In an interview with Textile Magazine, S Rajendran, Senior Vice President (Processing Division) of A.T.E. talks about the performance of the processing division in the financial year 2020-2021 and the company’s future strategies for growth
As has been grimly realised across the world, 2020 was a terrible year due to the effects of the spread of corona virus and the global pandemic hitting every industry. As a result, the textile processing market started slowing down from March 2019 and the situation remained the same till June 2019. It was from then onwards that businesses started to turn towards the positive and so was the case with A.T.E which had many enquiries pouring in after the prolonged slump. Commenting on this scenario, S Rajendran, Senior Vice President (Processing Division), A.T.E., says, “There could be many reasons for the increase in order volume for our customers but one of the main reasons may be the anti-China sentiment from the US and European countries.”
“And that, in fact, is really going to present a big advantage to Indian textile entrepreneurs,” he adds. When the discussion takes a significant turn towards the processing division of A.T.E., Rajendran reveals that the company currently deals with 24 processing principals. The processing division is strong enough to pose a one-stop solution for all fabric and yarn requirements. For example, A.T.E. can offer a total package solution for fibre and yarn processing, knit fabric processing, worn fabric processing to cover apparel fabrics, bed-sheet fabrics and denim fabrics. A package of machineries can be offered for finishing various technical textiles.
One more significant factor about A.T.E.’s processing division is its recent collaboration with Sieger Spintech Equipments (P) Ltd. in Coimbatore. According to Rajendran, Sieger Spintech Equipments is one of the industry leaders in supplying machines for automation. Among all its other products, the one most beneficial for A.T.E.’s processing division is the automatic storage and retrieval system (ASRS). It’s an advanced storage management system for grey goods as well as finished goods. Since many of the processors are increasing the production volume, storage and retrieval of the goods have become very critical. The market is looking for automation in storage management and Sieger Spintech Equipments offers a perfect and economic solution for this task.
Elaborates Rajendran: “The market is looking for suitable machines and equipment for automating the processors mainly to produce consistent quality and also to reduce labour dependency. A.T.E. can offer various automation solutions from Sieger Spintech Equipments, India for ASRS, Texpa, Germany for automatic cutting, sewing and packing of home textiles and ColorService, Italy for automatic dyes and chemical dispensing system. A.T.E. has recently started an automation division for upgrading its old machines with the latest PLC, drives, controls and software.”
“While India is well-known for processing cotton fabrics, the volume of synthetic fabric processing is increasing, especially in the case of knit fabrics. A.T.E. can offer a complete package of machinery for processing synthetic fabrics, which includes active wear. Fong’s Group has a rich experience of executing synthetic fabric processing. During the year 2021-22, Goller and Fong’s will execute spun oil washing ranges and Dycowin dyeing machines for synthetic knit fabric processing in India. The processing division of A.T.E. is strong in terms of product portfolio as well as its sales and service team. The processing division has rich experience of executing many greenfield projects of yarn, woven fabric and knit fabric. Apart from the technology of machinery, the market is happy with the overall guidance offered by A.T.E. for selecting the machinery as well its execution,” he adds.