EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES TECHNICAL TEXTILES

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Lizbeth Hodges
6 years ago
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1 EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES IN TECHNICAL TEXTILES

2 At the outset, I would like to thank Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation Limited for inviting me to speak at a Seminar on Emerging Opportunities in Technical Textiles in Rajasthan. It is always a pleasure to participate in a function in the Home State, and that too the one organized by a State Government Agency, which played a leading role in establishment of blended yarn spinning segment in Rajasthan, among other industries. Before I introduce you the word of Technical Textiles, which I have been asked to do, I would like to briefly touch upon the present status of the textile industry... Shri R.L. Toshniwal CMD - Bansawra Syntex Ltd.

3 Asallofyouknow, Iamconnectedwith thetextileindustry for nearly60years. IwenttostudyTextiles intheyear1950.it was themostprominentindustryin1950 s,andin1960 s, India had attained 20% of the country share in the textiles. On account of various Government regulations,theindustrysufferedthemost,andwas reduced from20%to2.5%of theworld tradein 1990 s. In the year 2001, it was then the Technological Upgradation Funds Scheme was introduced, to bring newinvestments inthetextileindustry.undertufs,5%subsidywasgiventoallalong with10% years repayment period. This has brought in new investments in Textile Industry of more than Rs. 1 Lac Crore, and the Industry has again become vibrant. Of course, even then, the Government s regulations were disturbing the Industry in many ways. In the recent past, Government has allowed lot of cotton to be exported out of the country, and this has brought once again problems to the Textile Industry. Fortunately, Government has realized this mistake, and regulated the cotton export to some extent.

4 The Industry is once again becoming vibrant. At this juncture, the TUF has been taken away, which has resulted into lot of problems in the Industry. I do hope that Government will bring back the TUF urgently, and will help in bringing the Textile Industry to its past glory and future growth. Iwouldliketofocus ontheproducts namelytechnicaltextiles.thingsaregoingtochangeonaccount of high technology segments, and Government s attention to promote Technical Textiles. To put it in different words, like IT Industry, Technical Textiles is also belonging to new economics using new age technology and applications, and is a charming world with full of opportunities for those who are technologically well equipped to come forward in the field of Technical Textiles. Everyone in the august gathering is aware to some extent what is Technical Textiles. In fact, if one tries to define Technical Textiles, there is every possibility that there could be a slip here and there. To understand the subject better, I venture to define Technical Textiles as textile materials and products, manufactured for technical performance and functional properties, rather than normal apparel use, bed linen or decoration use. Based on the characteristics of the products, functional requirements and end-use, Technical Textile products have been classified into 12 segments as follows :

5 Agro tech Agri cul ture, horticulture a nd forestry GEO tech Geotextiles, ci vil engineering BUILD tech Bui lding a nd construction HOME tech Components of furniture, household textiles and floor coverings CLOTH tech Technical components of s hoes and cl othing INDU tech Filtration, cleaning and other industrial usage

6 MEDI tech Hygiene and medical PACK tech Packaging MOBIL tech Automobiles, shipping, railways and aerospace PRO tech Personal and property protection OEKO tech Environmental protection SPORT tech Sport and leisure

7 Some of the common products of technical textiles are seat-belts, airbags, nylon tier cord fabrics, seat covers, car-body covers, automobile interiors carpets, helmets, insulation felts, sanitary napkins, diapers, surgical dressings, healthcare textiles, footwear components, sleeping bags, balloning fabrics, parachute fabrics, fire-retardant fabrics, fire-retardant upholstery, ballistic protective clothing, bullet-poof jackets, hoses, ropes, dry belts, computer ribbons, battery separators, filters, decatising cloth, bolting cloth, applications in construction industry, shoe laces, narrow-width fabrics, hoardings, awnings, canvas, tarpaulin, etc. To put the things in different perspective, Technical Textiles could be broadly classified into 4 categories. The purpose of making this classification is to throw light on the growth prospects of Technical Textiles, to which I shall refer after some time.

8 The 4 broad categories are as follows: Usageinthe fieldofmeditech Usage for Protective purposes Usage due to deep inroads into the Construction industry Usage for Industries purposes

9 Meditech Usage due to improved economic condition in the field of Meditech like diapers, hygiene products, swaps, cloth tissues, disposable napkins, hospital care products, personal care products, etc.

10 Protective purposes Usage for protective purposes like fireretardant fabrics for upholstery, curtain and bullet-proof jackets, etc.

11 Construction industry Usage due to deep inroads into the construction industry because of marvels of technological excellence. Technical Textiles are being increasingly used in the construction of airports, flyovers, bridges, walls of the building, waterfront walls, construction of roads, etc. The applications of geo-synthetics are mindboggling, and new areas are being identified for use of Technical Textiles in replacement of traditional materials.

12 Industries Purpose Usage for industrial purposes, like filtration, packaging, conveyor belts, fabrics for tyre manufacture, etc.

13 Technical Textiles and its market TheworldmarketforTechnicalTextilesisestimatedat24 billionkg,valuedatus$ 127 Billion and has a healthy growth rate. Amongst all the segments of the Technical Textiles, Mobiltech, Indutech, Sporttech - are the more prominent ones, which collectively account for 56% of the global market size. Technical Textiles account for 40% of textile consumption in many developed countries, which is another indicator of how the Technical Textiles have captured the market. The total likely market size in India was estimated at Rs 220 Billion in , and this was then revised to Rs 418 Billion in As on date, there are 3000 units manufacturing Technical Textiles in the country, of which about 90% are in the SME Sector. The present total production may be only about 20% of the requirement, and thus, there is a huge demand gap for setting up Technical Textiles.

