By K. Gopalakrishnan
The US-based, Global Textile Alliance (GTA) has entered the Indian market for manufacture of quality knitted mattress ticking fabric. One of the leading global suppliers of mattress ticking with manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America, GTA has set up its first Indian facility, its third globally, at Tirupur at an investment of Euro 1 million to manufacture high-end knitted mattress ticking fabric catering to the needs of Indian mattress manufacturers.
The protective fabric cover which encases the mattress and foundation is called ticking. It is usually designed to coordinate with the foundation border fabric and comes in a wide variety of colors and styles. Mattress fabrics can be knits, damask or printed wovens, or inexpensive nonwovens.
In the past decade, along with the rise in popularity of all-foam beds, stretchy knit ticking on the bed’s top panel has become a standard look on both innerspring and foam beds. Most ticking is made with polyester yarns. More expensive mattress fabrics may have a combination of polyester with rayon, cotton, silk, wool or other natural yarns. The ticking has to be made of quality material, so that it lasts longer. Mattress ticking must be hygienic and stain-resistant and should help reduce air pollutants.
Mattress ticking fabric is normally made as woven and knitted fabric. Mostly it is low-cost mattress in India, with woven fabric. Knitted mattress ticking fabric is used on high-end mattress, the market for which is currently small but is growing fast in India. Mattress manufacturers like Kurl-on, Sleep Well and others have been importing their requirement for knitted mattress ticking fabric.
GTA and the parent company have over 150 years experience in mattress ticking. The company has a combined capacity of 12 million metres of knitted fabric per annum in the two facilities in Europe and North America. Identifying an opportunity, GTA has established India’s first knitted mattress ticking fabric manufacturing facility. The company has invested in 10 Mayer and Cie double knit jacquard circular knitting machines. These are the same machines and technology used by GTA globally, says Mr. Stephen Fieux, Plant Manager, GTA.
Mr. Remy Tack, responsible for Indian Operations, says: “We are starting the production facility in India to cater to the local market. We believe that our products, the knitted mattress ticking fabric, are really soft and has elastic properties. It is going to be liked by the customers in India. We will look at exporting later but for now we are establishing the plant for the Indian market”.
Globally, GTA has over 80 Mayer and Cie machines and 120 looms in its facilities in Europe and North America. The company’s global turnover is Euro 80 million, with significant growth in business year-on-year. North America continues to remain one of the major markets for mattress ticking, and GTA is continuously investing in its facility to cater to this market. GTA also exports to markets like Russia, South America, Chile, Australia and Asia from its European facility.
“We have the technology from Europe and machineries from Germany. We have many years of experience in knitted and woven matress ticking products. We see potential for growth in India. We want to be the first, and we are first factory in India producing mattress ticking in knitted category”, says Mr. Fieux.
GTA India Private Ltd., which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of GTA, was established in October last. The company undertook a complete study of the Indian market for mattress ticking and spoke to customers before deciding to venture into the market.
In India, currently there are 25 to 30 customers, mattress manufacturers, who are importing their requirement for knitted mattress ticking fabric. By setting up a plant in India, GTA offers the advantage of high quality fabric made locally available to Indian customers. This gives customers a reliable source, prompt service and flexibility to buy as per their requirement. “We pay a lot of attention to quality, cost and delivery. We place the customers on a very high level”, says Mr. Remy Tack.
The Indian facility will have an initial capacity to manufacture one million metres of fabric per annum. The company plans to quickly ramp up capacities based on market requirement. The Indian plan will employ 30 people to start with, headed by Mr. Remy Tack, who comes with years of experience in manufacturing mattress ticking fabric.
The basic raw material used will be man-made fibre. GTA is already sourcing a lot of yarn from India for its global facilities. The yarn is sourced from Reliance and a few other companies. The company plans to use the same source for the Indian plant as well.
“With the best technology machines, decades of experience and understanding of the market we will be able to offer the same quality as in our global facilities from day 1”, adds Mr. Remy Tack.