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The Textile Magazine
JUNE 2012
in India we’ve succeeded
in gaining the trust of our
partners and reinforcing it
on a long-term basis. This
has enabled us not only to
defend our market posi-
tion in the knitting sector
against competition,
but also to successfully
expand and develop our
sewing sector as well.
Q: The Indian textile
industry is one of the
largest in the world. In
2011 it generated a total
of roughly $55 billion.
Fourteen per cent of all
textile fabrics and yarns
are produced in India.
Which sectors do you
see as having the best
growth opportunities in
the future?
A:
Developments right
now are being affected to
a large extent by demand
for constantly higher pro-
ductivity. This is to com-
bat rising wage costs and
also to compensate for the
fact that there just aren’t
enough qualified employ-
ees available. In addition,
Western customers and
an increasing number
of Indian consumers are
asking for textiles of high
quality. In the light of
this, I see three areas with
growth potential:
• Weaving, because of
the technological shift
from shuttle looms to
looms without shuttles.
• Textile processing –
today it’s considered a
bottleneck. As part of a
“forward integration strat-
egy”, costs and through-
put times are being
further reduced here. Plus,
developments in textile
processing could be a pre-
requisite for production
of, say, finer textiles.
• Nonwovens – this
relatively new technol-
ogy is still at quite a low
level in India today, but
an increase in demand can
be expected here. That
applies to end-consumers
as well as infrastructure
projects.
Q: What’s special
about the Indian textile
markets compared to
the other textile markets
in Asia?
A:
What makes India
different in this regard
is its higher flexibility.
High-quality fashions and
special designs are also
produced in small batch
sizes. And since English
is spoken everywhere,
even in small firms, this
makes communication
very efficient for foreign,
primarily Western busi-
ness partners.
Q: We have an im-
portant event coming
up very soon for the
entire textile industry, in
the shape of the ITMA
Asia. What potential is
the trade fair opening
up specifically for GBA
and for Groz-Beckert in
India?
A:
In my view, the
main emphasis at the
ITMA Asia will be on
sales and procurement.
Since the fair takes place
only nine months after
ITMA Barcelona, pres-
exclusive