"Organised by DFU Publications with Textiles Association (India) as the knowledge partner, The CEO Conclave-Investment and Partnership Summit concluded on an optimistic note. The two day event held on February 19 and 20 at HICC, Hyderabad was attended by over 150 leaders of the textile supply chain including mill owners, managing directors, directors, CEOs, investors, entrepreneurs and stakeholders among others. The theme of the conference was: ‘Rethink traditional business methods, Rejuvenate with new business models’ and ‘Revive confidence in the textiles industry.’ The conclave encompassed like: Textiles Industry"

Organised by DFU Publications with Textiles Association (India) as the knowledge partner, The CEO Conclave-Investment and Partnership Summit concluded on an optimistic note. The two day event held on February 19 and 20 at HICC, Hyderabad was attended by over 150 leaders of the textile supply chain including mill owners, managing directors, directors, CEOs, investors, entrepreneurs and stakeholders among others.

The theme of the conference was: ‘Rethink traditional business methods, Rejuvenate with new business models’ and ‘Revive confidence in the textiles industry.’ The conclave encompassed like: Textiles Industry: The big picture, global, Asia and India perspective; Strategies to revive confidence in textiles; Emerging opportunities in global and domestic markets; and Manufacturing Excellence as four sessions to discuss strategies to revive the confidence.

An ode to the state’s development

Day one began with the welcome address and presentation by Mihir Parekh, Director, TSIIC  followed by an address by B K Goenka, Chairman, Welspun. Goenka in his address credited Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industry and Commerce, Telangana government who was also the guest of honour and K T Rao, for restoring the confidence of textile industry stakeholders and promoting Telangana as a textile hub. He said “Despite being just five years old, the state ranked among top 10 in 2017 in ease of doing businesses. In 2018, it grabbed the second spot.” Talking about Welspun, Goenka said, “We have committed Rs 5,000 crore investment in various projects in the state. Our first project of flooring solutions with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore will be commissioned soon.”

Delineating the development in his state Jayesh Ranjan observed “We adopted a completely different approach for project executions and took stock of last four and a half years. We received about $21 billion investment, of which 65 per cent materialised on ground while the remaining is in advanced stage of implementation. About 66 per cent of this investment has been done by the people of the state. It shows the confidence level of industry in the state of Telangana.”

Honoring industry excellence

The award ceremony, recognised industry stalwarts including Suresh Kotak, Chairman, Kotak & Co Ltd, Rahul Mehta, President, CMAI, Sanjay Jain, Chairman, CITI, Manish Mandhana, MD, Being Human, T K Sengupta, President, TAI for their contribution to India’s apparel and textile sector.

Appreciating the efforts of Telangana state and organisers DFU Publications, Felix A Fernando, former Chairman, Sri Lanka Apparels Exporter Association said, “Telangana government is doing a fantastic job by promoting events like this.”

Strategies for revival

The second day started with a welcome speech by Salil Chawla, Director, DFU Publications, who introduced the themes for the sessions. Thanking everyone for being present at the conclave T K Sengupta, President, TAI said “The conference will focus on topics such as investments, textile policies, textile parks and clusters”. He concluded by appreciating the joint efforts made by DFU Publications and the Telangana government in organising such a glorious event

Sanjay Chawla, Founder, Editor in Chief, DFU Publications and the organizer of CEO Conclave, emphasised on the need to deliberate on strategies to rejuvenate the textile sector and revive the confidence among industry stakeholders. “The textile industry has a long and complex supply and production chain,” he said. “The technological revolution with Industrie 4.0 wherein big changes are happening in terms of recycling management, automation and artificial intelligence etc, are the new game changers,” he emphasised.

Seeking practical solutions for industry issues

The first session of the conference – ‘Strategic Outlook: Challenges faced by Indian textile and possible solutions,’ chaired by Sanjay Jain, Chairman, CITI, sought practical solutions for the challenges faced by the textile industry today. He urged the leaders to bring about a change on a micro level. “Today change is not just a constant, but also a compulsion,” said Jain. “It has to be in the organisation’s DNA,” he added.

