Consecutively organized machinery fairs for the garment and textile industry in different parts of the country clearly signify that the industry is spread out in regional clusters, each with a distinct character and need. While the GTE focused mainly on technology for garment production and finishing, Knit Tech, Tirupur has carved its niche as the most important event catering to the needs of the knitting industry from textile to finished product. The fair attracted not just knit-centric Tirupur, but many companies located in the southern states of the country along with customers from Surat, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana and Delhi who visited the fair for latest technology in the knit segment.
This year’s edition, which started sedatedly on the first day, saw unexpectedly high turnaround on the second and third day. “The exhibition was quite successful, both in terms of visitation and business with visitors coming in from Surat, Ahmedabad, Madurai, Bangalore and even Kolkata,” said M A Rayappa, Organizer & Chairman, Hi Tech International Trade Fair India, Tirupur. Rayappa further asserted that one of the reasons behind the success of the fair is that the event is organized once in two years to serve the industry better by offering it something really new every time.
Rayappa’s claim was corroborated by various participants as they witnessed good response for their products and asserted that the industry is now open to investment. In fact, one of the most contributing reasons behind the exhilarating response was the resurgence of the Tirupur industry, which has overcome the environmental issues that it faced 2 years ago. In 2011-2012, the value of apparel exports from Tirupur cluster stood at Rs. 12,500 crore, showing no decline in relation with the previous year’s exports. As a result the participation from the local industry was overwhelming and top level management, technical and purchase teams of various big and medium level companies visited the exhibition.
K. P. Govindasamy, President, Tirupur Export Knit-Wear Manufacturers Association (Tekma), Viking A.C. Eswaran, President, The South India Hosiery Manufacturers’ Association, Tirupur (SIHMA), T.R. Srikanth, President, Tirupur Export Knit printers Association (TEKPA), and Ahill S. Rathinasamy, President, Knitting Cloth Manufacturers Association (KNITCMA) were some of the esteemed visitors who expressed their delight at the response to the fair, declaring that the dark phase of the Tirupur industry is now history.
This year, there were 94 participants showcasing their technologies at the fair, ranging from premium brands like Tajima, Juki, Santoni, Groz-Beckert to various cost-effective Asian alternatives. Every technology related to the knit textile chain was on display, be it knitting, processing, washing, printing cutting, sewing or any other department of apparel production.
One of the key highlight of the event was Tirupur’s continued fondness for European or Japanese high-end machinery. Nearly all high-end machine brands were present, with some of them holding this fair in higher esteem than the popular GTE. The same was obvious when Mirella Sardini, MD, IMA chose to attend Knit Tech over GTE. Companies like Morgan Technica, Mayer & Cie, Santoni accept Tirupur as the biggest market for them. Stefan Maier, Area Sales Manager, Memminger-Iro, leading supplier of productivity enhancement tools for knitting machines, working with both Chinese and European class of machinery opines, “The Tirupur market is a bit prejudiced towards cheaper machinery, which though of course present, is limited in its influence in Tirupur. On the other hand, there is a huge demand for high-end machines in Tirupur and people here realize the importance of good quality machines.” The fact that Tirupur is primarily an export hub, makes it more obvious why the manufacturers here prefer premium quality machines.
