Tapas Nandi
President and Country Head ITEMA Weaving (I) Pvt. Ltd
Legislation for use of geotextiles in road building, railway, combating soil erosion would help a lot
Tapas Nandi is President of ITEMA Weaving (India) Private Limited. He has done Masters Degree in Management after completion of Degree in Textile Technology. He is presently responsible for sales, service and marketing activity in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka for ITEMA. He has 23 years of experience in the Textile and Machinery industry. He has also presented technical papers in seminars, conferences and various institutions.
ITEMA Weaving (India) Private Limited was formed on 1st January 2008 by merging Sultex (India) Private Limited with Promatech Division of Itema India Ltd. to look after sales, service and spare parts business of Promatech (Somet and Vamatex products), Sultex (Products) and Itema Shanghai assembled weaving machines. The merger has given synergy in sales and service activities of the company, which will benefit all the customers of Sultex, Vamatex and Somet.
How do you foresee the outlook of Technical Textiles Industry in India in 2012- 2013?
There is no doubt that the outlook of Technical Textiles future in India is bright. With growth of economy, improved lifestyles, concern for safety and with focus on infrastructure development the demand of technical textiles is bound to increase in the country. Although the growth and investment so far was below the expectation, however it is going to increase in the medium to long term. The year 2012-2013 will definitely see more focus and investment in this sector, which is going to pay back faster than conventional textiles. Moreover, Technical textiles sector does not face slow down with recession as the applications are mainly in Infrastructure or for safety requirement.
What are the applications being focused by ITEMA group? What new technologies are being offered by your group in this field?
ITEMA has strong presence in world market with its proven technology for manufacturing woven technical fabrics. We offer solution for Geotextiles, Geogrid, Agrotextiles, Fabrics for special filtration, Coated fabrics, Glass fabrics etc. Our Projectile technology up to 6.55 meter width is widely used for Agro and Geotextiles. We have Rapier and Airjet for many other fabrics required to produce technical fabrics for various applications.
Joint Ventures seem to be the current trend worldwide. What is your view on technology transfer from developed economies to developing economies?
I think JVs are must to succeed in Technical Textiles, particularly when you do not have expertise in manufacturing and also requirement for application. It is different ball game, unlike commodity textiles where whatever you produce there are some customers who will buy. It is not easy to get technology transferred from Developed economies, as they do not want to loose their grip in this field. Remember, with modern technology there is no factor such as cheap labour, which helps in manufacturing economically. Global players are looking at demand in India, which is growing. They want to enter into this market and would like to tie up with genuine players who are ready to invest and co-operate with the foreign players.
What are the missing links for India in this field? Any recommendations to policy makers for enhancing the investment in this sector?
I believe Government is doing its bit through awareness program, investment in research and nodal testing centres and subsidy through TUFS. I believe some legislation for application of Geotextiles in Road building, Railway projects and in combating soil erosion would help a lot. Lack of expertise in marketing and application of Technical Textiles is also responsible for less investment. However, we can overcome these weaknesses once we start using more and more technical fabrics.
Any expectations from the forthcoming budget for this industry?
TUFS facility should be extended for Investment in Technical Textiles particularly for new machines and Technology. We cannot compete with other countries like China with old and junk machines. Bringing legislation for compulsory uses of Technical Fabrics in certain areas will give further boost to this industry.
Published on: 25/01/2012
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
