Arvind, India’s No.1 denim producer and third in the world, has installed the nation’s first Monforts Eco Line for faster production, major savings in energy, and greater flexibility in design and innovation.
The first Monforts Eco Line denim finishing range in India has been installed at the Ahmedabad mill of Arvind Ltd.
Monforts Area Sales Director for Southeast Asia, Hans Gerhard Wroblowski, said that Arvind’s early investment in this new technology gives the company at least a year lead ahead of the competition from other Indian mills.
The Eco Line, which can handle fabric widths of 1800 mm and operate at high speeds of up to 80 m/min, is operating alongside four Montex foam finishing stenters, which are also able to handle this same width of material.
Arvind is rated among the top three denim producers in the world, and sees further export potential.
Mr. Aamir Akhtar, Chief Executive Officer of Arvind Lifestyle Fabrics’ Denim Division, said that in India the denim industry is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13-15 per cent.
Arvind’s own export-domestic output is around 50:50, but some of the domestic production is worked up into garments and exported, so distorting the figure: taking that factor into account, Mr. Akhtar believes that the export proportion is closer to 60 per cent.
Arvind had been founded in 1931 as a maker of traditional Indian clothing, but in 1984 modernised and brought denim into the domestic market, thus starting the jeans revolution in India. Today it retails its own brands like Flying Machine, Newport and Excalibur, and licensed international brands like Arrow, Lee, Wrangler and Tommy Hilfiger through its nationwide retail network.
Mr. Akhtar confirmed that Arvind stays ahead of its competition through a policy of design and innovation. He said: “We have our own major R&D facility, and we eat, think, sleep, and breathe design. For all this, we need the best in technology. Having been a Monforts user from the earliest days, we had no hesitation in investing in the new Eco Line. Not only does this make us even more responsive to customer needs and demands, and more creative in our design and production. There is also the very great energy saving advantage and tight control over emissions.”
The Eco Line was manufactured at Monforts production facility ‘MONTEX’ in Austria and installed by Monforts’ representative in India, ATE Enterprises Private Ltd.
Mr. C.V. Babu, ATE’s General Manager for Sales at the company’s Ahmedabad Office, said: “The Eco Line system reduces energy losses and energy use, increases thermal transfer and keeps the drying energy on the textile material longer, so that it can be used very efficiently. As a result, energy savings of up to 50% can be achieved. Exhaust air energy can also be reduced to a minimum, which has a positive effect on the emission load into the atmosphere.”
Arvind’s current annual denim capacity is 110 million metres, with prominent products, including ring denim, indigo voiles, organic denim, bi-stretch denim and fair trade certified denim.
This is apart from regular light, medium and heavyweight denims. They come in various shades of indigo, sulphur, yarn-dyes, in 100 per cent cotton and various blends.
“Denim is a great lifestyle product,” said Mr. Akhtar, who himself habitually wears denim to the office. “It is also tremendously versatile. We are very, very upbeat about our global future.”