Seven decades of leadership in the Indian textile machinery and component industry
Writing this story about A.T.E. has been a most memorable experience. It took almost a year to understand a company which has its formidable presence in textile engineering since last seven decades, offering complete solution from fibre to garment as well as in contemporary areas like technical textiles and nonwovens. A.T.E. represents many of the leading global machinery manufacturers to offer state-of-the-art technology to Indian textile customers. We are proud to present to you the success story of A.T.E., which has stood the test of time.
When Shyamlal H. Bhagwati, son of a school teacher, was attending a small local school in the early 1900s, he had not even the vaguest idea as to how the world would dramatically change over the next few decades. In 1939, Shyamlal, a gritty man of 37 and suffused with patriotic fervor and Gandhiism, started his very own enterprise, Associated Textile Engineers, more popularly known as A.T.E. His side idea was to sell German textile machinery in India as a mark of protest against the British rule.
However, trade with Germany came to a grinding halt with the outbreak of World War II. Nevertheless, a relentless man like Shyamlal would not give up until he had his way. After the cessation of hostilities, he went to Germany to re-establish his nascent contacts with the German textile machinery industry that laid the foundation for many long-standing relationships that still continue to flourish.
The year 1954 heralded a new era in the history of A.T.E. when Mr. Atul K. Bhagwati, a nephew of Shyamlal, joined his uncle to assist him in the fledgling business. Born in 1932, Atul did his B.E. (Electrical & Mechanical) from the College of Engineering, Poona. Soon after joining the business, he spent six months in a large Ahmedabad mill. Later, he underwent a thorough intensive training for a year in the factories of several leading textile machinery manufacturers in West Germany that gave him deep insights on modern textile machinery.
An enterprising, erudite and ever affable Atul soon took over the reins of the business that was built up step by step. In the 1950s, A.T.E.’s representation of its foreign principals grew by leaps and bounds in independent India. In the 1960s, with the Indian Government imposing exchange control, A.T.E. had to add to its business model, and helped several Indian enterprises find German technology partners to manufacture textile machines in India under licence, with A.T.E. handling sales and service. In the 1970s, with Mr. Prakash Bhagwati, the younger brother of Atul joining A.T.E.’s top management, the company’s business was further strengthened, and a new competence in manufacturing was developed.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, A.T.E. developed its own manufacturing technology as well as founded several joint ventures with world leaders such as Stork, Trützschler, Erhardt+Liemer, etc. While doing this, the group steadily expanded its representations, building towards its long-term goal of being a one-stop shop for the Indian textile industry.
Mr. Anuj Bhagwati, son of Mr. Atul Bhagwati, joined the family business in 1994. A post-graduate in applied physics from Cornell University, New York, and a graduate in engineering physics (with distinction) from the same university, Anuj held various academic honours such as being named in the Dean’s list and elected a member of Tau Beta Pi. He also went through intensive technical training in India and in Germany with some of the leading textile machinery manufacturers to get an in-depth knowledge of textile and manufacturing technology.
Mr. Anuj Bhagwati, who today heads the A.T.E. Group, has imbibed not only all the ingredients that are essential to drive the business, but also the social consciousness that is the characteristic of the Bhagwati family.
He has gradually built A.T.E. into a modern and technology-oriented group. With the restructuring of the group in 2007, some of the companies were spun out of A.T.E. His intense passion for technology and environment simultaneously saw the group foraying into newer areas like machine-to-machine solutions, waste water treatment and energy-efficient cooling.
A.T.E. has scripted a story of growth and success over its seven-decade of journey. The facts given below prove the point:
• Over the past 70 years, A.T.E. grew to become one of the largest and most technology-intensive textile machinery show-windows in the eastern hemisphere.
• A.T.E. represents 50-plus foreign and Indian principals. The list reads like a who’s who of the textile machinery manufacturers in the world.
• The group is today recognized as a benchmark when it comes to domain expertise in India for innovative technology solutions with complete application knowledge with both the principals and the customers.
• Employing over 300 personnel in their 10 offices pan India, A.T.E. also has a subsidiary at Dhaka.
• In textile engineering manufacturing, it has a share in Truetzschler India and Zinser Textile Systems. Further, its TeraSpin Division manufactures spindles, spindle inserts and drafting systems for roving and ring frames.
