With cut-throat competition, labour shortage, and introduction of cutting edge technology to satisfy the growing demand for quality products, companies manufacturing garment machineries are looking at India as one of the fastest growing countries with rising global exports and domestic consumption.

Technology adoption the way ahead

Amidst hundreds of machinery manufacturers, a few have made their presence

felt at the global level. Garment machinery manufacturers see huge possibilities of selling machines in India. As Inder Arora of Shima Seiki says, “There are more than 3,000 registered hosiery factories in Ludhiana and every unit needs at least one machine. We have nearly 2,000 of our machines in the market which means we haven’t yet met requirements. The number of factories is more than the number of machines. So there’s a huge possibility to sell. On an average, every hosiery unit needs two machines. This year we hope to sell some 6,000 machines in Ludhiana alone. Everyone is shifting from hand to computerized machines. Ludhiana is facing a labour crunch and garment manufacturers want to replace labour with machines.”

In case of innovation, not only in garment designing but also in fabrication, India has earned a niche in global market. But the domestic market seems to have lagged behind in this respect. Komal Jain, Chief Executive Officer of Nahar Spinning Mills, observers, “The market has not been favorable for last two- three years. This is the main reason why Ludhiana manufacturers have not taken to new machinery. The Ludhiana small scale industry needs government incentives. It also needs higher drawback rates. Ludhiana faces competition from brands that have come to India. There is a little room for mediators but new technology and production methods will help in boosting their businesses.” The business environment is picking up compared to 2014 and everyone is hoping for the best. The Chinese government encourages the new industry that even their capital investment was free after some years. Ludhiana has fewer incentives compared to Gujarat or Madhya Pradesh. Ludhiana has skilled labour and technology but due to lack of incentives and competition from China and other countries manufacturing is reducing.

Lalit Khosla, General Manager (Marketing), HCA, finds the need for automation in sewing or knitting so end user can get the benefits. He says, “Ludhiana is the mini Manchester of India. We see good business. People are consolidating expanding and going in for automation. They want to give their buyers better products, quality at competitive prices. At the moment, domestic market is a bigger draw while exporters are few in number.” Khosla believes the ‘Make in India’ initiative will make a difference as far as production for exports is concerned. “The initiative will promote manufacturing,” he points out.

Though there are many manufacturers, German and Italian companies seems to have a clear edge in India. Government initiatives are expected to further strengthen the country’s textile exports with adaptation of advanced machineries in the sector.

American Apparel is laying off 180 workers at its downtown Los Angeles clothing factory. The company employs 4,300 workers at its manufacturing facilities and offices and a total of 10,000 workers in its various divisions and retail stores worldwide.

The company is managing a severe decline in sales that has taken place under the stewardship of a hedge fund. The apparel venture manufactures leggings, underwear and swimwear, T-shirts, blue jeans and dresses in 4000 styles. It wholesales its garments and sells them at 239 American Apparel stores located in 20 countries. Layoffs are not new to American Apparel. In 2013, 160 employees were laid off, and in 2014, 238 employees were laid off.

This change is meant to help restore the financial health of the company. It has seen losses of more than 300 million dollars over the past five years. The company was founded in 1998. In recent years it has seen increased competition from fast fashion retailers.

For the fourth quarter, American Apparel had a net loss of $28 million on $153.5 million in sales compared with a net loss of $20 million on $169.1 million in sales for the same period in 2013.
www.americanapparel.net/

With its new textile policy in place, Gujarat has been able to attract investments in textile sector like weaving, knitting, fabric processing, apparel manufacturing. The state has also attracted investments in over 1.2 million spindles which have either been commissioned or are in the process of being installed. The Gujarat textile policy aims at installing around 2.5 million spindles by 2017-18 and taking the number of spindles installed from 1.2 million to 3.7 million by 2017-18. As per latest statistics, there are around 700,000 weaving looms operating in Gujarat, out of which 25 per cent are shuttleless, approximately 600 medium and large, 2,000 small and hand fabric processing units, and around 1,000 technical textile units, including converting units.

According Chandan Chatterjee, Director, Center for Entrepreneurship Development, the main purpose behind the policy is to add value to the cotton that is produced in the state and also provide a thrust to the labour-intensive apparel manufacturing sector and also the technical textile sector. The new policy will also target technology upgradation, specifically in weaving and fabric processing segments. Interestingly, Gujarat is the largest manufacturer of weaving and processing machinery in the country. The recent announcement of the capital goods policy with its focus on textile machinery by the Union Ministry of Heavy Engineering is expected to give a boost to the sector.

The state also expects investments in spinning will act as a driving force and a force multiplier for investments in other segments like knitting, weaving, processing, apparel manufacturing, etc. Investors have committed investments in the knitting sector too, which till date was not as strong as in, say, Tirupur or Ludhiana. The existing fabric process houses too have begun upgrading their technology so as to be able to process knitted fabrics too.

DyStar, the leading provider of dyes, chemicals, effects and services for the textile industry, will showcase its new patented black for wool Realan Black MF-PV. It is metal free and enables higher levels of processing requirements. These and some other innovations by DyStar will be showcased at the 15th China International Dye Industry, Pigments and Textile Chemicals Exhibition (China Interdye) to be held in Shanghai from 15-17 April 2015.

A new reactive dye range Remazol SAM for exhaust dyeing of pale to dark shades whose main features are good fastness profile, strong build-up and high fixation yield will also be showcased in the show. Visitors that are looking for new solutions for active wear will also be introduced to the new Dianix XF2 range, which is said to offer excellent wet fastness performance on critical fabrics. In addition, Digital Printing Solutions (Jettex), as well as Evo, Lava and Sera Eco auxiliaries’ solutions will be on display.

DyStar is a leader in both product and application innovation for the textile and leather industries with over a century of heritage. From being specialised in coloration, the business has since evolved into a sustainable solution provider, offering the industry an extensive range of colorants, auxiliaries and services. With a presence in over 50 countries, DyStar Group works with global and local customers in brands and retailers, mills and dye-houses. The company’s subsidiaries include DyStar Textile Services, which houses Color Solutions International (CSI), Texanlab and Sustainable Textile Services.