The session also deliberated on which of the two; cotton or manmade fibers are likely to rule the industry in future. Rakesh Mehra, Company Director, Banswara Syntex noted that “fibres liked by consumers will dominate the industry. He emphasised the importance of value additions to the ministry target growth of $350 billion this year.

Another hot topic of discussion at the session was of skill development. Dr JV Rao, CEO, Textile Sector Skill Council, said, “The aspect of skilling has not been really worked out well. Today we have accepted the training cost also as a part of the production cost. The focus is the attrition rate and how to address it.”

Mapping the growth of technical textiles

The second session of the conference dwelt on the growth of technical textiles in India. Noting that the government has recently identified 207 products as technical textiles, Dr Anup Rakshit, ED-India, Technical Textile Association, said “Technical textile exports merely account for a 10 per cent of the total exports in India. We exported products worth around Rs 11, 402 crore last year; out of this packaging textiles contributed 40 per cent while industrial textile contributed Rs 1,200 to entire revenue.

He reminded everyone about the huge scope in the industry if IITs and research institutes would help in developing the product and launch maximum innovations. Good FTAs and RTAs on aplay fielding basis are also needed,” he said.

Domestic industry, innovation and sustainability in focus

Emphasising on the need for a focus on domestic textile and retail markets, the third session of the CEO conclave was titled ‘Looking inwards: Growing domestic market in India: The brightspot . Prashat Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO of Bombay Rayon Fashions stated, “The world admires us not only for our manufacturing competitiveness but also due to the vastness and rapid growth of our market. We need to look at it seriously and understand its growth imperatives.”

The session also focused on the need for innovation. “We need to learn from the west is the technique to build big brands. Besides export, there is a lot of scope to grow within the country. We need to create good looking, well organised set ups,” said Manish Mandana, Managing Director, Being Human.

Amit Jain, Amtex Ventures, Home Fashion Consulting highlighted sustainability as the future of the textile industry with the packaging getting done with biodegradable material. “There will be green stories. Products will be made of reused and recycled material. Across the value the chain, the major changes will happen right from crop to processing,” he said.

Seeking excellence in manufacturing

The fourth session of the CEO Conclave focused on the theme of Manufacturing Excellence: the success mantra in these competitive times. The session was chaired by Darlie O Koshy, Director General and CEO, ATDC. It focused on bringing efficiencies in manufacturing and production process and competing successfully in the highly competitive markets.

The conference concluded with the remarks by Rahul Mehta, President, CMAI, who proposed a twelve-point programme for growth in the industry.

Visit to Kakatiya Integrated Mega Textile Park

As a part of its CEO Conclave, more than 22 industry leaders and stakeholders visited the Kakatiya Integrated Mega Textile Park in Warangal. The Textile Park being developed over 1,200 acre at Shayampet village of Geesukonda mandal and Chintalapalli village of Sangem mandal in Warangal district is based on development strategy of “Farm to Fiber, Fiber to Fashion and Fashion to Foreign”

The mega textile park is built-to suit building for easy starting of units. It comprises 20 MLD Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) with Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) , world class infrastructure including water, power, sewerage system etc, common facilities like workers' dormitories, warehouses, testing and QC labs, expo centre, etc, a dedicated training centre, testing facilities, etc and land at a concessional price to the first set of anchor units.

Industry applauds

A resounding success, the CEO conclave was applauded by industry experts and stalwarts alike. Arvind Mathur, CEO, Raymond UCO Denim appreciated the quality of speakers and panelists. “They provided numerous thought provoking insights and analysis,” he said. Charan Singh, Vice President & Regional Director, Softlines believed that the conference lived upto its theme. “It not only provided valuable ideas to the audience but also created the need for disruptive thinking which is essential for the survival and growth of the industry,” he said. Mihir Parekh, Director, TSIIC appreciated the discussions, “They proved to be a great platform to showcase Telangana’s initiatives in the textile sector,” he said.

Although Vietnamese garment companies have showed great export performance, they are struggling on their home ground. After free trade agreements became effective, import tariffs were reduced and the retail market was opened for foreign enterprises, several foreign fashion brands including Zara, H&M, Topshop and Old Navy landed in the domestic market and directly competed with Vietnamese ones. Meanwhile, local fashion industry has not actually kept pace with global fashion trends. Fashion designers and firms still have to do things on their own as there is no school for training of professional fashion designers. In addition, consumers tend to prefer imported clothes to domestically-made ones despite the campaign to encourage Vietnamese people to give priority to made-in-Vietnam products.