• A.T.E. has diversified into newer areas. Through its group companies, it now operates in various business verticals in addition to textile engineering, such as waste water treatment, energy efficient cooling, printing and packaging solutions and machine-to-machine solutions, all focused on enhancing value to customers.
A.T.E.’s textile engineering agency business is headed by Mr. G.V. Aras, who joined the group in 1981 at a junior level and has climbed up the ladder to become the Director and head of the Textile Engineering Group. Mr. Aras is an M.Text from Mumbai University. He held first rank in the University in B.Text. He has also completed a Diploma in Marketing Management and has been conferred membership of the Institution of Engineers, India.
The textile engineering basket in A.T.E. covers a comprehensive line-up of applications, which include spinning, weaving, knitting, processing, air handling, non-wovens, warp-preparation, carpets, synthetics (staple and filament), garmenting and effluent treatment.
The heads of business divisions in the Textile Engineering Group have all shared with The Textile Magazine the main achievements in their respective business. Here they are:
Spinning
A.T.E. commands a significant presence in the Indian spinning industry, representing some of the global majors like Truetzschler, Zinser Textile Systems (ZTS), Oerlikon Schlafhorst (Zinser), Oerlikon Saurer (Volkmann) and Luwa. Ask any textile spinning company, and they will proudly identify with technology leaders like Truetzschler for blow-room, cards and draw-frames, ZTS for speed-frames, Oerlikon Schlafhorst (Zinser) for ring-frames, Oerlikon Saurer (Volkmann) for TFO, and Luwa for filters and humidification system. The list seems almost endless.
Partnering with Truetzschler for nearly three decades, A.T.E. has sold over 2,000 blow-room lines and 6,500 cards, a mighty achievement by any reckoning. Truetzschler machines now find place in all major textile companies, including Vardhman, Nahar, Trident, Aarti, Raymonds, KPR, Shanmugavel, Premier, Arvind, RSWM, LNJ, Century, Ruby, Sutlej, Suryalakshmi, Welspun and Alok.
With over 2,000 employees, Truetzschler is one of the world’s leading textile machinery manufacturers. Truetzschler specialises in machines, installations and accessories for spinning preparation, non-wovens and synthetic fibre industry. The headquarters of the over 120-year-old company is in Mönchengladbach, Germany. Germany is also the home for the business units of Truetzschler non-wovens with two production locations and Truetzschler Card Clothing GmbH.
Committed to long-term presence in India, China, Brazil and the US, in addition to strategically located service centers, Truetzschler ensures easy access to customers in important textile processing areas. Its state-of-the-art factory in Ahmedabad, Truetzschler India Pvt. Ltd. (TIPL), delivers high-precision machines all over India. Its latest in the product line-up, Card TC 5-3, has swept the market since its launch at ITME-2008. Its foreign part separator SP FPU is by far the most advanced contamination remover from cotton. The company has already sold 100 units of this equipment.
While the going until last year had been good, Mr. Sunil Bhatnagar, Senior Vice President – Spinning & Fabric Forming, A.T.E., says: “2011-12 has been a very tough year for the spinning industry. Local intake has slumped while exports have dipped alarmingly. Added to this, high fluctuation in prices of cotton and yarn have pushed mills into the red zone. Arrival of new cotton has hardly improved the morale with the yarn demand not picking up strongly on both the domestic and export fronts. All these factors have collectively plagued capacity utilization”.
However, fuelled by the positive attitude among the personnel at A.T.E., he adds optimistically: “The spinning mills will at least take 2 to 3 quarters to come back to normal operations. That would surely re-energize our momentum”.
Not surprising then that the A.T.E. team remains unruffled and resolute in preparing for its grand presence at the forthcoming India ITME 2012.
The reason A.T.E. has enjoyed tremendous customer loyalty is that the group and its principals have emphasized post-sales service. For example, Truetzschler has technology-trained service teams in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Guntur, Nagpur, Bhopal and Kolkata for quick market access to growing installations in India.
A.T.E. ensures that either itself or the principals have qualified teams of service engineers. These service teams have been proving their expertise since decades. They not only do erection, commissioning and trouble-shooting, but also carry out audits, AMCs, etc. A.T.E. is known as a technology provider, as the team of engineers also makes it a point to educate the customers on the utilisation of the available technologies to the optimum level and maintain high productivity on a sustained basis.
