While many textile machinery and component manufacturers have been diversifying into other industry verticals to de-risk their business, Lakshmi Card Clothing (LCC) is clearly staying focused and in fact busy expanding capacity to meet growing demand.
The year 2013-14 was quite good for LCC. It could’ve been a much better year but for constraint in production capacity, according to Mr. Hari Shankar, Joint Managing Director, LCC.
He says: “Business has been very positive and the industry has been on an upswing in recent times. We are looking at expanding our capacity because of the increase in spindleage. We are seeing good growth in domestic and overseas markets, and accordingly we are increasing our capacity from the current levels”.
There is significant capacity addition in spinning in the last 12 to 18 months, thanks to some of the large-scale projects in the North and West and also the new projects coming up in States like Gujarat, encouraged by the new textile policy. But this sudden spurt in demand has taken machinery manufacturers and component suppliers by surprise. The demand spurt is also due to huge import of yarn by China in the last 12-18 months which has encouraged spinning mills to add fresh capacity.
Asked if this level of growth is sustainable, Mr. Hari Shankar replies in the affimatore as the textile market is mostly shifting its focus to India. “We have made some big investments, and capacity expansion programs are apace. There has also been a lot of promise from the new government at the Centre, and hence we expect the growth momentum to continue”.
LCC is the market leader in card clothing business in India. The company is targeting a 70 per cent market share in the two-three years. Accordingly, it has been continuously working on enhancing the quality and productivity of cards. Currently the minimum expectation is a 1000-ton throughput from the current generation of cards.
Innovation that has always been the forte of LCC has enabled it to completely focus on R&D that works in tandem with leading original equipment manufacturers. The company’s strong customer-oriented R&D ensures continual development of technology and cost-effective solutions. This has also enabled the company to scale new heights of acceptance with its new innovation called EVOLV 2X. Built to perform and designed to perfection, EVOLV 2X takes up the next evolving stage of carding with state-of-the-art technology.
Most advanced EVOLV 2X has been bestowed with the patented design complemented by technology. The perfectly designed cylinder wire withstands intense wear & tear conditions and the more supportive area to the working tip that enhances reliability and consistency on delivery. Progressive angle is made in the wire for intensive opening of the fibre tufts at super high production rate. Special NST profile leaves no room for trash embedment results in improved quality of yarn and fabric. The ‘Fabric Evolution’ is bound to happen with EVOLV 2X intended to meet the burgeoning demands of all high production cards on both cotton and synthetic applications with unmatched quality.
Mr. Hari Shankar points out that LCC has also developed solutions for the high-speed wider-width 1.5 metre cards which will be available in the market next year. These new cards are more demanding in terms of high quality, productivity and longer life. LCC is investing a lot in terms of technology to match up to the demands of the industry and the new products developed for OEMs, says Mr. Hari Shankar.
He further says, LCC is focused on the card clothing business and not looking at any diversification at this point. “There are so many changes taking place on a regular basis, and keeping pace with the changes in products, technologies offered by OEMs and developing products to match their requirements is a big challenge in itself”.
Challenges don’t end there. The company has traditionally faced competition from European and Indian domestic card clothing manufacturers in the replacement market. LCC has strengthened its network in the replacement market, particularly in the area of aftersales service to obtain a competitive edge.
Mr. Hari Shankar further says: “We have been able to make inroads in the replacement market, particularly with large customers who have tried our clothing on other OEM machines and found it to be a more cost effective solution. Our biggest strength is our service network across all major markets. Our service network is available at a call anywhere in the country within 24 hours. It’s not just about attending when there is a failure but is also about ensuring that the mills get the right quality of information, service and support”.
LCC has also done well in on the export front. In fact, exports constitute over 20 per cent of the company’s total turnover. Currently exports are made to all major markets. However, the company has not been able to fully leverage on the full market potential, as local capacity constraint is indeed a major problem, he adds.