Coimbatore-based Simta group offers a range of quality products for the textile industry including, spindle tapes, clearer rollers, bobbin transport system, OHTCs, automatic cone packing system, industrial fabrics and foundation fabrics.
Simta’s association with the Bangladesh market goes back a long way. “We did our first export to Bangladesh in 1995. It’s almost 30 years and successfully continuing. We are very happy with the performance of our products here, “mentioned S.Senthil Kumar, Managing Director of the company.
Continuing further he said,” The Bangladesh market is important for us because it is growing at a rate of 10%-15% annually in terms of spindle capacity. At present there are an estimated 10 million spindles in the country, which is quite a substantial number.”
Optimistic view
Senthil Kumar is positive about the immediate future of the textile industry in Bangladesh. “We all know that there have been global upheavals, and the textile industry is experiencing recessionary trends. While earlier some markets used to be down, some average and some witnessing growth, this time around the downtrend is there globally. Bangladesh is no exception. However, we are optimistic that it will improve in 2024 and 2025 could be even better,” he observed.
The company has got 4 agents representing it in the Bangladesh market. “We feel that one agent is not enough to give complete sales and service support around the country. Apart from our agents, we also have our own sales personnel visiting the market every month. We also have one of our service engineer, always stationed in Bangladesh, at any given point time too,” he explained.
Competitive edge
Senthil Kumar summed up the advantage that Simta offers over its competitors in one word- ‘consistency’. “Yes, in any market you should be consistently present with all your products, service and spares support. Whenever your customer needs any of these support, you should be ready to provide it. You have to be close to the customer. This kind of support almost any company can offer, for there is no rocket science involved. However, the difference between our competitors and Simta is that we have been consistently serving the textile industry here for the last 30 odd years. Irrespective of whether the Bangladesh market was down or doing well, we have been concentrating on providing the best products and services here.”
Customized solutions
The company’s products have been playing a key role in textile mills contributing to the automation of the manufacturing process. “Automation helps reduction in labour and also helps improve quality. How we differ from others is that our automation solutions are customized and can be implemented in a phased manner. It’s not like a customer has to invest huge amount at a single stretch. Our team studies the customer’s requirement and comes out with a tailor made solution and the customer can invest in a phased manner.”
“We have a very good R&D team, located in Coimbatore, who travel around to different locations, including Bangladesh. Once they design a customized solution, it is then sent to and approved by our technology partner Jacobi’s team in Germany. So, it is the collective expertise of Indian and German technology that we are offering to the Bangladesh customers. This is something unique and probably no competitor offers this advantage,” he remarked.
Focus on sustainability
Senthil Kumar had an interesting take on sustainability focus. “As mentioned earlier, the automation systems that we offer can be implemented in a phased manner. For example, a company may be financially down and can start off with a manual system. This can be later on converted into semi-automatic and finally, to a fully automated system. In this step by step process, there is no wastage involved. Whether it is the switches, gears or the material, the customer is not wasting anything because of investing in Simta’s solution. This is also sustainability,” he explained.
Future plans
Senthil Kumar is optimistic of the company’s continued good showing in Bangladesh. “We have already established a very good market in the country and once the market bounces back, we can reap the benefits. It is a very simple thing. If you are giving proper sales and service support, you will definitely get rewards. That reward we are enjoying and we are very happy with our performance in the Bangladesh market.”
“The future here looks bright. Nowadays, labour is getting expensive here. The top management of many textile mills are looking for more automation, particular in the spinning sector. They are investing in automation for quality, improved productivity, sustainability, etc. All this translates into excellent business potential for us,” he said rounding off.
