FW
Cordura has developed a range of fibers designed primarily for the development of durable high viscose knitted and woven fabrics. These will be showcased at Techtextil, Germany, May 4 to 7, 2015. The high tenacity polyester fiber range is air-jet textured for enhanced abrasion resistance and tensile and tear strength.
Finished Cordura fabrics made using these qualifying fibers can be printed, laminated or used in uncoated forms and are suited for products such as outdoor clothing, high performance sportswear and safety footwear. The fabric collection features a range of rugged, comfort flex solutions. Cordura Classic 500D nylon 6,6 fabrics combine excellent abrasion resistance with the stretch recovery performance of lycra fiber and find application in high performance apparel such as work wear reinforcement and motorcycle garments.
The Nyco fabric is based on an intimate blend of cotton and Invista’s T420 nylon 6.6 fiber. It offers comfortable durability in military and tactical uniforms while providing abrasion resistance and no melt no drip thermal protective performance.
For more than 45 years, Cordura fabrics have provided enhanced protection, durability, and comfort. The goal is to help provide high performance, protective solutions that inspire designers and product developers to create functional solutions for their customers.
www.cordura.com/
The polyester chain witnessed another bout of price advances in the week ended April 24. Polyester staple fiber and filament yarn prices zoomed past or almost at par with the previous high seen in the last week of November 2014.
This time the price push came from demand side rather than the cost side. Also helping were the rounds of maintenance shutdown in the upstream industry. Added to these factors were a couple of fire breakouts at petrochemical plants in China that feed the polyester industry.
In India, producers held stable offers amid limited enquiries as downstream have stocked up raw material while in Pakistan prices were basically stable and transactions followed up marginally.
Filament yarn producers also raised offers amid bullish sentiment as traders, holding cautious outlook, avoided purchasing in large volumes. In India, partially oriented yarn prices were unchanged amid modest trading as producers were producing for their own use. In Pakistan, draw texture yarn prices were stable amid modest trading. Downstream buying was mainly on rigid demand.
In the upstream, Asian ethylene prices rose for the twelfth consecutive week led by Southeast Asia where spot supply was tighter compared with north east Asia. European ethylene prices too rose on tight supply.
Welspun India has reported a 97.39 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended on March 31, 2015. Total consolidated income also increased 15.26 per cent during the quarter under review. Consolidated total income from operation increased 21.25 per cent in financial year 2014-2015.
The firm had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 81.75 crores during the January to March quarter of the last fiscal. The company's focus on innovation as well as strategic partnership with its clients has helped it increase its market share.
One of its key focus areas in the coming year will be the domestic market through its brands Spaces and Welhome. Welspun is the third largest home textiles company globally. It’s the trusted and preferred supplier to 14 of the top 30 global retail giants like Wal-Mart, J C Penney, Target and Macy’s.
The company’s board has recommended a final dividend at the rate of 75 per cent (Rs 7.50 per share), taking the total dividend for the year to 105 per cent (Rs 10.50 per share).
www.welspunindia.com/
Ethiopia is aiming to be a major exporter of textile products. Attractive incentive packages have been extended to the manufacturing industry. The aim is to be a leading country in light manufacturing in Africa, which will lay the foundation for heavy and high tech industries by 2025.
The country is building at least 10 industrial zones. The government has provided incentives for the private sector to attract more investment. Among the incentives are: 100 per cent duty free import of machinery and equipment; duty free import of spare parts of 15 per cent of capital goods for the first five years of operation; the possibility to hire expatriates free from income tax provided they stay for no more than two years; and reconciliation of VAT for materials purchased locally during the project period if declared in six months.
The textile industry has been given priority by the government. However, the sector's performance has not been satisfactory. Annual earnings from export do not exceed a $100 million. The sector has also been affected by shortage of raw materials, inefficiency and lack of technological applications.
The earthquake that struck Nepal has affected Bangladesh. Accord the European-led retailers' group is conducting an impact assessment on 200 vulnerable garment factories with which it does business after the tremor hit the country.
The Accord assessment is aimed at determining if the factories that are producing garment items for its affiliated companies have been structurally affected by the quake. All 11 Accord structural engineers are in the field doing immediate impact inspections at approximately 200 factories, deemed structurally most vulnerable from initial inspections.
Accord will integrate additional new safety hazards with the corrective action plan for the factory and do the corresponding support and verification work. The group has requested factories, which underwent inspection, to determine if the earthquake has caused any structural damage to the buildings. It has formally communicated to owners of inspected factories, requesting them to report the impact of the earthquake on their building and on any precautionary measures or investigations they have done since.
The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.8 on the Richter scale. Its intensity in Bangladesh was lower, about 4 to 5 on the intensity scale. However the Nepal earthquake triggered major tremors in Bangladesh as the earth plates are interconnected.
Janis Sammartino, District Court Judge in San Diego, US, has ruled that a trial can move forward in a case filed by Louise Clark against Citizens of Humanity, a denim label, and Macy’s. The ruling is making California apparel makers think twice about how they use their ‘Made in USA’ labels. Whether apparel makers should adhere to a more stringent California law when labeling their garments as ‘Made in USA’ or refer to more-liberal federal regulations is the center of the lawsuit. The judge ruled that the two regulations can co-exist and denied the defendants’ request to have the case be dismissed.
Los Angeles law firm Browne George Ross LLP’s Attorney Peter Ross, while representing Citizens of Humanity and Macy’s, said he hasn’t determined what the next step will be in the case.
