FW
Pakistan president Mamnoon Hussain has called upon cotton growing countries to collectively address issues and problems related to cotton industry and strengthen global cotton economy. He said this while addressing delegates of 75th Plenary Meeting of International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).The country’s minister for commerce Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan and Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, minister for National Food Security and Research were present on the occasion.
Hussain said volatility of cotton prices in the international market, technological gap between developed and developing countries, pricing issues in textile industry and complex matters such as branding in the trading world were some of the challenges being faced by cotton industry and called for joint efforts to address these problems. The president said cotton industry has great significance for Pakistan as 60 per cent of country's foreign exchange depended on this sector and it was also a step for providing employment to skilled and unskilled workforce.
He said Pakistan had made unprecedented progress in areas of cotton production and industry over the past few decades and was looking forward to cooperate with the committee for growth and promotion of cotton industry for the benefit of growers and manufacturers. The president noted that during the last few decades extraordinary changes had occurred in cotton crop and related industries, adding that new varieties of cotton were introduced which has changed techniques from cotton cultivation to production. It was imperative to understand and adapt to these changes and prepare ourselves for future innovations, he emphasized.
In Nigeria, textile manufacturing is a key local industry, supported by a chain of suppliers such as cotton growers and natural dye makers. However, traditional methods of dyeing fabrics are threatened by cheap imports from abroad. Nigerians have a love of naturally dyed fabrics with many prints based on traditional motifs. In northern regions, it is common for cloth to be a single color, such as indigo. Dyers use dye-pits (two or three meters deep). The cloth is left in these for a day or two, before being rinsed and left to dry. Sometimes, indigo cloth is beaten and given an extra coating of indigo powder to give a deeper shade and a glossy shine or sheen.
Nigeria's textile industry used to be the third largest in Africa. But now the country spends about 100 billion naira annually on importing clothing materials. If half of this could be made locally, the drain of foreign exchange could be stopped. Jobs could be created. Buying home made goods can stimulate the domestic economy.
Leadership failed to sustain the manufacturing and textile industries when the country discovered oil. A return to agriculture and manufacturing could enable Nigeria come out of recession. Once industries are back, Nigeria could be not just an investment destination but also a job destination.
Grasim Industries registered a strong financial performance in the September quarter. In the last 18 months, the company has been working with value chain participants to increase the use of viscose staple fiber in garments. Being a fiber manufacturer, it has a disconnect with the garment industry. However, things are changing as Grasim is helping the textile industry launch new fashion lines using viscose staple fiber.
The company plans to invest about Rs 4,500 crores this fiscal including cement projects. It will be investing Rs 500 crores to increase caustic capacity by 2.08 lakh tons per annum to 10.48 lakh tons per annum through brownfield expansion at Gujarat and debottlenecking at other plants.
The board has agreed to distribute 25 to 45 per cent of the company’s profit as dividend per year. A broad range on dividend payout has been approved as payout to investors depend on various factors including company’s performance, cash flow, growth opportunities, capital expenditure and overall liquidity position.
The company has drawn an ambitious growth plan and expects demand for viscose staple fiber to grow. Demand for this fiber is expected to grow five per cent globally and in India it expected to register double-digit growth because of its varied application.
The 2nd edition of Gartex, India’s complete garment manufacturing solutions show would be held from July 29 to 31, 2017 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. First Gartex 2016 had received an overwhelming response from both exhibitors and visitors alike and succeeded in creating a useful platform for focused industry interaction and profitable business dealings.
Targeted visitors of Gartex include garment exporters, garment manufacturers, fashion designers, apparel industry professionals, home textile players, textile printing companies, sports and apparel manufacturers, buying houses among others who can directly profit from the huge industry turnout in a matter of just three days.
Hosting the industry’s most important players along with new and emerging companies, visitors are provided with immense business opportunities to explore the Indian garment textile market. Visitors can benefit from (a) face-to-face interactions with leading companies, (b) witness new product launches before they hit the market, (c) get hands-on experience of machinery and end products, (d) Find a comprehensive product showcase that meets every sourcing need and (5) Gain market knowledge through interactions on the show floor.
