Ashish M Amin
CEO Premier Looms Manufacturers Pvt Ltd
We kept pace with changing markets
Premier Looms is a leading provider of cutting-edge machinery and equipment for the textiles industry. The company provides a wide range of machines such as TFOs, two-for-one twisters for spun and filament, servo cops winders, rapier looms, auto-shuttle change looms and deluxe looms. Ashish M Amin, CEO, shares details about the latest market trends about the weaving industry.
Tell us briefly about your company.
Initial business operations were started in 1973 by Mulchandbhai S Amin, our chairman. This company, i.e. Premier Looms Manufacturers Pvt Ltd, was started in 1991. Amin had a cotton yarn business in Malegaon, Maharashtra. He shifted to Surat and initially started a foundry unit (Shiva Engineering), which became famous for its product quality, product development and innovations (specifically, it established a benchmark for supply of iron and graded castings.) Later, the powerloom manufacturing unit was set up. Eventually, we expanded to three factories as our business growth had a 6X jump in a short span. We pioneered the use of CNC machining in this sector. Owing to our product quality, we became the market leaders in powerlooms. We also kept pace with the changing market, by manufacturing rapier looms, to lead the technology upgradation initiative in this sector.
How has the weaving industry in India evolved over the years?
The weaving industry has seen new entrants from other business communities, who are aggressively modernising and expanding.
Which are your major markets for rapier, waterjet and shuttle looms?
Surat and some Asian and African countries are our major markets.
Which regions in India are investing in rapier and waterjet technologies?
Surat has been leading the race.
Has Surat's textile industry recovered from the aftermath of GST and demonetisation?
Not completely. Weaving units and traders seem to have been affected the most.
Which kinds of weaving machines are in demand in the domestic and export markets?
There is demand for both shuttleless looms (e.g. rapier, waterjet, airjet) as well as shuttle looms.
What are the challenges that the machinery manufacturers in Surat face?
Cheap Chinese imports of reconditioned machines pose challenges for machinery manufacturers.
What is your production capacity? Where do you source raw material from?
We can manufacture a few thousand machines every month. Raw material is sourced domestically as well as internationally.
How have the last two fiscals fared and what is the target for the next two?
Last two fiscals have been challenging due to demonetisation, GST etc. However, we are aggressively targeting growth.
What are the top HR practices followed at your company?
We give opportunity for learning, autonomy and growth to our people. We try to attract suitable talents through various options. We take care to reward and retain high-performance employees. We encourage youngsters and freshers too. We demand the best from our people.
What are your expansion plans?
We are launching different models and versions of weaving machines and increasing their sales.(HO)
Published on: 13/07/2018
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.