14 Government Support Government has identified Technical Textiles as a major thrust area for growth and expansion. The major components of Government support are: Under TUFS, a provision has been made for grant of interest subsidy reimbursement at 5% on specific Technical Textile machinery and additional benefit of 10% as upfront capital subsidy in respect of selected items of machinery. Government also gives duty credit scripequivalent to 2% offob value of exportsto promote export of Technical Textile products under the Focus Product Scheme. Government has also set up 4 Centres of Excellence for provision of support / infrastructure to manufacturers of technical textiles at one place. The Centres are:

15 Centres of Excellence BRTA and ATIRA for Geo-Tech SASMIRA and MANTRA for Agro-Tech NITRA and IIT-Delhi for Pro-Tech SITRA for Medi-Tech

16 Centres of Excellence (Contd.) There are numerous types of specialty fibres required for the manufacture of Technical Textiles. Currently, such specialty fibres are not being produced indigenously. Government has appreciated that to well entrench the Technical Textile Industry in the Country, such specialty fibres should be made available domestically, at least those fibres, which will have large consumption. Hence, Government has under its consideration a two-prong attack. The Government is considering the introduction of a Special Incentive Package for the setting up of manufacturing facilities in the Country to strengthen the raw material base, ie: specialty fibres.

17 Centres of Excellence (Contd.) Customs duty CVD on speciality fibres, which have no indigenous angle, may be abolished. The incentives under TUFS may be substantially liberalized particularly capital subsidy. In the realm of non-fiscal measures, support will come through standardization of specific segments of Technical Textiles. Government has also supported in the setting up of All India Association of Technical Textiles, which is a joint forum of the Industry and Government to discuss the issues facing the Industry and to find solutions for the same. A Technology Mission on TechnicalTextilesis beingsetupandthis willgive abigboosttothe industry.

18 Centres of Excellence (Contd.) The industry on its part has been repeatedly requesting Government to make enactments for compulsory use of fire retardant fabrics in hotel industry, cinema halls, and other public Institutions. Road building should use geo-textiles, as its specification in the PWD Contracts. Where the application of Technical Textiles is useful for the Nation, it can be made by Law, and this will increase the use of Technical Textiles. Statutory support from Government will go a long way to promote Technical Textiles in India. Equally important is the need to hold buyers-sellers meet. Since technical textile is a nascent industry and its products are just being introduced in the country, it is necessary that the user industry should be enlightened on the plus points of Technical Textiles, which will induce the user-industries to switch over to Technical Textiles in a big way.

19 POTENTIAL FOR TECHNICAL TEXTILES ThesignalsgivenbyGovernmentare quitestrongandit isclearthatthetechnical textile movement is not a ripple, but has the potential to become a major industrial segment of the country. The improved economic conditions in the country will generate a good demand for Meditech, while the increased concerns for fire accidents and aggression of terrorists will boost demand for Protech. The industrialization of the country will generate more demand for Indutech and Packtech, while parameters likecost consideration, longer life etc. will promote the usage in Builtech and Geotech.

20 TECHNICAL TEXTILES IN RAJASTHAN Technical Textiles uses largely Synthetic Yarn and Synthetic Fibres. Rajasthan is not alien to man-made fibres. Rajasthan was the first State in the Country to promote Blended Yarn Industry in a big way, which has resulted as Bhilwara being the largest Centre for production of suiting material, and today, it is producing nearly 80 Million meters per month of such material. If this story is repeated for Technical Textiles in Rajasthan, Rajasthan may become one of the leading States to produce Technical Textiles.

21 TECHNICAL TEXTILES IN RAJASTHAN (Contd.) How this canhappen? Inmy view,one of the ways to promote the Industry is to make investment easy and attractive. When I say easy, the Government should come forward for venture capital by way of equity participation for Unites going in for Technical Textiles. When I say remunerative, the Government should come forward with interest subsidy of 5% from the State Government fortheperiodoffirst5years.thiswill helpinmakingthe Industry viable. In the first 2 to 3 years, it will be a struggle for such Industry, as the market for Technical Textiles needs to be self-developed.

22 TECHNICAL TEXTILES IN RAJASTHAN (Contd.) Other fiscal benefits such as State Electricity Duty, Sales Tax Exemption, etc, may alsobegivenforthe first5 years. This is not goingto cost muchto the State Government, but it will bringin long term benefits to the State. Rajasthan has already taken some lead in Technical Textiles. Rajasthan Spinning & Weaving Mills Limited in their Bhilwara Melba Units is already producing 50% of fabrics being used in the Automobile Industry in the Country.

23 TECHNICAL TEXTILES IN RAJASTHAN (Contd.) My own Units (Banswara Group) have taken a lead in producing Foul Water Fabrics for use inthe highaltitude where winds are strongfor protectionof Arm Forces. We have also started producing high quality Laminated Jacquard fabrics for Ladies Hand Bags. We are in the process of putting up Sport Textiles in our Plants at Banswara. Since 90% of the Technical Textiles is inthe SME Sectors,and Rajasthanexcels in the SME Sectors, I am sure, Government will accept my suggestions of Equity Participation, and interest free subsidy for the first 5 years, and many new Investors will come forward for the same.

24 TECHNICAL TEXTILES IN RAJASTHAN (Contd.) To sum up, Technical Textile Segment in India, in Rajasthan in particular, has tremendous potential to attract investment and is expected to register a promising growth. At my age, if I have ventured into Technical Textiles, at the younger age, it should be entirely attractive for people to come up in Technical Textiles. I wish every success to all those who aspire to become manufacturers of Technical Textiles, and start their Plants in Rajasthan.

25 Thank you!

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