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Techtextil will be held in Mumbai from September 13 to 15, 2017. Contingents from Germany, China, South Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Belarus will present the latest technologies in technical textiles, nonwovens and garment machinery.
Apart from pre-arranged buyer-seller meets, a conference will bring together participants representing the entire cross section and all stakeholders of the industry. It will discuss market outlook, trends, developments, opportunities and challenges in the industry. Specific topics to be highlighted during the event are: protective agrotextiles– advantages and future prospects, textiles in aerospace applications, fiber innovations for functional and value added nonwovens, among others.
Another important feature is the launch of Texprocess Pavilion. Manufacturing technical textiles demands specific raw materials, machinery and equipment that are not readily available in India and importing those materials are expensive. The launch of Texprocess Pavilion give garment machinery manufacturers a great platform to display their innovations and build a new and strong client base while at the same time allowing Indian market to see how these solutions can help expand their existing capabilities.
Covering the entire value chain and displaying latest technologies in technical textiles, nonwoven and garment manufacturing machinery, Techtextil India and Texprocess Pavilion together will aim to be a reliable platform for business and sourcing.
Fi-Tech will take over as Mayer & Cie’s sales and service representative in the United States. i-Tech replaces Mayer Industries. Mayer & Cie expects the handover to boost its presence in the US and provide easier access to new customers. It felt with several employees in the circular knitting department leaving retiring, handing over its US representation to a well-established, professional agency was the right step forward.
Fi-Tech has engaged two senior members of Mayer Industries’ circular knitting team to ensure knowledge and expertise are maintained for several years and to assure the smoothest possible transition.
Fi-Tech was founded in 1972. Its initial focus was on synthetic fibers and nonwovens, but Fi-Tech has since expanded its portfolio substantially and now represents European equipment manufacturers in dyeing, finishing and surface finishing. The geographical focus of its business is on the United States and the NAFTA member-states.
In Mayer & Cie Fi-Tech now has the first greige goods manufacturer in its portfolio. With a circular knitting machine manufacturer Fi-Tech is expanding its portfolio. With its wide-ranging networks Fi-Tech will be able to introduce Mayer beyond the traditional circular knitting machine market.
Germany-based Mayer & Cieis a leading international manufacturer of circular knitting machines.
Shri Damodar Group, a Mumbai-based textile giant, is planning to expand its linen yarn production capacity at Amravati unit. This is to meet the growing demand for linen yarn in India, which is not produced sufficiently within the country and is hence, imported from China., Anuj Biyani, Chairman, Shri Damodar Group point out linen spinning unit at Amravati was started last year with an investment of Rs 90 crores and now they are looking at expanding the same product category in the coming year.
The parent company Shri Damodar Group, Damodar Industries had mentioned in its 2016-17 report that it is setting up an automated fancy linen yarn spinning unit at Amravati. The total cost of the project (including production enhancement plans) is estimated at Rs 140 crores.
The unit is expected to start commercial production by next year. The annual sale from this plant is expected to be around Rs 250 crore. Damodar Industries is well established in textile business with companies like Shri Damodar Yarn Manufacturing, Monopoly Yarns and Golden Fibers.
Hyosung’s leads the world textile industry with its spandex, polyester and nylon yarns. The company produces various differentiated polyester and nylon yarns from regular to high functional specialty yarns to create high value for customers. The last two years were excellent for Hyosung’s global spandex business. It increased capacity in China and Vietnam. Vietnam expansion was aimed at meeting the growing demand from Southeast Asia, including India.
Hyosung is the largest producer of spandex in the world with its brand ‘Creora’. It expects to reach 2,30,000 metric tons by the end of this year. Creora is being used on intimate wear, denim, knitwear, woven garments and swimwear. Creora has many classified products to meet various requirements. Hyosung has six regional offices in India and now it plans to invest in a spandex factory in the country.
The company launched anti-odor spandex and now is looking to penetrate the denim market since Creora spandex can add value on denim garment. In addition to regular spandex, Creora has various kinds of specialty yarns. To meet consumer need for perfect fit and comfort from four way stretch denim, Hyosung launched Creora Fit2, and some Indian denim mills testing this product.
During the second quarter, sales of German fashion brand Hugo Boss in the US rose two per cent; sales in China jumped 14 per cent. Hugo Boss is known for its smart men’s suits. After a string of profit warnings, Hugo Boss slashed prices in China to bring them closer to European and US levels, making efforts to appeal to younger customers, investing in its website and closing loss-making stores. The strategic realignment had its effect.
Online sales, which had fallen in the first quarter, rose nine per cent after the company took steps to speed up loading time of its website, improve its ranking on search engines and offer more lower-priced garments. Net profit jumped fivefold reflecting year-ago restructuring costs.
The spring/summer 2018 collections for its revamped core brands Boss and Hugo were well received at recent fashion shows, with particularly strong demand for its athleisure and casual wear. Hugo Boss confirmed its outlook for stable sales in 2017 and a low double-digit percentage increase in net income. It expects growth of sales and earnings in 2018 and for sales to outpace the market beginning in 2019.
