With over 16,000 weaving machine installations across India, what makes Picanol the most preferred weaving machine? We bring you the inside story of what makes Picanol the most trusted brand.
“With a marketshare of over 60% in India, Raymond is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of worsted fabric in India. The Chairman’s Collection of suiting, a 220s pure wool and fine cashmere blend, is a fabric so exclusive that only a few mills in the world manufacture it. These are currently woven on 80 Gamma, 192 GamMax and 68 OptiMax and 24 OMNIplus Picanol airjet machines”, says Mr. H.K. Chatterjee, Vice President, Raymond Ltd.
Raymond is one of the many happy customers of Picanol in India. With over 16,000 weaving machines running at various customer locations, India is undoubtedly one of the most important markets for Picanol worldwide. But what makes Picanol the most preferred weaving machine in the world and in India? Is it just the advanced technology weaving machine that they offer or is there more to it?
To get a better understanding, we spoke to the Management, the employees, the dedicated team at the headquarters in Belgium specifically handling the Indian market and, most importantly, the team in India which has been the backbone of the company’s success in the Indian market. What really stands out is the sense of commitment to its customer, from the top management to the worker at the shop floor.
Mr. Luc Tack, CEO of Picanol, says: “India is not only one of the key textile markets in the world, it is also a market of crucial strategic importance for Picanol. We have been serving the Indian textile industry for more than fifty years now with a leadership position, particularly with our range of airjet machines. In recent years, Picanol India has seen a steady growth in its market share, which has led it to being the leading provider of weaving machines on the local market today. Next to China, India is definitely our most important market. We have an installed base in India of more than 16,000 weaving machines”.
With the broadest product range on the market, optimal local services and considerable presence, Picanol remains highly committed to India and plans to be the leading provider of weaving systems for the entire Indian weaving sector. By taking the decision to handle Indian market directly through Picanol India, we were able to penetrate newer markets, improved customer relations, after sales service and we could prove to Indian market that Picanol name stands for technology leader, says Mr. Luc Tack.
Mr. Dilip Jiwrajka, Managing Director, Alok Industries Ltd., says: “With an installed base of more than 1200 Picanol weaving machines, Alok focuses on world-class infrastructure, best-in-class technology, uncompromising quality and dynamic product innovation.”
Manufacturing
The headquarters and main manufacturing infrastructure of Picanol are located in Ypres- Belgium, where the Picanol Group employs more than 1,300 people. In addition to the headquarters, the Picanol Group has production facilities in Asia and Europe, linked to its own worldwide sales and service network.
The headquarters in Ypres is a 270,000 m2 site area where Picanol focuses on the assembly, development and sourcing of its high-end weaving machines. Moreover, the foundry and machining activities as well as those related to weaving accessories, spare parts and mechatronics are located in this plant. As for the latter, the development & production of all electronics for Picanol weaving machines takes place at its subsidiary PsiControl Mechatronics. For instance, Picanol BlueBox, the new electronic platform for Picanol weaving machines, is manufactured at PsiControl Mechatronics. It features superior microprocessor performance and memory capacity, designed specifically to meet the hardest working condition with state-of-the-art components and detection technology, remote check-up possibility, a modular build-up and user-friendly monitoring tools.
“This new platform is superior to any existing system on the market. Our printed circuit boards are developed in-house, making them dedicated to their use, and are not standard components adapted to a weaving machine. We also have an own software team and invest about 5% of our annual turnover in research and development”, says Mr. Luc Tack.
Mr. Gurcharan Singh, Managing Director & Mr. Gurvinder Singh, Director of GM Fabrics, says: “We chose Picanol OptiMax Rapier machines as they offer Free Flight technology with several advantages. We run mono filament yarns of count 20 D and various fine yarns up to a count range of 50 D for production of fancy curtain fabrics”.