As world famous fashion brands have increased their presence in Vietnam, domestic garment companies have adopted marketing strategies to promote their approach and increase market share. Firms have become positive about winning consumers by investing in design, improving product quality and restructuring cost prices. In contrast, Vietnam’s garment exports posted high growth for many consecutive years with export turnover five to 10 per cent higher than the previous year.

A new study by workforce management expert Quinyx shows, retail businesses in the UK can expect to suffer a shortage of shop and warehouse staff as a result of Britain leaving the European Union. The shortage could have a significant impact on economic contribution of the UK retail sector In fact, the economic output of retail workers would be £3.1bn lower per year by 2024 under a no-deal Brexit than in an orderly Brexit scenario, representing a 59 per cent decrease in output.

Access to manual workers or those in elementary service roles is crucial for ensuring the UK’s economic wellbeing – and employers, especially those in the retail sector, need to make plans to avoid staff shortages. Under any Brexit scenario, retail employers in the UK can expect to lose on average 16 per cent of their manual and elementary service workforce as a result of uncertainty and lack of immigration policies. Half of UK retailers are struggling to recruit and retain staff, with workers complaining of low pay, lack of flexibility, and limited progression opportunities.

Stefan Flöth is the new managing director of Monforts. Having spent his working life in the textile machinery industry, Flöth started his career with Schlafhorst. Between 1996 and 2009 Stefan Flöth was already a key part of the Monforts team in various roles related to R&D, mechanical design and management of the company’s joint ventures. He is now looking forward to acquainting himself with the current wider Monforts network of customers and suppliers.

He was the MD of Trützschler Nonwovens from 2009 onwards. Over the past 10 years, working in the nonwovens industry, he gained a lot of experience in the management of complex technical textile projects which he intends to draw on. His focus will be on the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0 and the potential of the technical textile market.

Monforts, based in Germany, was founded in 1884, is a leading supplier of textile finishing machines. The company is a market leader for stenters, continuous dyeing ranges, sanforising ranges and special executions for denim and for the coating of technical textiles. The new Monforts’ Thermex Econtrol continuous dyeing line considerably shortens processing times for heavier fabrics. It’s an extremely versatile range and allows easy movement between reactive and disperse dyeing, for example.

Pakistan looking to sign a free trade agreement with the US. The country is trying to get preferential market access to the United States. Pakistan has been formulating this strategy after the United States decided to strip India of its preferential market access that exempted Indian exports worth billions of dollars from American tariffs.

Pakistan was the 55th largest supplier of goods to the United States in 2017 with total exports worth $3.6 billion, while imports from the US were $2.8 billion in the same period. Pakistan’s main exports to the US include textile articles, knit apparel, woven apparel, leather products, cotton, and agricultural products.

As a first step Pakistan is increasing its production and value addition. Lucrative incentives will be offered to local and foreign investors to set up new industries to increase the country’s production line for exports and capture the international market with quality goods. Pakistan has been benefitting from tariff preferences (mostly zero duties on two-thirds of all product categories) under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus arrangement awarded by the European Union since January 2014. This has helped Islamabad increase its exports by 13 per cent so far. However, there is no guarantee that the US’ abolishment of preferential market access to India will automatically benefit Pakistan.

Stefan Flöth is managing director of Monforts.

Having spent his working life in the textile machinery industry, Flöth started his career with Schlafhorst. Between 1996 and 2009 Stefan Flöth was already a key part of the Monforts team in various roles related to R&D, mechanical design and management of the company’s joint ventures. He is now looking forward to acquainting himself with the current wider Monforts network of customers and suppliers.

He was the MD of Trützschler Nonwovens from 2009 onwards. Over the past ten years, working in the nonwovens industry, he gained a lot of experience in the management of complex technical textile projects which he intends to draw on. His focus will be on the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0 and the potential of the technical textile market.

