Mr. N. Subramaniam, Managing Director of Habasit Iakoka has been a regular exhibitor and visitor in most of the domestic and international textile trade shows. In his opinion, the India-ITME 2012 has been one of the best textile shows ever organised in India comparable to global standards.
Question: How was the overall customer response for your company products at India ITME 2012?
A: The customer response was indeed excellent. Since our company is supplying tapes, belts and printing blankets for the textile industry, the show gave us an opportunity to interact with all our customers in order to understand the present market situation and their expectations. Our entire team of distributors was present to meet the valued customers at the stall.
Q: Can you briefly outline the company products and solutions on display at the show?
A: Products on display were the HS-9 spindle tape, printing blanket and quantum leap polyester belts. The HS-9 spindle tape is indigenously made, and the advantages offered by it include energy saving and better yarn quality in high speed spinning machines. The new economy printing blanket ENU-16EIBD, which received encouraging response from customers, is primarily for flat bed printing application. Quantum leap polyester belts (TC20EFQ & TC-35ERQ) are for applications where the temperature is high, especially on high-speed draw frames.
Q: How has the current year been so far for your company? Has the company achieved the targeted growth in the current year?
A: Since we are only spares suppliers for textiles, ours is of moderate business. The Tamil Nadu spinning industry accounts for almost 50 per cent of the Indian spindle capacity. The present power shortage and labour problem have their adverse impact on the mills in the State, and there is in fact a downward trend in of our accessories sales.
Though the growth in other States is encouraging, we feel that unless and until the Tamil Nadu power supply improves, we can’t expect a good growth in the coming years.
Q: Does the response at India ITME reflect a positive trend? How do you view the prospects for the new year, particularly for the textile industry?
A: Yes, the overall response reflects a positive trend. I am sure that the Indian textile industry is going to move ahead in the coming years. For quality yarns, in my opinion, the entire world has to depend on India, and we can add another million spindles in the coming years. There is also a good opportunity for growth in the weaving and processing sectors.
The Government, on its part, has to take proactive steps to help the industry in overcoming problems. It should take a concerted drive in consultation with all industry interests to work out a clear-cut policy for the next ten years. It should also give due weight to the fact that the skills, technical knowledge and entrepreneurship in India are far better than in any other country.
Q: Will Habasit launch any new products or solutions in 2013?
A: There are many innovative tapes, transmission belts and printing blankets due for introduction. Already we have launched the HS-9 special spindle tape manufactured in Coimbatore, and we shall soon be launching a variety of transmission and conveyor belts.
Q: How about your overall impression of the India ITME show this year?
A: India ITME 2012 was the best ever so far. We should appreciate Mr. R.S. Bachkaniwala, Chairman, and Ms. Seema Srivastava, Executive Director of India ITME society, and their team for their total involvement in making this a great event. All the exhibitors were quite impressed with more than adequate stall facilities arranged by the organisers this year. I understand that nearly 400 applications from various exhibitors were not entertained due to shortage of space. I hope we will have a bigger area either in Mumbai or Ahmedabad for the next show.