Over the last five years, as the awareness of technical textiles grows, so has the market size and the Indian technical textile industry which is currently estimated at US $ 14 billion and likely to reach a level of US $ 32 billion by 2023 as the Government of India is giving a major thrust on the development of the technical textile industry. With major investments being made, India is set to play a huge role in the global market along with China. Both the countries will not only create a huge demand for technical textiles but also show growth in production at a higher rate. This holds immense potential for all investors and offers a compelling reason for buyers and sellers of technical textiles to keep their focus on India and develop a rational strategy to seize the emerging opportunities. Many experts feel that besides medical, protection, home furnishings and automobile, the Indian technical textile industry should go beyond and explore newer product categories like bio medical products and create its niche by producing cotton-based technical textiles as the country is cotton rich and conventional textile companies can also easily foray into the segment.
Around 70 per cent of technical textiles today are produced with man-made fibre and filaments and the cost of these fibres and filaments in India is around 20-30 per cent higher, as compared to China and Indonesia. On the other side, India produces nearly 39 million bales of cotton every year, and cotton is the backbone of the Indian textile sector. So rather than keeping the “herd mentality”, Indian entrepreneur should explore options in cotton fibre, feel experts. The view was endorsed at a recently held Indutech conference in Coimbatore where T Rajkumar, Chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) strongly suggested that companies involved in technical textiles should invest in cotton-based technical textiles.
“Considering the large amount of funds needed for non-woven manufacturing and lack of technical know-how, entrepreneurs should focus on cotton-based technical textiles and SIMA along with the Indian Technical Textiles Association which would help companies investing in expanding cotton-based technical textile products,” he said.
The importance of technical textiles cannot be undermined, as they bring a functional answer to a wide range of specific requirements namely lightness, resistance, reinforcement, filtration, fire-retardancy, conductivity, insulation, flexibility, absorption and so on. Thanks to the nature of the fibres (polyester, polypropylene, viscose, cotton, carbon, glass, aramid, etc.), as well as the choice of the most relevant manufacturing techniques (spinning, weaving, braiding, knitting, non-woven…), including finishing processes (dyeing, printing, coating, laminating…), technical textile producers are able to propose textile solutions offering the mechanical, exchange or protective properties suited to the specific needs of the final users.
- By diversifying towards non-woven technical textiles and forging global partnerships with counterparts shall give impetus to the growth of technical textiles. Vertically integrated supply chain and diverse range of products as the main factors expected to contribute to the growth of the industry.
- Technical textiles are predominately characterized as having specific performance-based attributes and typically must meet established performance specification criteria. Tensile strength and elongation, weight, elasticity, resistance to flammability and high heat levels, moisture-transport capabilities, durability, and weatherability are some examples of attributes that could be included in a technical textiles performance specification.
With the new Government coming in there is fresh optimism for the technical textile industry, as it committed to boost the industrial sector overall. “There are big plans being chalked out for the agriculture industry to adopt new technologies, to upgrade the infrastructure of different segments and make the rail, road, air and marine transport services comparable to the best in the world. Environmental concerns will give the required direction to all the development that is bound to happen,” points out Samir Gupta of Textech India.
Recently, marking Arvind’s entry into nonwoven fabrics, Arvind OG Nonwovens Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Arvind Ltd. and OG Corporation of Japan, opened its manufacturing facilities near Ahmedabad. “The new facility is a big milestone for Arvind, and we are looking to aggressively grow this vertical with our Japanese partners. Beyond this, we are also looking to invest in other technologies and product categories in the non-woven space going forward,” stated Punit Lalbhai, Executive Director of Arvind Ltd. and CEO of the Advanced Materials Division. Bangalore based Sankhla Group, known for its polymer compounds and cables since 1984, has also diversified into manufacturing technical textiles where fabrics are produced for end applications such as luggage, filter bags, body wear, camouflage suits, tarpaulins, awnings and canopies.
Product innovation and performance driving growth of technical textiles
Product innovation and performance attributes remain primary drivers for woven fabrics in these markets, often at the expense of non-textile products that the technical textiles are replacing. Advances in fibre, yarn, fabric and manufacturing technologies continue to lead to new application opportunities and are helping fabric manufacturers meet the continuously expanding technical objectives and expectations of their customers. As more advanced technical textile concepts are realized and publicized, customer’s expectations will only continue to grow.
As of now, technical textiles are categorized in about 12 segments like Medi-tech (medical textiles), Geo-tech, Pro-tech, Sport-tech to mention a few; it’s now time to get deeper into each segment. The term medical textiles can be considered to be the umbrella that covers all textile structures in the medical industry, from surgical gowns and external wound dressings to textile structures that are intended for surgical implantation. However, internationally “biomedical textiles” is a subcategory of medical textiles that narrows the field down to those applications that are intended for active tissue contact, tissue regeneration or surgical implantation.
Biomedical textiles is a fast-growing market segment in the technical textiles industry. Since the mid-1960s, the medical field has been using biomedical textiles products for vascular grafts and heart valve sewing cuffs. The current wave of uses is coming as a result of new fibres and new construction methods of the textile materials. Innovative applications are found both inside and outside the human body. Biomedical textiles can eliminate the need for persistent surgical procedures, prevent infections and help speed a patient’s healing.
The types of fibres and fabrics normally used in biomedical applications are non-resorbable fibres which include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-tenacity PET, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and nylons. Biomedical offers four textile technology platforms like braiding; weaving; knitting; and nonwovens. All of these platforms are expandable based on the requirements of the application. A knit structure can be designed to be strong and porous for hernia applications or lightweight and less porous for cardiovascular applications. Woven structures can incorporate high-strength PE fibres for orthopaedic applications. These new fibre technologies, along with advances in modern textile processing systems, will continue to expand the application possibilities within the biomedical/biosurgical textile marketplace.