Fabric forming
A.T.E.’s Fabric Forming Division has been successfully representing Karl Mayer, Germany, for warp knitting and weaving preparation equipment for over five decades.
Karl Mayer has a very high reputation in the Indian textile industry and its name is synonymous with warp knitting as it was more or less invented by it. Lace, Tricot and Raschel are the variants of warp knitting machines.
Karl Mayer has sold over 200 Tricot knitting and special application warp knitting machines for technical textiles such as home textiles, automotive textiles, sports textiles, outerwear, shoe fabrics, agro textiles, geo-composites, flex banner, coating substrates, geo-textiles and medical textiles.
The market is largely concentrated in Surat. The notable customers to this line of business include BMD, Ginza Industries, Haria Enterprises, Techfab India and Garware Wall Ropes.
Warp preparation
Since 2008 Karl Mayer has combined the synergies of Karl Mayer, Benninger, Sucker and Griffin to offer one-stop solutions for warp preparation for textiles, technical textiles and indigo denims. This division enjoys a creditable market share with more than 850 installations across India in almost all leading mills and corporate weaving houses.
The machines and equipment offered by Karl Mayer are direct warpers for spun and filaments, sizing machine for spun and filaments, automatic sectional warping machine, complete sampling solutions, sectional warper, beamer and specialized creels for technical textile applications, and indigo dyeing ranges.
Today A.T.E. enjoys a strong presence in this field with major installations at Alok, Bombay Rayon and Fashion, Welspun, Mandhana, Arvind, Raymond, Sri Shanmugavel, VT Mills, Loyal Textiles, Himatsingka, Premier, NSL, Nahar and Vardhman.
Spinning accessories
The Spinning Accessories Division promotes the use of high quality accessories and spares. A.T.E. ensures ex-stock availability of spares, especially critical spares. For example, availability of spares for Truetzschler machines (such as Truetzschler card clothing) at various centres such as Ahmedabad, Coimbatore and Chandigarh has helped mills to minimize machine downtime.
Likewise, all other OE representations are fully supported with ex-stock availability of both critical and general maintenance spares across strategic stocking points / offices / service centers / spares centers. A few good examples of this would be the Oerlikon Saurer (Volkmann) TFOs or the high performance critical spares like Inspiron flyers.
The portfolio also includes SKAAT slub and multicount devices that will help in value addition of yarns, MAG textile testing equipment and also Inarco cots and aprons in south India. A.T.E. also represents the Nagpur-based Bajaj Steel for the complete range of ginning and bailing machines.
A complementary (and much sought after by customers) addition to the range is the recently launched TeraSpin brand of spinning machinery components, which covers high-speed spindles, drafting systems and top rollers for ring frames and speed frames. This is the result of A.T.E.’s recent acquisition of the textile machinery components business from SKF India, now marked under the brand of TeraSpin.
The acquisition is complete, and TeraSpin has already commenced manufacturing these components based on SKF technology from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad.
“In spite of the uncertain market situation in 2011-12, the spare parts and accessories business once again remained stable due to the increasing awareness about quality and reliability. Our strong product portfolio has further got strengthened with the addition of TeraSpin spinning machinery components. We are very optimistic that 2012-13 will bolster our sales revenue significantly”, said Mr. Laxmikant Rathi, Vice President (Spinning Accessories, Ginning and Exports), exuding optimism.
Knitting & non-wovens
Mr. Vikas Sharan (Vice President – TEG – Knitting, Synthetics, Non-Woven & Carpets), readily shares the positive outlook with Mr. Bhatnagar when he says: “Despite negative growth in many segments of the textile industry, the non-woven industry has seen good growth in areas like spun lace, spun bond and medical applications, which had never been seriously explored before in India, except in the recent past. Presently the packing materials industry, having undergone conceptual changes, has thrown open huge volumes for spun bond lines. Add to this the possibilities for personal hygiene products, bleached surgical cotton, spun lace and allied areas”.
