finishes and is planning more investments to make its fabric more value-added and exclusive. It is the company which introduced laser print in weightless fabric (georgette). The company also boasts of developing a fabric for M&S’s casual wear (beachwear) with polyester feel which performs like cotton (absorbs water immediately). “M&S consumers are crazy about this fabric across the globe. It’s an expensive fabric no doubt; the quantity rate of the fabric is Rs. 150/metre,” informs Jain who on an average makes 150 samples every day and during slack season around 200-300 sample designs.
Shaurya also is nominated supplier to Victoria Secret for intimate wear fabrics and is also dedicated supplier to Zara and H&M for ladies top fabrics. The company has just completed an order of 2 lakh metre for Zara.
Luthara Dyeing & Printing is C&A certified and is being run professionally. H&M, M&S, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, Monsoon, GAP, Primark, Next, Zara to mention a few are procuring fabrics from Luthra, directly or indirectly. The company is coming up with its own Textile Park in Surat. “We have laser engraving machines, design is passed on directly to the fabric, so there are very little chances of errors in printing. Most of the mills do it manually,” says Ajay Ghariwala, Head Textile Division. The design studio at Luthra has more than 30,000 designs in their library.
‘Master’ Syndrome still Prevalent
There are common ETPs in the manufacturing zones. The power looms have been replaced by air-jet looms, designs are being generated on CAD CAMS, and automatic printing machines have replaced manual printing machines but colour matching is still largely dependent on ‘Masters’; Spectrometers are far from the scene.
‘Master’ word drones all over Surat. ‘Master’ is the very important person who controls the production and also is instrumental in getting the clientele. In Surat the imperative control on the shop floor is of colour-mixing. Ritesh Patel of Kohinoor Dyeing & Printing Mills points out, “We still believe that nothing can replace experience. The masters with their experienced hands get the desired colour and within the tolerance level acceptable to international buyers so frankly no one is making investments in colour labs, etc.”
N. J Saxena, Owner of Mangal Geeta Fashions, a process house, claims to be ‘masters’ in georgette and is catering to about 80 exporters in India and is nominated supplier to H&M and C&A.
No wonder, masters in Surat are still being treated as indispensable species. “There are two kinds of Masters: Dyeing Master and Printing Master. The only change with younger generation joining the business is that now the companies work on ‘Package’ system where the owner sets a target for the Master, says Saxena.”
Weaving Advantage
“Surat has numerous qualities in polyester based fabrics and can produce any design which a buyer desires,” says Vimal Nangalia, the Owner of Nangalia Fabrics, weaving 1.5 million metres of grey fabric per month which includes polyester, rayon, cotton for apparel and furnishings. Vimal is planning to set up a processing unit. Surat has the largest high twisting capacity of filament yarns in the country. There are over 200 manufacturers and traders of metallic yarn in the city. The narrow weaving segment produces high-quality elastics, non-elastic tapes, webbing, laces, ribbons, zari borders bows and cords.
| Company | Production | Product | Annual Turnover |
| Luthra Dyeing & Printing Mill | 45-50,000 mt/day | Dyed & Printed fabric | Rs. 35 crore |
| Shaurya Industries | N/A | Dyed & Printed fabric | Rs. 35 crore |
| Shrinath Tex Prints | 1.20 lakh mt/day | Dyed & Printed fabric | Rs. 15 crore |
| Niharika Dyeing & Printing Mills | 16,000 mt/day | Dyed & Printed fabric | Rs. 25 crore |
| Mangal Geeta Fashion | 1.25 lakh mt/day | Dyed & Printed fabric | Rs. 18 crore |
| Kohinoor Dyeing & Printing | 1 lakh mt/day | Dyed & Printed fabric | Rs. 22 crore |
| Nangalia Fabrics | 18 million mt/annum | Grey weaving Polyester/Rayon | Rs. 40 crore |
| Riddhi Siddhi Group of Textiles | 10 lakh mt/month | Grey weaving Georgette | Rs. 14 crore |
According to Avinash Suthar, Owner, India Textiles and Technologies, dealing in all kinds of imported textile machinery and also a manufacturer of water jet looms, “In Surat automatic looms have cut down the labour cost by 50-60% and power cost by almost 50% and hence made the city very price-competitive. One textile park is coming up exclusively for weaving and yarn texturising (from POY to finished yarn),” affirms Suthar.
