Interview with Nikhil Vaswani
Awareness about hygiene & health is pushing nonwovens demand
KTEX is a leader in the nonwoven fabrics industry, specialising in providing innovative fabrics for the hygiene, medical, and industrial markets. The India-based company makes spun-melt, spunbond and speciality fabrics for applications in feminine hygiene, baby care products, adult incontinence, medical, agriculture, packaging, filtration and industrial products. In an interview with TechnicalTextile.net, KTEX’s Global Sales & Marketing Head Nikhil Vaswani discusses the nonwovens market in India and future plans at the company.
TT: What is the size of the Indian nonwovens market? At what rate is it growing?
The size of the Indian nonwovens market is 2,00,000 tons per annum. The growth rate is between 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent per annum.
TT: How has the market grown post pandemic?
The market growth post-pandemic is estimated between 8 per cent to 10 per cent per annum.
TT: What are the major factors fuelling the demand for nonwovens in India and the export markets?
Awareness about hygiene & health is a major factor that is pushing the demand for nonwovens in India. The factors fuelling the demand for Indian nonwovens in the export markets are its lower production cost along with availability of skilled labour. China’s production cost is now very high, which is also an advantage for nonwoven manufacturers and exporters in India.
TT: Does India have the 'China plus one' advantage?
Yes, Western countries are considering India for their sourcing needs after the pandemic.
TT: Which are your major markets in terms of geography and applications?
In terms of geography, our major markets are the US, Europe and Africa. In terms of applications, it is hygiene and medical.
TT: What innovations and technologies are you working towards in each sector?
We are working towards the spunbond technology. We are the only company in India with six beam line and with PP/PE BICO Line from Reifenhauser Germany.
TT: What is the annual production capacity of your unit?
Our annual production capacity is 36,000 tons.
TT: Has the government’s PLI scheme provided a boost to this sector? What more would you suggest that needs to be done?
There is not much that the government can do. But it should reduce the investment limit for PLI scheme to ₹50 crore.
TT: What are the future plans at KTEX? Any capacity expansions or new product offerings in the pipeline?
KTEX Nonwovens is planning to start production of breathable and non-breathable nonwovens, trilaminate, alcohol repellency, and anti-static. We are planning capacity expansion of around 15,000 tons by 2025.
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