A recovery in tourism in Europe and stronger Chinese consumption are expected to lead a rebound in the luxury sector this year.
Three years after its creation, the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles is losing members. This is a German initiative aimed at improving global textile manufacturing – from production of raw materials to disposal. An alliance was formed where every member was to regularly present a list of measures it had decided upon itself. The main thrust of these measures were to improve working conditions in the countries where companies' garments are actually being produced.
Yet, disillusionment has set in. Some large companies do not want to uphold certain social and environmental standards and do not want to be told which guidelines they have to follow. The Partnership's steering committee, which represents members from various production sectors, had determined that members must present concrete plans listing their self-declared obligations, so-called roadmaps, by the end of March 2017. But some 40 companies and associations refused to go along with the plan. They presented no specific steps to establish controls, and thus were forced to leave the Partnership.
In early 2017, some 190 members, including clothing industry giants such as Adidas and Gerry Weber as well as a number of unions and NGOs, belonged to the Partnership. Now it has 148 members.
Foreign direct investment in India’s textile sector more than doubled to $618.95 million during 2016-17 up from $230.13 million in the previous fiscal. During the first two months of the current fiscal, the sector received $21.41 million in foreign inflows. Textile exports during 2016-17 too went up to $36 billion from $23.9 billion in the previous financial year. In rupee terms textile and garments exports increased by 3.2 per cent in 2016-17.
It maybe recalled with the aim of enhancing investment, production and exports, a Rs 6,000 crores package was launched for the apparel and made-ups segments last year.
Meanwhile cotton production may rise 12 per cent during 2017-18. Export of raw cotton from India witnessed a significant increase in recent years along with decreased cotton imports into the nation. The country is now the second largest textile and clothing exporter in the world, contributing around five per cent to the global textile and clothing trade. The Indian textile industry is estimating cotton production at 380 million bales against 340 million bales produced last year.
During the last 16 years, the area under cotton production has doubled with about 10 million farmers producing cotton in India.
The European Commission has published an amending decision that tweaks parts of the criteria for awarding the EU Ecolabel to textile products. The Commission set EU Ecolabel criteria for textiles in 2014. To be awarded the label, manufacturers must ensure that products and production recipes do not contain hazardous substances listed in the restricted substance list (RSL) at, or above, the specified concentration limits, or according to the specified restrictions.
The amending Decision further specifies to which textile fibres, and which intermediate textile products, the criteria apply. It also clarifies the exceptions applying when recycled fibres or organic cotton fibres are used.
And it prolongs the validity of the 2014 Decision to "maintain a stable set of criteria over a longer period of time". The criteria and their related assessment requirements will be valid for 78 months from the adoption of the amending Decision.
Gartex was held in New Delhi from July 29 to 31. This trade show on digital textile printing, embroidery and garment machinery recorded a significant number of business deals. Around 18,000 visitors attended the three day show. The embroidery segment virtually dominated with a display of multi-head embroidery machines ranging from 18 heads to 90 heads. This shows the inclination of the market towards large embroidery machines.
Technology companies like Mimaki India, Epson India, DCC Prints Vision, Negi Sign Systems, ColorJet India and Apsom Technologies presented latest digital printers for textiles, signage, home textiles etc.
Gartex 2017 had many innovative products and latest technologies on display. It featured suppliers and manufacturers of apparel fabrics, trimmings, embellishments, accessories and related products and services. By providing an apt platform for showcasing and launching an extensive product range to key decision makers, the show not only helped in generating sales leads but also enhanced the brands’ presence and visibility across stakeholders.
With increased footfalls and high quality customers, the show ultimately helped exhibitors in building a database of potential buyers and educating customers about new products and added services. It also served as an important gateway to enter new markets to tap global innovations.
Clarks, the UK-based casual footwear brand, is building a manufacturing facility in the Britain. The facility will use state of the art technology at the forefront of shoemaking innovation. Initially, Clarks aims at building capacity to produce up to 3,00,000 pairs a year, using an innovative, unique volume production method applying robot-assisted technology to specific shoe constructions.
This cutting-edge technology will be combined with both specially trained and skilled employees, creating up to 80 technical and managerial jobs. Once the facility is operational, Clarks will be able to implement and support trans-seasonal collections, leading the way in a seasonless approach to its ranges. It will allow greater flexibility and innovation in the process of how Clarks designs and develops shoes.
Looking to the future the company plans to roll out similar production units to other locations across US, Europe and Asia, building a global network of regional supply chains that complements its current sourcing network to enable shorter lead times and a faster response to changing trends and consumer demand.
Clarks wants to bring shoe manufacturing back to the UK. Clarks has always led the way in shoe design and manufacture, having developed a significant proportion of modern shoe construction technologies. This new facility will help it continue that tradition of innovation.