Due to the diversified small and big lot production system, the Surat manufacturers are capable of catering to tailor-made orders, which ensures quick response and exclusivity. Surat is also able to cater to bulk orders as the units are flexible in terms of quantities.
The prices are very competitive as the overheads are low. “In Surat we are selling printed fabrics at Rs. 5 per metre which is almost half to that of Delhi’s,” informs Saxena. He adds, “Once our lab dips are approved we deliver the fabric within 7-8 days. Yes the grey should be in lot, if we have to procure the grey then it takes another 7-8 days.”
The market deals through agents be it domestic or exports. As Rajeev Jindal of Jindal Exports puts, trader of export quality fabrics and doing a turnover of Rs. 50 crore/annum, “In Surat, the entire programming is in the hands of the agents. The buyer/exporter or even the domestic brands give their requirements and the rest is agent’s job. Like for example, this much grey to be dyed in a particular shade; different programmes are made for dyeing and printing.”
The payments are also routed through agents. There is 15-20 days’ credit period after which the buyer has to give 2% interest per day till he makes the payment, informs Nailesh Patel of Riddhi Siddhi, a textile engineer and manufacturer of export quality grey fabric with a monthly production of 10 lakh metres. “There is no chasing of payments, you exceed your payment deadline and your metre starts; so generally the payments are on time,” states Patel.
Technotex 09: Non-woven Superior for Meditech
Having a seminar on Meditech at this juncture makes great sense when swine flu is gripping the world, and India is not left untouched from its lethal impact. The demand for most common Meditech product – face masks – witnessed a steep rise in India as well as worldwide.
Now more and more players, especially from SME sector, are getting into Meditech fabric/product manufacturing and the medical fraternity too is realizing the importance of this promising segment. FICCI organized a series of technical textile seminars and Meditech was one of the topics. The seminar was addressed by Bhupendra Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles who noted that the medical textiles sector had an annual growth potential of 15%. From the current market size of Rs. 1600 crore, the industry has the potential to reach a size of Rs. 3000 crore by the year 2011-12.
Shisher Jaipuria, Managing Director, Ginni Filament Ltd. In his presentation highlighted the uniqueness of non-wovens which are engineered to match the specific requirements of different applications. Ginni Filament produces non-wovens in which fibres are laid into a web and then entangled together by application of high pressure water jets. Its main feature is that the fabric produced is of high purity and free from any chemicals and toxics. Medical disposables such as gauze swabs, X-ray detectable ABD pad, rolled bandage, gamzi rolls, O.T. cleaning dry wipes, laminated disposable bed sheets, disposable patient towels, lab coats/drapes/gowns are all made out of spunlace non-wovens.
Explaining the advantages of non-woven over woven gauze, Jaipuria said, “Non-woven gauze has faster absorption of liquids, exudates along with softer feel which keep the patient more comfortable.” In non-woven gauze there is no requirement of chemical processing which makes non-woven fabric free of impurities; hence, the chances of presence of any chemical residues are eliminated. In woven gauze chemical processing, sizing, de-sizing, scouring and bleaching are done. Also there are chances of natural impurities in woven gauze whereas in non-woven there isn’t because the fibres used are regenerated ones.
President-Elect, Association of Surgeons of India and CMD, Asian Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Narendra Pandey, pointed out that despite a number of Government initiatives, the technical textiles industry was still buffeted by problems. These include – lack of clarity amongst investors about the future prospects of technical textiles in the absence of data on the potential growth of the sector; absence of specifications and standardization of technical textiles; no quality benchmark for technology; lack of awareness about the usefulness of the product and non-availability of raw materials. Dr. I. P. Singh, Head of Surgery, Jagpravesh Hospital, Delhi said it was critical to ensure that non-woven surgical dressings were biocompatible, had good resistance to alkalis, acids and micro-organisms, good dimensional stability and elasticity, etc.
