160th office opened in Mumbai
Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global safety science company, is further strengthening its presence in India by aligning itself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India’. This is reflected in its ‘In India, For India’ outlook, wherein the attempt is to invest in people and infrastructure to create opportunities and drive business, among other efforts. This is better understood by the fact that UL is focusing on two areas – establishing a presence in unexplored locations and throwing open a gamut of testing facilities for apparel-textile players to scale up the quality quotient. These dual focus areas are expected to be the growth drivers.
UL is exploring newer markets and reinforcing its position in the existing ones in India. A move in this direction has been the establishment of the 160th office in Mumbai in July last to ensure a wider reach, especially from the delivery standpoint for customers in the western region. The office will play a significant role in helping the company meet its objective of enabling world-class manufacturing standards for various industries across the country, strengthening the reach and delivery process in the region.
“UL is focused towards expanding its services to new locations and markets in the country. Our recently opened office in Mumbai was an important step towards achieving this goal and we hope to continue with the same strength in future,” said Mr. Sarbajeet Mukherjee, General Manager – South Asia (Consumer Products), UL.
UL caters to clients from diverse locations, both locally and at the global level. It reaches out and provides services to various Tier-II cities in the country like Kanpur, Agra, Ahmedabad, Tirupur and Ludhiana, among other places.
Safety first
In an effort to improve quality and build credibility, textile companies are increasingly seeking out safety measures. This has worked favourably for UL. “With India’s apparel market growing fast, the testing industry is also growing. There is an increasing demand to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in the supply chain. In direct response to this need, textile companies are now looking out for efficient; cost-effective third party testing organizations that can enable them to meet the stringent international environmental standards and regulations,” added Mr. Mukherjee.
There is urgent need to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in the supply chain. In order to meet this requirement, UL has invested in building laboratory capabilities through its facilities in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Manesar. UL laboratories use recognized methods to test textile products for compliance to international, federal and regional regulations like AATCC, DIN, ISO, ASTM, GB, UNI and BS.
Already a hi-tech NABL accredited lab was set up in Gurgaon in 2013 for physical, performance and chemical testing and certification of products across verticals like textiles, garments, toys and leather goods. Sophisticated testing equipment like GC-MS, HPLC, ICP-MS, GC-ECD and UV-Vis are backed by functions like electromagnetic compatibility, sensory experience and product performance to execute the testing process. As for the textile testing lab, it evaluates the products and determines their ability to meet brand standards and consumer expectations for functionalities like quality, fit, comfort and durability.
UL verification services help manufacturers and retailers verify every aspect of the supply chain and production process from raw materials to retail delivery, certifying the products delivered to ensure that they are safe, socially responsible and compliant with the industry and brand specifications. The UL suite of offering includes development, fabric and production testing, manufacturing and social compliance audits and wash care verification, among others.
In its effort to help retailers and manufacturers verify every aspect of the value chain, the UL laboratories offer specialized testing services that extend to electrical testing and chemical and microbiological water testing. While pursuing the safety trail, UL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Water Quality India Association (WQIA) in August 2015. With this collaboration, UL will conduct product testing as per WQIA’s arrangements with its clients. This certification of products will be performed according to the WQIA Guide standard for microbiological evaluation of drinking water treatment units.
UL’s ‘In India, For India’ strategy extends to other aspects. One of the most important is that it engages with the relevant stakeholders to establish quality and standards in India, to make India a safer place. The company conducts children’s apparel risk assessments and verify care instructions and labeling claims. Apart from that, it conducts tests for special claims such as moisture management and anti-bacterial finish.
India specifics
Over the years, UL has collaborated with various customers in the textile sector across India. In simple terms, UL helps customers identify and correct product vulnerabilities throughout their production process. The services are in line with the development cycle of the textile supply chain. Yet they are flexible and can meet customers’ specific requirements.
“High fashion garments, predominantly from North India, is seeing an increasing demand over the years and this differentiate us from other countries like Bangladesh and China,” said Mr. Mukherjee.
Such specific orientation indicates that the domestic consumption as well as the export market holds promise for the textile industry. “The Indian textiles industry, which is currently estimated at around $108 billion, is expected to reach $141 billion by 2021,” he added
Coupled with this are the other highlights. It’s a known fact that India’s textile industry continues to be predominantly cotton based and is also the largest cotton producing nation with 31 million bales of production. This key factor distinguishes the Indian textile industry from the global competitors.
No doubt cotton continues to remain a favourite in many parts of the country and has fuelled the growth of different domestic brands; still several international synthetic-based brands have entered the market. This has boosted the retail sector. “The initiatives announced by the present government during the Budget 2014-2015 are expected to accelerate the development further. Nevertheless, a huge potential for India-Vietnam textile trade, non-compliance of a large number of factories in Bangladesh, changing demographics and rising incomes, among others, also provide India a big opportunity in view of its relative advantage,” concluded Mr. Mukherjee.
UL services to the textile and apparel industry include:
- Development, fabric and production testing
- Dimensional stability, durability and performance testing
- Quality inspections
- Manufacturing and social compliance audits
- Fiber content and levelling
- Flammability testing
- Colorfastness and lightfastness testing