Gartex 2017 will cover 65,000 sq. ft. area and more than 150 companies from all across India and overseas are expected to participate. The show will incorporate Digitex- An exclusive show on digital textile printing technology. Gartex provides a platform for visitors from all over India to meet their sourcing goals from varied manufacturers, dealers, distributors and suppliers from different regions of India. The last edition saw visitors from over 140 cities find the right business opportunities at the 3-day show.
DyStar has bought three specialty chemical units of Emerald Performance Materials. The three units are Carolina Chemical, Hilton Davis, and Foam Control. DyStar will integrate all three specialty businesses and manufacturing sites into its US business platform. Emerald Performance Materials is a US company and a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals for the consumer and industrial markets.
The acquisition will strengthen DyStar’s position as a specialty chemical manufacturer in the USA as well as build a diversified product portfolio to launch on its global platform. By combining the businesses, DyStar will add a broad range of products to its portfolio to service multi-national retail brands and consumer brands. This will provide a more balanced business in strategic segments ensuring the long term growth and profitability of DyStar.
Emerald produces and markets technologically advanced specialty chemicals for a broad range of consumer and industrial applications. Its products play a variety of roles in products that are consumed and used every day enabling them to last longer, look, smell, taste or perform better. Emerald products are used in aerospace, food, beverages, cosmetics, toothpaste, household products, paint, automobiles, sports gear and many other applications. Emerald has three business groups, six operations and approximately 700 employees.
A collection by Dutch designer and former Viktor & Rolf intern Anbasja Blanken featured luminescent denim inspired by the sea. So appealing was the winning collection at the Global Denim Awards (GDA) that it stole the spotlight without competition in Amsterdam. The collection was embellished with decadent fringe, laser cut prints, pearls, 3-D floral ornaments and embroidery woven with glow in the dark threads. For the competition, Blanken and ITV took on the challenge to create denim pieces that could light themselves.
The event’s sponsor e3 Cotton awarded Blanken with a prize of €10,000. The collection will be exhibited at Kingpins Shows in New York City and Hong Kong, before returning to Holland for Amsterdam Denim Days 2017.
GDA also honoured India-based Arvind Mill with the Best Fabric Award. The Khadi fabrics used in designer Roosmarijn Koster’s collection of bomber jackets and tracksuits were fully handspun and hand-woven in India. In this, Koster used only two colors: natural cotton and indigo.
Having fully recognized the significance of FTA with the European Union (EU) and the advantages it holds for India, the Ministry of Textiles is constantly in touch with the Ministry of Commerce for signing an FTA with the EU to boost trade especially in the textile sector. This was revealed by secretary, ministry of textiles, Rashmi Verma. Addressing industry leaders at Texcon 2016, a two-day international conference on textiles and apparel organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, Verma revealed that while Bangladesh enjoys preferential treatment and tax benefits for textile exports, India has greater competitive advantage in terms of environmental compliances. As countries of the European Union attach huge importance to environmental compliances, India stands to gain over Bangladesh.
The Indian textile industry is at a turning point. While on one hand, China’s export growth in textiles is on the decline, India, which is riding on cost advantage, has its prominent role in international textile trade. India is also amongst a few selected countries that have the entire value chain within the country. Further, following the true spirit of federal competitiveness, several states are coming out with their own policy and incentives scheme for the textile sector. This augurs well with the aim to make India a leading global player in the textile sector. Roll-out of the GST would also greatly help in streamlining the tax structure and improve compliance, Verma added.
The secretary appealed to the industry to take full advantage of the special package announced by the government for the textile sector. She also pointed out that industry needs to increasingly focus on innovation, modernisation and technological advancement to become the world leader in the textile sector.
Bangladesh will host a Denim Expo from November 8 to 9, 2016. The event expects to see about 5,000 visitors, including buyers, brand representatives, CEOs, sourcing managers, manufacturers, merchandiser and denim lovers from the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, China and rest of the world.
The show will gather 55 exhibitors from 16 countries, who will present products of the entire denim supply chain, ranging from fabrics to finishes. Bangladesh Denim Expo will present natural fabrication, natural manufacturing of jeans and natural washes. The show’s trend area will display a series of trends and fits inspired by natural manufacturing techniques and fabrics.