And on usual and expected note FICCI suggested that machinery for technical textiles could be given the option of 20 to 25% capital subsidy under TUFS in lieu of the 5% interest subsidy, subject to a ceiling. FICCI also emphasized that the Government should provide DEPB rates for these new medical textile items to make Indian products competitive in world markets.
DyStar, ATE Enterprises Agree for a Joint Training Schedule
DyStar India and ATE Enterprises in Mumbai have entered a broad agreement, to provide training to its valued customers in various textile applications. The comprehensive end-to-end training to the customers would be provided through ATE’s independent business unit – Expert Solutions.
Both the companies have a full range of textile solutions from creating ideas to accomplishing it. While DyStar is a world leader in dye production and services and markets full range of dyes, auxiliaries and services for all stages in the production chain, the ATE operates in the areas of textile engineering, clean technology, flow technology, print and packaging solutions and machine-to-machine solutions.
Welcoming the new partnership G.V. Aras, Director of ATE Enterprises says: “Joining hands by two experts in their own fields, namely ATE in the process and technology arena and DyStar in the dyes, auxiliaries and advisory arena – is certainly going to help the Indian textile industry in upgrading the technical know-how of their technicians and technologists.
“The first module is expected to roll-out in September 2009 for the yarn dyeing customer base in Tirupur,” asserts Rajesh Balakrishnan, Managing Director, DyStar India Limited, fully praising the partnership.
Dayanidhi Maran Inaugurates Gujarat Eco Textile Park
The Union Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran is all set to develop Textile Parks one after the other in India to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities to this sector. Besides, the sector is a big employment generator for the large populace of India. His mantra for the Textiles Sector is “Manufacture in India, sell in India and make money in India”. Keeping this in view, two Textile Parks, namely Gujarat Eco-Textile Park, Surat and Brandix Apparel City, Vishakhapatnam are ready for inauguration this month. While the Gujarat Eco-Textile Park in Surat has just been inaugurated by the Minister, Brandix Apparel City, Vishakhapatnam shall be inaugurated on 16th of September 2009.
The Minister, while inaugurating the Surat Textile Park, said that the park is the perfect example of industrial growth and environmental sustainability. “Every industrial activity produces environmental load which harms the local environment and de-motivates the local population, and this project will address these concerns,” said the Textiles Minister.
The park has been set up in an area of 104 acres of land at a cost of Rs. 129 crore. It will attract an investment of Rs. 705 crore, and is expected to annually produce textiles products worth Rs. 850 crore. More importantly, the park will provide employment to 25,000 people, said the Textiles Minister.
The Minister also announced that the Government is actively considering setting up additional 15 parks under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,000 crore by 2012. The Government in August 2005 came out with this scheme to supplement the efforts of the industry by providing the latest infrastructural facilities in textiles growth centres.
The scheme is seeing great success as already 40 parks are being set up, 7 in Gujarat – 5 in Surat alone, at an estimated investment of Rs. 3,035 crore, providing employment to over one lakh people. These parks will attract an investment of Rs. 19,450 crore and ones fully operational, will annually produce goods worth Rs. 34,000 crore and provide employment to 8 lakh people, said Maran.
Maran also added that for the first time, the largest ever amount of Rs 2,546 crore, as subsidy under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), has been released in a single tranche and credited to beneficiaries’ accounts in record three days. This has given a positive signal to the industry, especially Gujarat which with 4,051 applications has been one of the major beneficiaries with subsidy of Rs. 275 crore.
“We are planning to have road shows in seven European countries to attract Foreign Direct Investment in Indian textiles,” concluded Maran.
It’s SGS vs. Reebok India… at a Cricket Match
SGS and Reebok India recently came together to compete against each other in a cricket match that was organized in Delhi. The match that was held on a Saturday evening was surely an exciting evening for the staff of both the companies, which is usually busy in daily office routine work. Team AO, present during the match, spoke to the captains of both the teams.
“We have always encouraged sports and such activities at our premises and will continue to do so though this is the first time that we are playing against SGS officially. We definitely look forward to more such events in the future,” said Vishnu Bhagat, captain and COO of Reebok India. Added Bharat Saxena, Business Development Manager, SGS and captain of SGS team, “Sports is about building team spirit and we are here to enjoy a good match.”
