It is the first Indian company to manufacture chemical bonded nonwoven machinery
From a small enterprise engaged in importing embroidery machines from China, Ahmedabad-based Rudrax Industries, led by Anand Chauhan, has now emerged as the first Indian company to manufacture chemical bonded nonwoven machinery, which is used to produce nonwoven interlinings. These interlinings are used as backing material for embroidered fabrics. Additionally, the company also produces coating machines using Microdot technology, which are used to fuse and bond the interlining fabric with the embroidered fabric. Other than that, they also still import other nonwoven technologies like Thermobond, Spunbond, etc., from China.
Most of the chemical bonding machines made by Rudrax Industries have been bought by importers or wholesalers of nonwoven interlining fabrics, since it would not be viable for a manufacturer of embroidery fabrics to install these machines. “Once we started manufacturing these machines in India, the import of these machines from China has totally stopped. We are offering a good quality import substitute product at a very competitive price. After selling around 25-30 machines in the Indian market, the import of Chinese-made interlining fabrics also reduced drastically,” says Chauhan.
“The demand for chemical bond nonwoven technology machines has now shot up as compared to what it was a few years ago. Earlier, only a very limited portion of embroidery fabrics were bonded with interlinings as against which nearly 99% of embroidered fabrics are now bonded with interlinings,” he adds. The nonwoven interlining fabric is produced mainly from recycled cotton fiber. Rudrax Industries also manufactures the cotton waste recycling machines. Apart from this, they also produce and supply spare parts of nonwoven machines which they import from China.
The company now plans to produce Thermobond nonwoven machines from next year. To do this, Rudrax is setting up a bigger production facility, which will be operational from 2020. “As of now we are able to supply only 6-7 units per annum. However, we are under the process of setting up a new manufacturing plant where we will be able to increase our production capacity and also produce better quality nonwovens machinery. This facility will also be equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art production technologies,” Chauhan informs.
The biggest advantage Rudrax Industries offers to its customers is the price difference as compared to machines imported from China, which works out to about 30%. In addition, they source and use very good quality mechanical parts, gear box, electrical motors and panels, etc., which provide a long and stable life for the machine. The guide rolls used in Chinese-make machines are of mild steel while Rudrax Industries uses stainless steel, thereby increasing the life of the guide rolls.
Also, the company offers local after-sales service which makes a big difference and helps its clients cut down on downtime. Rudrax Industries is participating in Techtextil 2019 for the first time in collaboration with their Chinese partner and will be displaying domestically produced as well as imported nonwoven machineries. The company hopes to generate domestic and export inquiries from the exhibition. “The future of nonwovens’ industry is bright in India, which is also the reason we are expanding our capacity. We have currently exported our machines to countries like Turkey and Peru and our future plan is to increase export to other countries,” Chauhan states.