Sivakumar Narayanan, Executive Vice President – Marketing and Business Development, Uster Technologies Ltd.
Uster has been making steady progress in the last few years, growing organically through the launch of new products and technologies, and inorganically through acquisitions that complement its product range. It has helped in further strengthening Uster’s position as the world’s leading supplier of quality solutions for the textile industry, from fiber to fabric.
In an exclusive interview to The Textile Magazine, Mr. Sivakumar Narayanan, Executive Vice President – Marketing and Business Development, Uster Technologies Ltd., spoke about many aspects concerning Uster’s business, products, future technologies and strategic acquisitions.
Excerpts from the interview:
How was the year FY 2018 for Uster?
It was another very good year in different ways. Our financial performance was of course very good with all business segments doing very well across all key markets. In addition, we also launched new innovations such as the USTER TENSORAPID 5 and announced the acquisition of Elbit Vision Systems.
Which are the major global markets?
Our key markets continue to be Asia (China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam), Turkey, Uzbekistan, the US and North Africa.
Was there any major innovation or launch by Uster?
Uster launched the new generation of the strength measurement system. The USTER TENSORAPID 5 is the ‘go-to’ tensile tester for both staple and filament yarns. It delivers precise data for yarn strength and elongation, all measured to recognized global standards. To spinners these are vital information, whatever the downstream process or end-use is.
The manufacturing industry is moving towards Industry 4.0. What about Uster’s preparedness?
Since the launch of the USTER TESTER 6 in 2015, Uster makes a strong point where Industry 4.0 goes for quality management in yarn production. Connecting data from different quality testing and monitoring instruments in the Total Testing Center integrated in the latest Uster evenness tester leads to analysis and reports which have a direct impact on optimized operations.
Uster has been acquiring some important companies in the last few years, including the recent acquisition of EVS. Can you explain the strategy behind such acquisitions?
Elbit Vision System is a global leader in the field of automatic fabric inspection in the production and quality control of fabrics and web, since 1992. The acquisition underlines Uster’s vision of a high-technology instrument manufacturer for quality management for the textile industry – all along the production steps from fiber to fabric.
Are you planning further such acquisitions globally?
We don’t disclose any future acquisition projects but Uster continues to focus on the fiber to fabric vision and on strengthening our leading position in the field of quality management in the textile industry with further innovations.
India is undoubtedly one of the key markets for Uster globally? How has Uster performed in India over the last few years?
India continues to be among our top markets for quite a few years now. Uster has a well-established and highly customer focused operation with very experienced experts in the textile industry. The year 2017-18 was another good one for both our online and laboratory business winning many key projects across India. One of the major highlights was an investment increase, especially in the USTER JOSSI products, in USTER QUANTUM 3 polypropylene yarn clearers, USTER AFIS PRO 2 besides the flagship USTER TESTER 6. Besides these, the newly introduced USTER SENTINEL started getting high interest among Indian customers.
What are your expectations in terms of business growth in 2018 and beyond?
Uster will continue to offer different possibilities to yarn producers to improve their margins. Besides the newly-launched tensile testing product and USTER SENTINEL, we observe that many get ready for the future by investing in the USTER TESTER 6.
Uster Technologies completes acquisition of Elbit Vision Systems
Uster Technologies AG has announced the successful closing of the acquisition of Elbit Vision Systems Ltd. (EVS), a world-leading high-technology supplier for automated vision inspection in the textile industry. This expands USTER’s competencies in quality control and strengthens its product portfolio. EVS’ products are used to automatically locate, label and trace defects of fabric and web products, and ultimately to grade the quality and determine the value of the produced goods.
Thomas Nasiou, Chief Executive Officer of USTER, said: “I am delighted that we are now able to finalize this major milestone, which embodies the strengthening of USTER’s activities across the globe. The access to innovative technology and the enhanced presence will enable us to strengthening our offering to customers, and offer new, interesting perspectives to the colleagues of USTER and EVS. The acquisition fits perfectly into our vision to be the world’s leading supplier of quality solutions for the textile industry from fiber to fabric.”
Sam Cohen, CEO of EVS, commented: “I am proud of the progress we have made during the last few years in improving our products and services leading to increased customer satisfaction, expanding our footprint while delivering on our financial targets. Now, I am very much looking forward to continue working for EVS, now part of USTER, and combining our offering. I believe that we will demonstrate the potential to provide our customers with new, innovative products that can address unmet needs.”