Monforts, based in Germany, was founded in 1884 and today is a leading supplier of textile finishing machines. The company is a market leader for stenters, continuous dyeing ranges, sanforising ranges and special executions for denim and for the coating of technical textiles. The new Monforts’ Thermex Econtrol continuous dyeing line considerably shortens processing times for heavier fabrics. It’s an extremely versatile range and allows easy movement between reactive and disperse dyeing, for example.

Lenzing Nanjing Fibers has decided to leave the Chinese Collaboration for Sustainable Development of Viscose. The business will pursue its own sustainability agenda. This will involve striving towards the EU BAT (Best Available Technologies) standard, a pathway to closed-loop viscose manufacturing which is currently the most ambitious guidelines for cleaner viscose manufacturing. Many leading apparel brands are said to favor this standard. As a sustainability leader in the industry, Lenzing will now pursue its own path in collaborating with the entire value chain to green up the industry and thus expand the company’s position. This cooperation will involve forest owners, spinners, weavers and knitters, fabric makers as well as brands and retailers selling products made from wood-based fibers.

The Chinese viscose initiative originally encompassed 10 viscose producers in China joining forces to make the industry more sustainable. However, despite launching with much fanfare last year, Chinese viscose factories which have signed up to a high-profile industry sustainability initiative are continuing to violate regulations. There are significant gaps in the Collaboration for Sustainable Development of Viscose. The initiative is said to be short on ambition and will not meet NGO requirements on responsible viscose, which have been endorsed by leading fashion brands.

India has reduced hank yarn obligation from 40 to 30 per cent. The decision is expected to help spinning mills. As a result of the reduction in the obligatory quantity, the premium on hank yarn transfer will also get reduced thus helping spinning mills to reduce their cost.

In 2003, the hank yarn obligation was reduced from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. The Hank Yarn Obligation Scheme was introduced in 1963 and it directed mills to pack 50 per cent of the domestic weaving yarn delivery in hank form. The obligation was fixed based on the spinning capacity then existing, the handloom capacity and the power loom capacity and the demand for cotton yarn from both the handloom and power loom sectors.

Due to the labour shortage, increase in yarn production capacity, and technology upgradation the need for hank yarn has come down drastically. Also, due to the closure of hank dyeing units following the stringent norms of pollution control boards, the hank yarn requirement has come down sizably. Spinning mills which have a shortage of the obligatory quantity are forced to use the transfer facility from mills that produce in excess quantity and pay an exorbitant premium to fulfil the obligation.

The Aditya Birla Group flagship Grasim Industries has signed an agreement to buy out the 100 per cent stake of Soktas India from its current promoters for Rs 165 crore. Soktas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Turkish firm Soktas Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret, which produces and markets premium fabrics and has its main facilities at Soke in the Mediterranean country.

The company will fund the entire transaction primarily from internal accruals. The deal will be subject to net debt and working capital adjustments, as of the closing date and also after getting all regulatory approval, according to a statement released by the company.

The acquisition is in line with Grasim’s linen business strategy to strengthen its presence in the premium fabric market. Increasing disposable income, fashion and quality orientation of Indian consumers has resulted in an increase in the demand for premium fabric over the years.

Gujarat Heavy Chemicals (GHCL) has launched a range of home textiles products based on health and wellness. GHCL has launched a range of innovative products made with recycled polyester. The bedding products have been designed to support the circular economy. They centre around the concept of “reduce, reuse and recycle. The Rekoop collection is the first bedding line to use 100 per cent source-verified recycled PET, as well as cotton-recycled PET blended products.

The PET bottles are processed at Reliance Industries’ plant at Barabanki through an extruder and transformed into tagged r-PET fiber. The fiber is then spun along with cotton to make cotton/polyester blended yarn at GHCL’s spinning facility in Madurai. The fabric is then woven, processed, cut and sewn into finished bedding products at its integrated home furnishings manufacturing plant in Vapi.

A total of 36 bottles are used to make a single sheet set. By way of recycling PET bottles, the company has helped in the reduction of 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space, saved on consumption of crude oil by at least nine barrels and avoided carbon emission of up to 6.5 tonne. The company has invested Rs. 13.50 billion in the textile business and plans to invest another Rs. 3.50 billion in the next two years.