Playing first, the Reebok team made 175 runs in 20 overs which proved to be a difficult challenge for the SGS team to meet and Reebok convincingly won the T-20 game. The spirit of sportsmanship was supreme. “We have always shared a good relationship with Reebok, they have been our important clients and this is one of the ways to know them more and enhance the relationship,” concluded Bharat.
September 10 – A Golden Letter Day for Our Industry
On 10th of September, 1846, Elias Howe, an innovator and inventor in America was granted a patent for an invention involving a curved eye-pointed needle carrying an upper thread and operating in a horizontal plane in conjunction with a shuttle for the lower thread to form a lock stitch…. This was the first sewing machine as man knows it. Though efforts to sew a garment were on since the 18th century, Howe was the first to patent the product in a format that can truly be considered the mother of modern sewing machines.
With the patent in 1846, Howe laid the foundation for more research and in 1851 Issac M. Singer patented the first rigid-arm sewing machine. The invention of a foot treadle instead of a hand crank was a breakthrough. Parts of Issac M. Singer’s new machine were based on Elias Howe’s work. Sewing machines continued being made to roughly the same design, until the 1900’s when the first electric machine was introduced with a motor strapped on the side.
As the use of electricity spread widely, sewing machines became more popular and with the popularity of the machines so did the industry. In modern times, with computers invading the sewing industry the sewing machine industry is now a force to reckon with.
But the most surprising thing about this great day for our industry is the fact that till last year a very few people knew about it. Even within our fraternity, only a handful of dedicated individuals recognized the significance of 10th September. Keeping the torch of Sewing day alive is HS Passricha, MD Navyug Sewing Machine who says, “It is an important day for the industry and we must appreciate the invention due to which a vast majority of people in the world can afford finely stitched garments that were a luxury 200 years ago.” Passricha has picked up the cudgel to make 10th September a day that will be observed internationally by the sewing industry and all others related to the sewing activity. Indeed, his efforts were hugely appreciated and this year the Indian fraternity hosted a number of functions to mark this day.
Ram Rajya Receives Good Response at 25th InNaTex Fair, Germany
The recently concluded 25th InNaTex Fair (International Fair For Natural and Organic Textiles) in Germany which specializes in natural and organic textiles and garments saw suppliers from around the world converge with very few signs of concern for the current downtrend in the market. While there were a few participants from India, Ram Rajya Organics, promoted by the Maharishi Ayurveda group exhibiting for the first time received a good response and reported that the trend for organic is moving towards fashion is a big way.
The event, which was once again packed with new ideas and fascinating information, was characterized by an overwhelmingly positive mood among both trade and industry. The processing of natural and organic materials in a manner that is kind to the environment and humanity is inseparably linked at InNaTex with high demands on design and function, posing constantly new challenges for the creative minds behind design, the fair constantly endeavours to address these issues.
With buyers mostly from Europe, the InNaTex witnessed a 13% rise in turnout drawing to a close with widespread satisfaction among exhibitors. This marks yet another success for a sector whose general growth refuses to be adversely affected by the ailing economy.
While organic cotton and its blends were the majority display, there was an increased interest in Bamboo products also. “The products on display were very interesting and the amount of fashion that one was able to see in natural and organic was amazing,” says Sudarshan Kumar, Director, Ram Rajya Clothing.
Ram Rajya Clothing has been for the last eight years, manufacturing and exporting men’s, women’s, kids/infants wear, home furnishings, towels and socks made of 100% organic cotton. Major International clients of the company include Sears, Motif, Cue T Organics, Kupono, MAPI, VAD Inc. and Ecobaby (all USA), Science and Nature, DPAM (both France), Gincana, Alcote (both Spain), B & C (Denmark), F.I.O. (Japan), Memini (Norway) and MTC (Holland).
Ram Rajya Clothing has also started organic cotton products with its own ‘RAAM RAJ’ label from the last four years, and under this label they are exporting to several countries like the US, Japan, Germany and Netherlands.
