AKAS Tex, a leading textile company based out of USA, increased knitting capacity in 2020, owing to overwhelming global demand of the fabrics which are used for face masks and surgical gowns.
Pennsylvania-based textile manufacturer has added 5 knitting machines in the year that will add 200,300 lbs per year to the existing capacity and help generate jobs in the sector.
According to Sidharth Sharma, President, AKAS Tex, 2 knitting machines out of newly installed 5 machines are for the knitting of double knits like the ProCool® interlock, 2 machines for the knitting of the Zorb® Dimple spacer fabric and 1 machine for the TransWick® 1-Way Wicking fabric.
Markedly, 50 per cent of these fabrics will be exported to the European and Asian markets and the remaining 50 per cent capacity will be utilised for the domestic market in USA.
In a conversation with Apparel Resources, Sidharth unveiled that the total capacity before adding these 5 machines was 375,000 lbs. per year.
“We have gone in for the Monarch, Terrot and Orozio knitting machines as different machines are good for different types of fabrics. So, not one single knitting machine manufacturer can meet the wide range of the proprietary fabrics we manufacture. Most of the fabrics we are knitting on these new machines are patent pending,” shared Sidharth.
It’s worth mentioning here that AKAS Tex has been growing between 30 and 40 per cent since its inception in 2007. “We expect the same growth rate in 2021 with the kind of demand we are witnessing for our fabrics,” further informed Sidharth.
However, the most challenging aspect of the company’s business is that it manufactures only in the US using domestic raw materials. “Hence, we need to constantly innovate and that is what drives our growth,” concluded Sidharth.
Formed in 2007, AKAS Tex will be a 14-year-old company in January 2021. The customer base is varied and includes industries such as Furniture, Hospitality, Healthcare (including PPE), Incontinence Products, High End Apparel, Active Sportswear and related textile products (like wrist bands, supports, post-surgery body sculpturing fabrics, Oil Industry and Automotive Industry.