A.T.E. has been present in the non-woven segment since the 1990s and represents in India the richest technology basket with a large number of world class manufacturers. A.T.E. principals in the technical textiles segment include Truetzschler Non-wovens for spun lace, thermo-bonding and chemical bonding; O.R.V. (Italy) for geotextiles, filtrations and roofings; Enka Tecnica (Germany) for spinnerets and jet strips; Wenzhou Seek Benefit Machinery (China) for spun bond and SMS lines; Luwafor air handling systems; Ramisch Guarneri (Italy) for calendering systems; Mahlo (Germany) for GSM monitoring and moisture measurement systems; Fong’s for bleaching vessels; Monforts (Germany) for coating systems; Pilotelli Macchine Tessili (Italy) for circular knitting and Zeller+Gmelin, (Germany) for warp and weft knitting oils. Impressive as this line-up is, A.T.E.’s sales and marketing support has immensely contributed to appropriate brand positioning of these offerings.
“We are pushing ahead in the market with the new models for machines and top quality knitting oils in order to capture and sustain our market share in this field. This sector is mainly influenced by the spinning industry and RMG sector, and hence we have to be always cautious. There are new projects getting lined up where knitting is a part of the processing or whole garmenting business. Standalone knitting projects are getting fewer”, says Mr. Sharan.
Carpet and synthetic
Spreading its wings further, A.T.E. has recently entered the carpet machinery business, by far one of the most unexplored in manufactured textile applications in India.
Carpets traditionally have not been seen in India as an essential part of the living area embellishment. Perhaps, for cultural reasons the weather or the environmental factors in India, carpets have not evoked a good response.
But the situation is changing, and industry gurus expect demands to grow appreciably, what with the rapid growth in the living-space luxuries in India.
Carpets have been traditionally dependent on exports. Presently, India exports carpets worth over $900 million while the domestic market size is about $100 million (mostly machine-tufted / chromo-JET printed floor coverings).
Given this scenario, carpet manufacturing in automated production lines was at best thought to be a pipe dream….until recently. Viewing the carpet business as an emerging opportunity, A.T.E. has shaken hands with its new principals like Zimmer, Austria (carpet printing ChromoJET and back-coating lines), Cobble Blackburn, UK (machine-tufting), Crabtree, UK (carpet looms, belting looms for producing specialized industrial fabrics for conveying), EFAB GmbH for robo-tufting, OrnekMakine, Turkey (heat setting) and Yamuna, India (for indigenous back coating lines).
A.T.E. believes it can help the industry rewrite its manufacturing methods and reinvent its products. To do this, it is building up a carpet team with deep industrial experience, so as to guide customers make complex choices more easily.
A.T.E., extremely strong in machines for cotton textiles systems, has also understood that it needs to take a strong position in the synthetic textile sector too, which shows good promise of sustainability and growth. Of course, it is already into the warp knitting and beam preparations sector with Karl Mayer equipment, but the need was felt to enter the highly competitive as well as highly capital intensive sectors of POY/FDY lines, PET/PP staple fibre lines, continuous polymerisation (CP) lines, monofilament lines and tape manufacturing lines, to name a few. The company has a very strong line-up of principals in this sector comprising world leaders such as Truetzschler, CTMTC, Huitong and others.
Processing
A.T.E.’s journey in the processing segment has been a long one, though for a short period when the Government policies promoted processing in the decentralized sector markets used to relate A.T.E. with its spinning business only.
This has drastically changed today as its processing business has become increasingly visible. In fact today it is in a commanding position in India with long-term tie-ups with world class manufacturers providing a most complete technology package for textile processing.
The principals handled by A.T.E. in the processing segment include Monforts for stenters for wovens, knits & technical textiles, CDR (E Control technology) and MXL ranges, Fong’s for package & soft flow dyeing machines, Fong’s Europe (Goller) for continuous bleaching and mercerizing ranges for wovens and knits, Fong’s Europe (THEN) for air flow dyeing machines, Osthoff – Senge of Germany for singeing machine for wovens & knit fabrics, Mahlo for weft straightner for wovens, knits & denim fabrics with modular process control systems, Stalam of Italy for RF dryers for loose stock, hanks, tops & hydro extractor for yarn packages, Eliar Elektromekanik of Turkey for weighing & dispensing systems, Corino of Italy for balloon padders and wet slit opener, InspirOn Engineering for stenter for finishing & coating applications, A.T.E. Envirotech for water & waste water treatment plants and complete packages for zero liquid discharge system for textile effluents, Ramisch Guarneri for calenders for textiles and technical textiles, Montimac for grey preparation lines, Salvade for loop steamer and Zimmer for digital printing machines.
