It’s a relationship that has been on a very strong foundation laid over the last eight decades. The A.T.E. Group is today the backbone of the textile industry in India, partnering with the best global and domestic machinery manufacturers, providing the right solutions to its customers and helping them stay competitive.
Founded in 1939, the A.T.E. Group has grown into a multi-faceted conglomerate offering world-class products and solutions for several segments. The group whose businesses include manufacturing, industrial sales, distribution and service, has been growing steadily over the last 75 years. A.T.E.’s end-to-end solutions across the value chain have seen it make a distinct mark for itself in the textile industry.
In an exclusive one-on-one with The Textile Magazine, Mr. Anuj Bhagwati, Head, A.T.E. Group, spoke at length about the group’s legacy, foray into new areas, textile industry focus, participation in India ITME 2016 and its future plans.
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As someone who is the third generation of the family which started the A.T.E. Group, Mr. Bhagwati began the interaction by fondly looking back at the eventful journey spanning 75 years, saying: “A.T.E. was started 75 years ago as a company with social and business goals. Over the years, we have partnered the Indian textile industry by bringing in technology that has helped the industry to reach a leading position in the world. In printing and packaging, and pumps as well as other engineering fields we have been in, we have a strong record of service.”
On the group’s new initiatives Mr. Bhagwati observed: “We have also grown steadily decade after decade. In the last 8 years building on this strong foundation, we have entered new areas in the clean tech sphere. Each of these areas serves the cause of sustainability and would also help users to improve their bottomline by saving costs or increasing productivity. In addition to getting into new business areas, we are regularly creating a lot of our own technology. This is another major paradigm shift we have undertaken. We are pleased to say that one of our themes today is ‘Invent in India’! We hope to continue to create business as well as social impact, and thus continue our rich tradition.”
Having a clear-cut roadmap has been one of the key reasons for the remarkable success made by the group companies. When queried on the mission and vision that Mr. Bhagwati has set as the head of the diversified group, he replied: “We would like to be leaders in our chosen business areas, focus on developing unique and sustainable technology, and grow with sales around the world.”
Agency business model focus
The A.T.E. Group has been a front-runner in the textile industry when it comes to agency business model. The group companies represent leading Indian and global machinery component manufacturers. The company has been following this business model even though several leading global manufacturers have been setting up their own manufacturing, sales, and service infrastructure in India.
Mr. Bhagwati felt that while this may be true, the agencies will continue to evolve and play a key role in the textile industry. “Given the expected growth in the Indian textile industry, we feel confident about our prospects. For all of our principals India is an important market. Both our principals as well as A.T.E. are making investments of various sorts in serving the Indian market better – be it for new offices to be closer to customers, skilled service, technology and content to better explain our offerings to the industry.”
Mr. Bhagwati further said: “Regarding the business model of agency vis-à-vis an own sales organization – this is an interesting question for sure! The agency model has several advantages. Take, for instance, A.T.E. As we deal with an entire range of textile machinery, our sales people have an in-depth understanding of the whole process which enables them to add value. It also offers tremendous economy of scale in operation for the manufacturer as maintaining a well-trained and adequate sales force with a nation-wide network to offer faster service to customers is a very expensive proposition. Also, because of our much closer interaction with customers, it helps in building a much richer relationship. In many businesses, especially where sensitive negotiations are involved and different cultures and languages, a trusted agent is valuable indeed. The companies we work with believe a good agent is their first choice for sales.”
Diversified presence
A.T.E. Teraspin represents one of the group’s recent forays into manufacturing. Sharing his views on the group companies further expanding their manufacturing footprint, through joint or independent ventures, Mr. Bhagwati stated: “We are interested in different sectors, and if we see an opportunity that seems right to us, we will invest in it. We have no pre-determined preference of ownership. As you know, we have currently many successful partnerships.”
A.T.E. Envirotech is another venture of the group which has become a well-known entity in the field of wastewater treatment and recycling solutions. Going into details about the future business prospects of this particular division, Mr. Bhagwati stated: “In A.T.E. Envirotech, we have developed considerable expertise in wastewater treatment in some sectors – textiles, sugar and distilleries, food and dairy, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Textiles is a focus area for us as we understand the textile process much better. We have developed a very special technology, ‘AAA’, for textile, which is gaining wide acceptance. We have executed a large number of projects in India, as also a major project in Indonesia in this segment.”
“We have our own know-how and can also add at our projects some wonderful specialized products from Huber SE of Germany. I agree with your assessment – water is going to be a major global theme in the coming years. The best source of water is of course wastewater. And so, at A.T.E. Envirotech, we believe we will grow steadily as we have earned a reputation as wastewater solution providers. A.T.E. Envirotech is an important part of the group and will no doubt remain so”, he added.
Export expansion plans
With respect to expansion of its agency business presence across neighboring markets, Mr. Bhagwati said: “At the moment we are not very active as textile machinery agents outside India, Bangladesh, and with a representative in Indonesia. We have our hands full with the current geographies as agents.” Continuing further, he added “However, for our own products we are already present in a number of international markets like Germany, Indonesia, UAE, etc., and are now looking at expanding it in a big way, for which our export sales team working in tandem with some excellent agents.”
A.T.E. is all geared up along with its principals for participating in India ITME 2016. Giving an overview of the same, Mr. Bhagwati remarked: “A.T.E. has its presence across the entire textile value chain. At ITME 2016, A.T.E. and its principals together have 2000+ sq.m. of stall space booked. We have a separate stall for TeraSpin to showcase our best-in-class spindles, drafting systems, cradles and inserts. A.T.E.’s stall for processing and garments has 25 of our processing principals, including Fong’s, Monforts, Stalam, Zimmer, and many others. Our group company A.T.E. Envirotech will also be housed in this stall with its unique ETP solutions. In spinning, Truetzschler will be displaying its twin delivery draw-frame for the first time in India along with the latest version of its foreign parts separator TS T9. The latest automatic winder and TFO would be on display at the Savio stall. A.T.E. has recently partnered with Savio. You can look forward to new product launches from Karl Mayer. An announcement in this regard will be made soon. A.T.E.’s another group company, Valence, will also be present its static management solutions. Similarly, Luwa, Innospin, DeChang and Hangzhou have also their own stalls at the event.”
Listing down the key factors behind the A.T.E. success story, Mr. Bhagwati observed: “I believe A.T.E. has grown because of competence and trust. We work hard to do a good job for all are stakeholders – customers, principals, suppliers, our team, and society. With a value-based approach, we have everyone’s confidence as a reliable partner.”
Mr. Bhagwati feels optimistic about the continued growth of the Indian textile industry. “We have growing domestic and global demand, strength in many aspects of the textile value chain, from fibers to garment machines, a rich history, and a large labour pool. Given the fact that we have low productivity in many parts of our industry compared to many other countries, I am sure we can keep improving and growing”, said Mr. Bhagwati, ending the interaction on a positive note.