What the company offers its customers is a European product at an Indian price range while being intensely innovative at the same time
FY 2021-22 has been a very good one for Coimbatore-based Simta, a name known for its quality range of products for the textile industry. “We did very good business. In fact, we grew by about 48% over the pre-pandemic level i.e. our performance in 2018-19. FY 2021-22 has been our best year in the last decade. Two key factors which have led to this growth is our product performance and affordability,” Senthil Kumar, Managing Director of the company said in an exclusive interview.
“There is widespread hope that we are near the end of the pandemic. In this scenario, spinning customers want to modernize and automate all their departments. Our bobbin transport system is very popular across Europe. It’s now gradually becoming more popular in India too. The performance of this particular product has helped us pick up business,” he added. Continuing further, Senthil Kumar said: “Jacobi, our partner, has got an exclusive research and development facility in Germany. No manufacturing happens there. The entire manufacturing happens here in Coimbatore. We are therefore importing most of the components from Germany. What we offer our customers is a European product at an Indian price range, which suits our customers very well.”
The company has used the relatively lean period during the pandemic to come out with an upgraded version of its bobbin transport system. “We offer a total solution so that the customer doesn’t have to go to anywhere. This factor makes us a preferred choice,” explained Senthil Kumar. He also felt that policy initiatives such as the PLI and mega textile park schemes would definitely benefit Indian companies.” Most of the international garments are manufactured in India. There are chances that the requirement of yarn for domestic industry will be more than for exports. That will ensure that value-addition will happen. This will also help increase employment opportunities. Obviously, Indian companies like us stand a chance for further growth,” he observed.
In the same vein he added that manmade fibres have a good future in the country. “As you know, at present around 80% of spinning happens in cotton and the rest is synthetic. I believe that in about five years’ time, say by 2027-28, this ratio will become 40:60. This will be a boost for the Indian textile industry. They will no longer have to deal with issues like fluctuations in the price of cotton. This will help give a boost to the industry,” Senthil Kumar pointed out. That the company is already geared to leverage the emerging opportunities is evident from the fact that it has recently added 100% capacity and the new unit is also 100% operational.
Going into the key reasons which give the company its competitive edge, Senthil Kumar noted: “The first thing is consistency. We have been in the industry for the last 33 years. Once we supply the product, we back it up with service and availability of spares consistently. Whatever products we are offering will be there in our product line always. We stand for consistency in product and after-sales service support, the key reasons for our success over the years.” With its tie up with Jacobi, the products manufactured by Simta already have a global presence. “We supply to countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Egypt and Turkey. We also supply to China,” he said.
Sharing his views on the future of the Indian textile industry Senthil Kumar felt that spinners trying different types of yarn like viscose, modal and polyester is a good thing for the industry. “Earlier they would just follow the crowd. Now, they are thinking differently. This will definitely give a boost to the industry. I feel that in the next 5-10 years, spinning will be the most important segment in the textile industry,” he opined. Finally, when asked what his vision for the company was over the next five years he said: “At the moment Simta Group is doing business of around Rs 400 crore. We want to become an Rs 1,000 crore company by 2027.”