By Barry Goodwin, Managing Director, Amba Projex Ltd.
• Technical textiles are defined as textile materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic and decorative characteristics
Do you agree with the definition?
Consider this one:
• A technical textile is a textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes, where function is the only criterion.
And these:
• A technical textile is manufactured mainly from synthetic fibres and is usually a nonwoven
• Woven materials designed for specific applications requiring concrete and demanding properties
These definitions were found within a couple of minutes of searching on the Internet. There are many more just like it, take a look for yourself. Our organisation has been searching for a definition that fully encompasses what a technical textile really is for some time now, and we have not yet settled on a firm favourite. The definitions get even more interesting when you ask someone from the textile industry itself for his own personal definition. Normally after a long pause you get a carefully considered answer which is even more ridiculous than the statements made above. Try this for yourself.
India (and the rest of the world) is ripe with definitions just like these, and it is our mission to change this and give Indian millowners at the “coal face” the tools to make technical textiles from considered traditional textile materials. Millowners are the heartbeat of the textile industry in India, and they are considered the best in the world making traditional textiles and other finished articles.
We have been involved in the traditional and technical textile industry for over 30 years, and for some this career history will be beaten by several decades. However, we value the advice and input provided by the professionals we have been fortunate to partner over the years with these extra decades of experience, and we are keen to learn something new at every opportunity. As a result, we have gained a really good perspective of the industry as a whole having travelled all over the world installing machines and watching and observing the way different individuals and cultures operate. We used to improve the existing processes as well as hand holding in environments where new processes have been installed, helping millowners and entrepreneurs add value to what they do well already.
Our encounters have taken us to the US, Australia, Malaysia, Europe, South and North Africa, South America, China, and for the last 17 years India itself. We have helped many companies benefit, and now we feel the time is right for India.
Over the next few editions we will be suggesting ways in which conventional textiles can be transformed into what are considered technical textiles by the addition of relatively low cost improvements to existing processes or the purchase of stand-alone equipment.
This short article sits as a precursor to what is about to come.
Our definition of a technical textile is this:
• A technical textile can be woven or non-woven and combinations of both. It can be made up as a single or multiple-layer and can be produced as a composite or a coated and/or impregnated material. It can be made from any fibre yarn or filament of purely natural or synthetic origin or combination of the two types. It is not just defined based on its function or performance, nor its classification that it should not be produced for purely decorative and aesthetically pleasing end uses, or those considered traditional.
Under this definition it is relatively straightforward with the right guidance to turn everyday textile articles into those considered technical in the technical textiles arena. This includes a number of performance textiles on the market today that have been coated, impregnated and laminated to alter the properties of the “virgin textile” and to improve the overall performance and function of the finished products.
Why are we interested to do this and why a focus on India? With the demand for technical textiles increasing at a relatively fast pace, the government is predicting a 20 per cent annual growth for the next five years, and, if quantum change does not come soon for some companies their future does not look very bright.
The technical textiles segment, which is estimated to generate huge amounts in revenue per year, has already recorded 11-12 per cent growth in the last five years. However, the vast majority (upto 30 per cent) of the current requirement for technical textiles in India is being met through imports.
Technical textiles account for about 54 per cent of the global textile industry. Although well qualified to excel in this arena, India produces only less than 10 per cent of its textile production in this field. The potential market for technical textiles is huge. Couple this to the fact that the technical textiles sector is driven by enhanced profitability and that there is little by way of domestic competition, and you can understand why the savvy millowner is benefiting from getting involved in this industry and partnering Amba Projex.