The textile mills in India suffer from very high power cost. In many states, there is severe power crisis hence mills are forced to invest in captive power, which has further increased the cost. It is in this context that Schoch has launched a new range of reeds which offer significant savings in energy cost.
Schoch Reeds, a Swiss reed maker with its headquarters in Ranica, Italy, has understood this predicament. With a pulse on the market, the core team did some brainstorming session till it arrived at new range of energy saving reeds.
The energy saving reeds which is all set for a launch has been conceptualized to help weavers save air on any air jet machines. Already a trial run has been conducted on these reeds. “In 2016 we have had successful trails of our energy saving reeds at many customer units. We almost converted more than 100 airjet machines in favour of the application of our ESRs (energy saving reeds) at some of the major projects,” said Mr. Bhushan Dhavate, Marketing Manager, Schoch Reeds India Pvt. Ltd.
These new reeds are showcased at the India ITME show. This is the third time that the company is participating in this show and clearly the platform holds promise.
“We always feel that India ITME is one of the best common platforms to showcase our products and it gives us opportunity to express our company’s policy in terms of quality and service in very short time to almost all weavers in India,” added Mr. Dhavate.
This notwithstanding, there are other highlights. “We represent our principals from Italy, LGL Spa. They have developed new models of weft accumulators in knitting and weaving, two of which were launched at this show,” explained Mr. Dhavate.
Schoch Reeds in India
Schoch Reeds’ India chapter began when the company collaborated with the Italian shirting giant, Tessitura Monti, in 2009. A felt need to start a second plant coincided with the untapped potential in the Indian market. So when the company decided to spread its wings, India became the choice for its second plant outside Italy. A state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Kolhapur in Maharashtra was established in 2009.
The plant is equipped with the same European machines installed in Italy, and it works side by side with the historic headquarters in Italy. The raw materials too are being imported from Italy in order to maintain quality standards.
A 50-member team at the manufacturing facility in Kolhapur caters to the requirement of reeds in the domestic and international markets.
The facility manufactures reeds that have been installed in various textile mills and manufacturing units such as Arvind Ltd., Kanchan Denim, VT Mills (is this the same as VTM Ltd., or is this different?), Bhaskar Denim, Prabath Mills, E Land Fashion, Jindla Denim and Sudersanam Fabrics, among others.
Aftersales service, key to success
To a large extent Schoch Reeds is successful because the company has focused on aftersales service activities. An exclusive department for aftersales activities like reed reconditioning, ultrasonic cleaning and airflow resetting has been set up to offer expertise and execute any reed-related requirement. Apart from that, there are two dedicated technicians who cater to customer requirements.
Other than that, this year the company has made its initial foray into the corporate sector with a good number of its reeds. This move is in sync with the target that was set in early 2016. Having whetted the market, Schoch Reeds hopes to build a portfolio of corporate clients in the coming years with off course as a weaving partner.
As part of its business strategy, Schoch Reeds intends to take its innovative efforts to the next level and scale up customer services for its existing customers and expand its customer base at the domestic and international level.
Considering the company has been innovating from time to time, it’s no surprise that the market share has been growing every year. Mr. Dhavate explained: “Our sales are increasing by 20% every year with the current turnover of Rs. 15 crores annually.” This has led to a demand for expanding capacity, which happened last year in the existing location.
For its far-sighted vision and many innovative efforts, Schoch Reeds India Pvt. Ltd. received the prestigious “Zillah Udyog Puraskar” Award for 2013 from the Kolhapur District Industrial Corporation.
Let’s hope the company wins many laurels in the years to come.