Team behind the success
Picanol has a large sales and service team in India working directly with the customers on a day-to-day basis. Picanol India employs 35 professionals operating out of three offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Coimbatore. The company carries out sales of Picanol weaving machines, spareparts, GTP frames, Burcklé reeds and complete servicing of Picanol looms, including installation, commissioning, trouble-shooting and print repair.
Picanol India has a team of field technicians specially trained by Picanol Belgium in installation and trouble-shooting of all airjet and rapier looms, with the adequate experience to work independently. The fact that Picanol has its own local organization for sales and service gives it a distinct advantage over other suppliers in the same field, something much appreciated by customers.
But what was really surprising to know was that there is a dedicated team which is based out of the company’s headquarters in Belgium specifically supporting the business in India. Mr. P. Kasiviswanathan, Head of Picanol India, says: “Behind every successful organization is a great team, and I am proud to say we have an extremely efficient back office in Belgium who has been supporting us in presales, aftersales and technical support activity. Our Far & Middle East Team (FME) in Belgium comprising our Sales Manager, Mr. Lieven Engelbeen, for the machines, and Mr. Sigurd Blondeel for services, and Mrs. Regine Caulier supported by a dedicated and competent team, provide all services required. They look after the market even though the Picanol India team has been in touch with customers as first & nearest contact”.
Mr. DK Dasgupta, Nahar Group of Companies, observes: “We evaluated several weaving machine builders and came to the conclusion, after intense technical comparison, that Picanol was the right brand to choose as a reliable partner”. The company’s plant near Ambala (Punjab) comprising a total of 319 Picanol looms has become a reference point among major Picanol installations in the country.
Aftersales service
A total of 16,000 machines running across India is a great achievement. But to ensure that all these machines run continuously without any downtime or loss in productivity for the customer is a much bigger challenge for Picanol. In 2012, Picanol inaugurated its new Indian headquarters in New Delhi which houses the entire operations under one roof.
“When you consider the ever-increasing installed base in India, our biggest challenge is to provide suitable aftersales service and technical backup to our customers. This is the very same reason why we have gone to this one solution under single roof by bringing our sales, service, spareparts and electronic print repair to improve our working efficiency, transparency, etc.,” says Mr. Luc Tack.
Mr. Kasiviswanathan says: “Having a dedicated organization to serve the Indian market offers many advantages for customers in terms of speed and quality of service. Offers for spareparts are made the same day from the Delhi office for all customers in India. We have one central warehouse for spareparts located in Ypres achieving a service level of over 97%. Our spareparts database contains more than 50,000 different items. Our Partsline internet application lets customers check details and order the latest spareparts with just a few clicks”.
Mr. P.G. Niyogi, CEO, Oswal Denims, observes: “The overall experience with Picanol has been quite satisfactory not only product-wise, but also in the sense that service and support lived up to our expectations”.
After the successful commissioning of 40 Picanol OMNIplus Summum airjets at Oswal Denim Bhopal, the Nahar Group decided to also invest in this type of machines for its Oswal Denims plant at Lahru in Ambala. At this plant they already have 47 OMNIplus 800 machines, acquired the previous year, weaving denim fabrics.
Summing up Picanol’s commitment to the Indian market, Mr. Kasiviswanathan says: “We value our customer, we take the issues raised by the customer with full attention and work on the solution. Our team is customer-friendly and modest. This is what we taught our team when we go to the market. When our people in the production & assembly built machines for our customers, we pay full respect and seriousness to make sure it is top of workmanship as these machines are going to speak about Picanol’s presence in the market for the next decades. There are places in India where machines supplied in early 1990s are still working well. We have always been leaders in technology innovation in weaving, and the Indian market has been proactive in accepting & trying new technology. The best example is that the Nahar Group which has the largest installation of the newly launched Airjet Summum anywhere in the world as on date”.
“Despite general slowdown in India in 2012, Picanol has done rather well as far as installation of new weaving machines in the country is concerned. We expect 2013 would also be a more progressive year considering the kind of response from Picanol’s loyal customers and new prospects”, says Mr. Luc Tack.