On May 31, Clark, a La Jolla school teacher, said she purchased a pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans at a Macy’s store in San Diego. She maintains in court documents that she suffered an ‘injury in fact’ because her money was taken by the blue-jeans company as a result of the false ‘Made in USA’ claims even though the garment was cut and sewn in California out of imported fabric and components. She also suffered because she genuinely believed the blue jeans were manufactured in the United States when they were not, court documents said.
California’s more stringent ‘Made in USA’ rules stipulate that if any fabric, trim or component in the garment is substantially made outside the USA, no matter how small that component, then the label must identify all imported components, such as, ‘Made in the USA of Imported Fabric and Components’.
Bangladeshi garment exporters are set to take part in the international exhibition for textile machinery in Italy to be held in November, where global textile industry leaders will discuss the latest technology, products and services.
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and garment exporters have a unique scope to explore new avenues to expand their client base as well as attract foreign investors. ITMA has been the world’s most established textile and garment machinery exhibition since 1951. Over the years, it has been a catalyst for change and competitiveness for the industry. The drive towards sustainability in the entire textile and garment value chain is increasingly integrated with enlightened business practices, and innovative technology holds the key to environmental sustainability.
The main purpose of the exhibition is to introduce modern and the latest machinery to potential entrepreneurs and investors. It is held every four years. Manufacturing institutions and importers are introduced to the latest machines, which they can buy from the exhibition. Bangladesh wants to use developed modern technology so as to achieve vision 2021 of exporting 50 million dollars of readymade garments.
The exhibition will play a vital role since scarcity of fuel is the main barrier facing manufacturers in Bangladesh. So they can turn to energy saving technology which will be displayed at the exhibition.
www.itma.com/
Responding to the demand made by country’s textile industry, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has decided to release more cotton into the domestic market and put its plan to float a global tender for sale of cotton on the back burner. According to CCI CMD BK Mishra, the government agency has decided not to go ahead with the plans for global tender for cotton sale since the domestic market is picking up. CCI has been placing 50,000 bales on a daily basis for the past 10 days on board for e-auction and around 80-90% of this has been picked up by mills, he said.
CCI has decided to increase the quantity of cotton for sale on board to 75,000 bales a day. On Monday, of 75,000 bales placed for auction, buyers picked up around 61,000 bales. CCI has so far sold around 7 lakh bales in the domestic market.
According to Mishra, global tender is likely to result in panic in the domestic market and could send out a wrong message. He had earlier said that CCI does not intend to offload huge stocks immediately, as it could worsen an already glut-like situation in the market and hurt realisations of farmers selling cotton. The agency is holding stocks worth around Rs 16,000 crores now and has procured around 86.09 lakh bales. The agency has stopped procurement of cotton from farmers for the current season on account of prices moving up. Cotton prices have increased marginally by Rs 50-100 per bale resulting in market prices of Rs 4,100-4,150 per bale both in Gujarat and the South.
The textile industry has been urging CCI to start releasing cotton into the market, to ease supply stating that the industry is passing through a serious situation due to non-availability of cotton in abundant quantity, on account of the stop-go policy of CCI, in spite of holding a high level of stock.
Southern India Mills’ Association has also urged the Union textiles minister Santosh Gangwar to direct CCI to immediately commence selling the commodity directly to the actual users by e-auction, with liberal credit norms.
Kumar Mangalam Birla is set to tighten his grip over Century Textiles & Industries and Century Enka by taking over as chairman of the two companies owned by Basant Kumar Birla. Both companies are scheduled to hold their board meetings on May 5, where Kumar Birla is likely to be made ther chairman.
Kumar Birla has been buying shares of Pilani Investments, which owns 37 per cent of Century Textiles. Birla owns a 51 per cent stake in Pilani Investments. His formal accession will bring both companies under the Aditya Birla Group that he controls. His mother Rajashree Birla is a director on the boards of all major Aditya Birla Group companies including Grasim, Hindalco, Aditya Birla Nuvo and Ultra-Tech Cement. She is involved mainly with the group’s social and welfare driven work.
Century Textiles is among BK Birla’s top group companies, having cement, textiles and paper businesses. Century is looking for buyers to sell its paper and textiles businesses. Century Textiles would become the Aditya Birla group’s real estate arm. The company has already initiated development of around 50 lakh sq. ft. at Parel and holds 500 acres at Kalyan near Mumbai.
www.centurytextind.com/
Once again, the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) reposed its faith in veteran Van Sou Leng by electing him as chairman of the body at its annual general meeting. Interestingly, the GMAC has approved a new two-term limit on the two-year post.
Ken Loo, GMAC Secretary-General, said the 25-member executive committee was also voted on and saw an additional member added to make sure the association’s European-owned factories were fairly represented. All but six of them were on the committee already.
Last two years has been tumultuous for Cambodia’s $6-billion garment export industry which contributes about a third of the country’s GDP. Strikes and protests for higher wages in garment sector grew widespread and violent in late 2013 effectively shutting the industry down for a few days and came to an end only when military police shot into a crowd of demonstrators on January 3, 2014, killing at least five people.
The violence and work stoppages took their toll, helping convince some foreign brands to place more of their orders elsewhere. In 2014, Cambodia’s garment exports grew at roughly half the pace of the year before, though the World Bank also blamed stiffer competition from other countries and a rising dollar, to which the government has pegged the riel.
The industry also has to cope with a 28 per cent hike in garment workers’ minimum wage that took effect in January, and is at odds with some unions over a Union Law that the government hopes to pass this year.
