Company’s sustained innovation-led growth
Autotex is a typical example of how small companies from Coimbatore have become global leaders, thanks to their focus on quality and innovation and their continuously keeping pace with the changing customer requirements.
Autotex is a name synonymous with bobbin holders. Supplying to all OEMs and major global machinery manufacturers, be it in Europe, Japan or India, is no mean achievement, and continuing to be a “single source supplier” for all these customers speaks volumes about the quality, performance, service and on-time delivery offered by the company.
Founded in 1988, Autotex started manufacturing bobbin holders in the 1990s. Since then, the company has been supplying 100 per cent of the requirement of the brands like Rieter, Saurer, Toyota, LMW, etc., across all major markets.
“We have worked closely with our customers for the last 20 years and built strong relationship and customer confidence. Our success has primarily been due to consistency in quality and continuous improvement in technology to meet the requirements of our customers, at a reasonable cost. We are able to adapt to their enhancing requirements, which gives the customers also a sense of comfort”, says Mr. Ramanujam, Managing Director, Associated Autotex Ancillaries Pvt. Ltd.
Autotex’s product range includes bobbin holders, fluff protectors, yarn carriers, sliver cans, fluff collectors and a few more plastic injection-moulded accessories and components. In bobbin holders, which are the flagship product of Autotex, the company introduced the multi brake system (MBS) a decade earlier, which was a completely new innovation patented by it. The company is now working on two new innovations for bobbin holders, which will be launched by the end of this year.
Most of the spinning frames 10 years ago were operating at 10,000 to 12,000 rpm, but today the average speed is 25,000 and upwards. Accordingly, accessories and components also need to be improved in terms of quality and performance to match the higher speed.
Autotex has capacity to manufacture five lakh bobbin holders every month for supply to global OEMs. Besides domestic supply, it exports to all major markets across the world, including China. “We don’t see Chinese companies as a threat to our business as we offer much better quality products than the Chinese. In fact, we see a bigger opportunity for our products in the Chinese market in the future”, says Mr. Ramanujam confidently.
The strength of Autotex is its strong expertise in manufacturing. Most of the components are manufactured in-house. This helps in better control over quality and scale up production levels based on market requirements.
In fact, the quality, performance and life of bobbin holders have improved a lot over the years, thanks to Autotex. In the 1990s and prior to that, bobbin holders lasted not more than two years but today Autotex bobbin holders run for seven-eight years at a stretch. No wonder, Autotex has a 60 per cent market share in this segment.
Mr. Ramanujam further observes that, with many new technologies getting introduced, Autotex expects 2015 to be a very positive year. “We have the best of products and technologies, and we now need to focus on strengthening our presence across all global markets”.
With 35 per cent of the company turnover coming from exports, Autotex has four manufacturing facilities in Coimbatore employing nearly 500 people. With a turnover of Rs. 65 crores representing a 20 per cent growth year on year, the company targets a Rs. 100-crore turnover in the next two-three years. It recently received the Best Supplier Award from Rieter for 2013.
“Apart from textiles, Autotex has its manufacturing presence in poultry equipments, FMCG products, powder coating and CED coating for textile and automobile industries. Started as a small unit in 1988, the company has today emerged as a leading supplier of components to global OEMs. Looking back it’s been a very satisfying journey,” adds Mr. Ramanujam.