The show, managed by a non-profit organization aiming at improving the denim culture in the country, will focus on spring/summer 2018 trends and will focus on the theme of natural denim, analyzing the themes of sustainability and innovation in the denim industry.
Four seminars will present opinions and experiences of international and national experts of the global denim supply chain. One of these seminars will be about how to choose less harmful denim washing techniques. Another seminar will focus on the improvement of the unit economics of the readymade garment manufacturing industry. A total of 4,000 visitors from 43 countries visited the earlier edition of Bangladesh Denim Expo held in April 2016.
Signaling the revival of textile and garments industry, Arvind has announced the sale of a 10 per cent stake in its brand business subsidiary, Arvind Lifestyles, at a valuation of Rs 7,400 crores last month. This move has renewed interest in the textile and garment industry. Even after a 19-per cent rally, the market capitalisation of Arvind, currently stands at around Rs 10,800 crore.
With this deal, Arvind could be one of the few exceptions when industrialists are shying away from making new investments. Arvind’s chairman, Sanjay Lalbhai said there is enormous potential for growth in India’s textiles sector which they were trying to tap through investment in technology, brands, IPR (intellectual property rights), etc. Arvind’s major focus will continue to be investing in change rather than just setting up manufacturing capacities. Besides the said areas, Arvind will invest in technical textiles and the digital space.
Growing consumption and the government’s announcement on supporting a revival in the sector are driving optimism. The Indian textile sector is looking up. It has seen a major overhaul mainly because of several measures taken by the government for its revival, said Kavita Gupta, Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles. Besides the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) the government announced in January this year, a special package on garment units with production and employment-linked benefits was announced in June 2016. This will aid the textile sector immensely, Gupta said.
The financials of textiles and garment companies are improving over the past three quarters till June 2016 (see chart). In the September quarter, Arvind posted a 20 per cent increase in net profit, excluding exceptional items at Rs 78 crore. Revival of the textile and garments industry is important as it contributes 14 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), four per cent of industrial production and 13 per cent of merchandise export. The textile industry is the second-largest employer after agriculture, and employs 45 million people, including unskilled women.
In order to cater to growing demand of consumers in the shortest possible time and least cost, several companies have collaborated to produce a Microfactory. The project is slated to be a step in the direction of Industry 4.0 which will be fully digitised. Alexander Artschwager of the DITF Denkendorf, Microfactory project coordinator, reveals with Microfactory for the apparel industry, one can demonstrate a fully networked, integrated production chain from design through to the finished product. This consistent digital process is a particularly important milestone for the fashion industry on its way to Industry 4.0. The technology approach of Microfactory combines 3D simulation of apparel directly with the production, pointing the way to the future of apparel manufacturing. The Microfactory saves time, because it brings together individual production steps into one place and reduces material consumption. The quality of the design is increased, especially in the case of complex products and fabric designs, and it also opens the door to customer-oriented production.
Reducing cost effectively
Interfaces now exist between the products of 11 companies.
The concept passed its practical test impressively at the Texprocess and the Munich Fabric Start and was a real attraction for visitors at both trade fairs. Andreas Seidl, CEO, Human Solutions Group, stated in Munich, the consortium reflected it’s possible to produce an individualised shirt in less than four hours. The Group’s subsidiary Assyst enables the entry into the digital process with its 3D simulation software Vidya. Production starts with an individual design. The customer designs his shirt, can examine it from all sides and alter it if necessary before the production process begins. Now it’s the turn of the Color Management of Caddon for the next step. The company has developed a bridge that closes the gap between design and production. The technology of the specialist colour and printing company captures colour samples of fabrics multi-spectrally, so that the metrological proof and the visually-correct colour display form an inseparable unit that cannot be manipulated. The 3D simulation and the 2D textile printing, which is achieved a little later, have exactly the same visual appearance. At the trade fairs, the designs were optimally positioned on the fabric with the ErgoSoft RIP V15, screened in true colour and printed on polyester and cotton. Cutting was carried out using a camera-supported process, followed by immediate sewing or welding.
