TheIndian textile engineering industry, which is more than five decades old, isranked first among the capital goods sector of the engineering industry. Thetextile engineering industry has expanded rapidly and its annual installedcapacity is Rs.38, 000 million per annum, employing more than 50,000 workers.Though the utilisation of capacity has increased to 72% as compared to 55% inthe preceding year, there is ample scope for increasing the capacityutilisation.

Theentire range of textile machinery including the latest generation machines areproduced by the industry. Many units manufacturing textile machinery are undertechnical collaborations and some are both under technical and financialcollaborations facilitating transfer of updated and new technology to theIndian entrepreneurs. The latest technology thus obtained from abroad anddeveloped indigenously has enabled the industry to compete in the internationalmarkets both in quality and prices.

Thecontinuance of the economic reforms and the liberalisation in trade havefacilitated a number of foreign entrepreneurs to establish joint ventures inIndia both for production of textile machinery and equipments and to meet theneeds of export markets at competitive prices.

Theproduction of textile machinery and parts & accessories during the last sixyears is given below:

Thereare about 600 units in the industry manufacturing textile machinery,components, accessories and attachments and they are situated in importantcentres of India. The components and accessories sector is catering to therequirements of not only the leading Indian textile machinery manufacturers butalso of almost all composite and spinning mills.

Thissection of the industry consists of units of varying sizes. Spinning machinerycomponents and accessories like, spindles, rings, ring travelers, cots andaprons and weaving accessories like, reeds, healds, etc. are manufactured byand large by small and medium scale units on the basis of technology evolved bythemselves though some of the units started production under technicalcollaboration.

Inmost of the cases, the quality and standard of components and accessories producedin India has been accepted world wide. The very fact that as much as 45 to 50%of the total exports of the textile engineering industry is contributed byparts and accessories sector is a positive proof of this statement. Tosubstantiate, following is the statement of export of textile machinery, partsand accessories:

The components and accessories sector has shown remarkable resilience during the last 3 decades. It has moved in tandem with the progress of TEl. There is increased awareness of quality standards, product development and adherence to delivery schedule. Critical and sophisticated machinery parts and components are produced by these units either through collaborative assistance or developed locally.

The ancillary sector is equipped for catering to the needs of sophisticated components and electronic attachments besides meeting the requirements of spinning, weaving and processing sectors. Some units are much ahead of others in quality management since they have already obtained ISO 9000 accreditation and many others are in the process of getting such accreditation. More and more units in the components and accessories sectors have already obtained ISO 9000 accreditation. Further, as much as one-third of the production of parts and accessories of textile machinery is absorbed by the machine building industry.

This segment of the textile engineering industry is also making all-out efforts in upgrading its technology and improving engineering designs in order to further match the global standards. In this connection, I would like to point out the effective role being played by the Indian Textile Accessories & Machinery Manufacturers' Association (ITAMMA) in trying to work closely with various Research Organisations and Institutions. This will go a long way in helping this segment of the textile engineering industry to compete in the world market effectively. Moreover, the ancillary sector is equipped to catering to the needs of sophisticated components and electronic attachments besides meeting the requirements of spinning, weaving and processing sectors.

The industry is also taking special interest on export activities in thrust countries. The export of textile machinery and accessories is expected to exceed RS.525 crores during the year.

It would be pertinent to note that 80% of the export of parts and accessories comprise of spinning accessories like spindles, rings, ring travellers, cots & aprons and weaving accessories like reeds, healds, etc. The processing machinery parts & accessories and testing equipments account for the remaining 20% of export. The countries to which the parts and accessories are exported are as follows:

ITAMMA has opened Export Cell Centres in Ahmedabad, Mumbai Coimbatore and Northern India and because of regular interactions among units which are engaged in exports of textile machinery components and their teamwork has been developed and created global network.

In its quest to further improve the exports of components and accessories, ITAMMA has embarked upon in organising delegations visit to various countries. ITAMMA has taken delegations to Bangladesh, Vietnam & Thailand and Pakistan. ITAMMA is also creating ITAMMA Pavilions in various exhibitions in India and abroad. ITAMMA created a Pavilion in FTextech 2002E and FTextech 2005E held in Ludhiana in November, 2002 and November, 2005 respectively; in FITGME 2006E in Coimbatore in March, 2006 and in FBandung Intertex 2006E held in Bandung, Indonesia in June, 2006. Catalogue Shows were also held in F ITM 2006E in Istanbul, Turkey in June-July, 2006; in FTex Spares 2006E in Coimbatore in July, 2006 and also in Bhilwara in January, 2007.

ITAMMA is also planning to organise a Buyer-Seller Meet in South East Asian countries and has also taken initiative for technology upgradation through cluster development in order to bring its small and medium enterprises under one roof.

Furthermore, we are confident that India will be seen as a top outsourcing destination for textile machinery parts and accessories by leading textile machinery manufacturers and textile industry all over the globe in the near future which can be attributed mainly to the engineering capabilities of Indian manufacturers.

With the existing installed capacity and the initiatives taken by ITAMMA, the textile engineering industry in general and manufacturers of parts and accessories in particular will be able to meet fully the growing domestic and international demand for parts and accessories in the years to come.

About the Author:

The author is the President of Indian Textile Accessories & Machinery Manufacturers' Association (ITAMMA).