Saurer is a leading globally operating technology group that manufactures machinery and components for the textile industry. With branches in Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, the US, China, India and Singapore, the group has a long tradition of providing innovative technology to the industry. It has two distinct segments – Saurer Spinning Solutions and Saurer Technologies.
The twisting solution under segment of Saurer Technologies (former renowned brands Allma and Volkmann) deals with twisting machines for staple fiber yarns, cabling and twisting machines for BCF carpet yarn, glass twisters, twisting machines for high quality technical yarns and Cablecorder for tyre cord yarns.
Mr. Tapas Nandi is the Regional Sales Director responsible for sales of TFO and carpet cabling machines of Saurer for the Indian and Bangladesh markets. Saurer Twisting Solutions has manufacturing plants in Germany and China. The products coming out of these two locations maintain top German quality standard. Substantial investments are made in R&D and newer models launched are packed with innovative features with added value for customers.
In line with Saurer’s principle, all the twisting machines are highly energy efficient, ergonomically designed for ease of operation and value for money with the fastest payback time. Today, the company’s market base for its staple fibers TFO covers most of Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and parts of Europe, including Turkey.
Saurer is the leading supplier of carpet cabling and twisting machines to all major carpet manufacturing companies in the US, Turkey, Belgium, Iran and other Asian countries including India. Another hotcake from the company is the glass twisting machine which is mainly exported to China, Taiwan, some parts of Europe, the US and Russia to twist glass yarns primarily used in printed circuit boards for the growing smartphone and laptop business.
Also noteworthy is 75% of all textile tire cord fabrics across the globe have cords manufactured in the Cablecorder machines of Saurer.
Leading Indian textile groups like Welspun, Vardhman, Nahar, Ramco, Deeshan and RSWM have all purchased over 10,000 TFO spindles from Saurer. Many of them are repeat orders. Saurer make TFO (formerly Volkmann brand) is synonymous with the Indian textile industry for its best-in-class TFO models Fusion and Compact Twisters. It is not just the big companies; but many upcoming modern spinning mills also prefer Saurer TFO for their unmatched energy efficiency and highest productivity.
Mr. Nandi confirms that Saurer TFO has about 25% market share, among Indian organized textile mills, and the only competition that they ever encounter pertains to lower-priced locally-made TFO.
Saurer attaches equal importance to aftersales services as well. Experienced and trained engineers are based in North, South and Western parts of the country. All the engineers are constantly updated with newer technology and regularly trained in Germany.
Another unique feature of the aftersales service is the visit of the German Inspector to customers in India every three to four months and interacting with mill technicians to obtain feedback and provide recommendations and expert advice at completely free of cost.
“What they promised they delivered”: Choundeshwari
Choundeshwari Co-operative was founded in 1994 under the guidance of Deccan Spinning Mill. The company works towards manufacturing top quality 100% cotton yarn with the objective of fulfilling the weavers’ demand for the same in Kolhapur and Sangli. Almost 90% of the Choundeshwari employees hail from the Devang Koshti Samaj, which signifies that they hire people who are masters of the textile trade for generations. Their employees as well as boards of directors consist of people who have dealt with all kinds of looms – handlooms, powerlooms and auto looms.
The co-operative had a humble beginning with a meagre count of 5,000 spindles, but with guidance from other spinning industries, Government funding and, most importantly, their dedicated efforts, the mill has today reached the remarkable feat of 26,800 spindles with a production capacity of 16 tons a day! Their progress is noteworthy, but this isn’t where Mr. S.C. Akkole, Managing Director of Choundeshwari, aims of stopping. With 5 consistent years of profit making and a little help from NCDC, they have invested Rs. 52 crores for an additional 12,500 spindles. Subsequently, their ring frames, carding, and blow room machines have been upgraded with latest technology, and 10,000 spindles have been added to slub and compact yarn segments. Choundeshwari takes pride in changing with the need of the market.
The recent investment in twisting machines was most noteworthy. Mr. Akkole takes pride that the company, after a lot of deliberations, finally decided to buy TFO from Saurer, the leader in the field. Choundeshwari and Saurer have had a premier association for nearly two years and it has been nothing but another triumph. The association has gone as far as to motivate the former to conduct a study with different brands of machines only to conclude that Saurer machines are the most power-conserving machines out there in the market.
Quality is the most crucial reason for consumers to choose Saurer over any other Indian, Chinese or even European brands for their machinery. Unlike the other players in the market even the after sales services from Saurer TFO is considerate towards the style, suggestions and recommendations of their customers. The effectiveness of their machines is yet again reflected in the repeat orders that Choundeshwari is now getting from the quality conscious European market.
The company also has surplus land of 43 acres that it aspires to utilize for expansion in the sizing, weaving and processing segments.
Choundeshwari has had many successful initiatives as it reached its Silver Jubilee mark, and Mr. Akkole desires to share this knowledge for success with anyone looking to start their own spinning brand. He advises that the market has greatly changed due to fashion developments, and to keep up with the best looms, one must only manufacture 1000 RPM modern loom yarn as they do. Their success mantra also includes keeping up with the latest technology and making automation upgrades as they are introduced.
Choundeshwari has all the associations it needs. The directors at this co-operative aspire to touch a turnover of Rs. 120 crores, provide not just yarn but also garments to its customers and soon indulge in the printing business to make Choundeshwari a brand in itself.
“TFO from Saurer is our very strong recommendation”: RSB Cottex
RSB Cottex is a family venture spearheaded by Mr. Satish Somani and Mr. Naresh Rathi with half a century of expertise in the fields of cotton yarns, cotton trading and supplying. They set sail in the spinning business because they desired to expand their horizons in the textile industry. The spinning venture ensured a lot of deliberation and surveys ranging from north to south in India, but finally settled with a spinning mill in Ahmadabad.
When the mill was finally set up, it had 10,000 spindles and a decent production capacity which has now upgraded to 30,000 spindles and 20 tons per day of production capacity. They house LMW Ring Frame machines and Schlafhorst Link Corner machinery. RSB Cottex has its flawless reputation among consumers in different cities across three countries.
RSB Cottex is looking at consolidating all its processes and incorporating newer value additions. Additionally, there are plans to expand into the knitting business. While most of Gujarat is heading towards expansion in denim and digital printing segments, knitting is the field where RSB Cottex wants to try its luck.
RSB Cottex is known for its decision-making process and resultant choices. One such choice has been its association with Saurer for TFO. The Saurer TFOs with HD configuration are currently running at RSB Cottex Mill in Ahmedabad. Despite comparisons with the machinery of other brands, Saurer always continues to stand the test of power consumption scrutiny with enormous savings owing to power conservation while maintaining a high and consistent speed and quality. It recommends Saurer TFO to anyone who cares for energy conservation with superior quality of production.
Mr. Rajesh Bhatia, V.P., confirms that aftersales services are provided to RSB Cottex by Saurer and Soham Enterprises, agent of Saurer TFO, who have left no stone unturned in providing the right solutions and service support in the installation. Saurer TFO is slowly but steadily proceeding towards becoming the brand of choice.