As one could see, this line-up clearly reflects A.T.E.’s focus on not only the mainstream textile process lines but special value process as well as post-process activities, including the crucial waste disposal and pollution control areas as well.
Mr. S. Rajendran (Vice President – Processing, ETP & Utilities), says: “As of now, the industry is on a slow pace and conditions are less conducive than normal, at least for a few more months.
However, we think South Asian countries will have a major share in supplying the end products to the global market. Especially countries like India and Bangladesh will become major sources for garments and processed fabrics in the foreseeable future.”
He adds: “Tirupur, considered a hub for manufacturing of knit garments, is going through a very tough phase on account of ecological problems. The recovery is very slow, and it might take a long time to come back to its normal situation.
Though the Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) has been extended by the Government in principle, the industry there is simply not excited about any new investments at the moment”.
Despite the market hiccups, the A.T.E. team, whom this Correspondent spoke to, displays an undying spirit of well-being. Perhaps it is this spirit imbibed from the top that A.T.E. seems always fighting fit, both strategically and infrastructurally. This is quite clear in Mr. Rajendran’s words: “As we could offer a complete package of machines for processing, the market is looking to A.T.E. as a single window solution provider. We have rich experience of executing projects. This industry is revamping for the past one decade, and we have supplied a number of machines for almost all the new projects. To name a few of them: Vardhman, Nahar, Hanung Toys, Arvind, Alok, Welspun, Bombay Rayon Fashion, Mandhana, Bombay Dyeing, NSL (Guntur), Premier, Himatsingka, Shahi (knit project), Birla Century and Four Star International.”
Mr. Rajendran further observes: “It is indeed a big challenge for us, especially in the field of processing, to take care of our environment, and hence we have also made our presence felt in the ETP (Effluent Treatment Plants) segment. We have tied up with A.T.E. Envirotech Private Ltd. (AET), which is an ISO 9001-2008 certified company. AET offers a wide range of products for wastewater treatment and also provides customized solutions based on both conventional treatment and advanced membrane-based processes.
A.T.E. has more than 20 sales personnel working across the country exclusively for the processing division. It wants to be very close to customers, and hence has positioned its sales personnel at various locations like Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Tirupur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata and has also recently established an office at Surat as well.”
The Processing Division indeed has proved a successful strategy for A.T.E. as a result of its commitment to take care of customer touch-points. The Division has a very strong after-sales and service team to take care of erection, commissioning, trouble-shooting, audit, annual service contracts, etc.
A.T.E. has also positioned two technologists, one in Mumbai and the other in the South, with its focus to establish the processing technologies represented by A.T.E. at each customer site. This they do by hand-holding the customers through (a) education and training in the latest technology, (b) establishing process benchmarks for achieving process optimization, (c) monitoring technology absorption and needs for course corrections and (d) establishing and conducting process performance audits. Truly, A.T.E. has taken it to its heart when it comes to being recognized as a one-stop technology provider in textiles in India.
Mr. Rajendran adds: “A challenge for this industry is knowledge management. Many of the modern process houses are struggling to establish quality parameters uniformly despite their having access to the state-of-art technology. There is a gap at the operational level in terms of technical knowledge on the latest technology.
We recognize this as a very serious barrier to technology absorption and its optimized utility. We are seriously working towards imparting technical training by conducting sessions across India.
In this context, A.T.E. and DyStar have joined hands in conducting technical training sessions. We have already done it successfully at key locations like Tirupur, Tarapur, Ludhiana and Kolkata. We have been receiving positive response to this endeavour.”
Simultaneously, A.T.E. is also working on “Energy Conservation”, another critical dimension for value enhancement to customers.
Processing Accessories
Capital investments in technology and processes are complete only if these are firmly anchored with an authentic source for their accessories, spares and consumables. The Processing Accessories Division at A.T.E. fills this space aptly. The division has representations for principals like Osthoff Senge (online hairiness tester); Advance Cooling (from 1 ton to 3000-ton load capacities, for both centralized and specific cooling conditions), Ronson Industrial Engineers (for surface movements, like ‘A’ frame trolleys, box trolleys, batch rotation station and hydraulic spindle batchers); Valence (antistatic units), MAG (processing laboratory equipments), Mahlo (process control equipments), KMT – Salvade (value added processing machines like pleating, crushing, laminating, fusing and lasering), Creative Filteration (offering drum filters, air driers), Dunline Rubber (rubber blankets for sanforizers), CEIA (metal detectors), and Luwa for heat recovery.
While principals like Osthoff – senge, Monforts, etc., were present in the A.T.E. processing machinery fold for more than 15 years, others like Valence, Advance Cooling, Dunline, CEIA, Ronson, KMT – Salvade and MAG are relatively newer additions.
Predictably, textile giants like Birla Century, Arvind, Alok, NSL, Welspun and Vardhman, among several others, are part of the division’s customer list.
As with all the A.T.E. divisions, even the Processing Accessories Division is strategically complemented with a team of dedicated service engineers whose professional synergy with their equipment business groups within A.T.E. understandably adding great value to customers. It must be mentioned here that there are occasions when these experts are leveraged by the A.T.E.’s principals for installations in countries in Europe, Asia and America. Indeed, this is a matter of great honour for the customer support group (CSG).
To establish clarity on product positioning, A.T.E. has a senior textile processor with high industrial and machinery experience in Mr. Avinash Naik who is the Business Head of the Processing Accessories Division. He says: “There is great scope for upgradation and retrofits, as the lower cost of a retrofit as opposed to a new machine promises faster payback and higher productivity in the cautious market environment as prevalent now”.
Even in a broader perspective, Mr. Avinash’s reading makes great sense. Textile manufacturing in India has come of age. By default it is now pregnant with possibilities of technology upgrades and retrofit revenues. Hence, the Processing Accessories Division has already braced up to move into a sustainable niche with its rich product basket that seems to hold the much-needed futuristic tech-solutions for the industry.
“We have added many new and first-time products for A.T.E. including Sanforizer blankets. Our service department will soon have innovative additions like machinery health check-ups”, adds Mr. Avinash.
Garments Machinery
The latest addition to the A.T.E. stable is its just-born Garments & Home Textile Machinery Division. Mr. K.B. Prasad heads this division that took off with 12 key principals who are renowned the world over in this segment. These include names like VAV Technology (Germany), Yilmak Makina, Dr. Aykan Textiles, a Celikhan Makine (all from Turkey); Morgan Tecnica & Montimac (from Italy), and Daehung Dolphin, Sunstar Machinery and Loiva (from Korea), in addition to domestic names like MAG Solvics, HMX Systems, etc.
Mr. Prasad observes: “Heralding a complete revolution in the denim fashion industry in India, the entry of VAV Technology is synonymous with versatility and speed of production. VAV laser technology has very strong hardware capabilities and a highly versatile ‘Wilma’ design-software that aids fast and high end production”.
A.T.E. has already made progress in this sector, Mr. Prasad says: “La Lavado Fabricka, a sister company of Al Rkayan Apparels, is setting up a huge laundry unit at Ambernath, near Mumbai. This laundry is intended to process 5,000 pieces per day of hi-fashion denim garments for dry & wet wash. Within one year, this facility is looking to expand to process 10,000 jeans per day.”
Based on the recommendation of A.T.E., which provided consultancy for this project, the company procured the state-of-the-art machines from Turkey, the laser machine from VAV Technology, the organic bleaching machine from Celikhan Makine and other washing equipment from NC Dr. Aykan, all of which are showcased by the A.T.E. Garments Division in India.
The industry could look forward to several more innovative and cost-effective technologies in the future, as A.T.E. Garments Division is developing its application knowledge and capabilities to partner with the industry as it evolves.
Mr. Prasad predicts impressive growth in the apparel segment in the next five-six years.
Representation the world over is well known as a strategic activity. There are scores of examples of representation in practically every conceivable business activity in the contemporary world. But A.T.E.’s passion for excellence, its eye for detail & thoroughness, its self-effulgence in the principal-to-producer value chain and its almost uncanny ability to anchor customers representing smallest to largest turnkey needs have effectively made A.T.E. synonymous with technology.
Over 60 years ago, in December 1952, The Textile Magazine had its first contact with A.T.E. Soon thereafter the magazine published a detailed story tracing the history of the company from 1939. Now, many years later, in 2012, The Textile Magazine presents the story of A.T.E. once again.