“Innovation is only way to grow in technical textiles sector. One cannot follow a herd mentality”, Mr Mohan Kavrie told techicaltextile.net on the sidelines of the International Conference on Manmade Fibre Textiles, which was held recently in Ahmedabad.
Mr Mohan Kavrie is a pioneer and flag bearer of the still nascent but burgeoning Indian technical textiles sector. He is first generation promoter of Supreme Nonwovens Group. Supreme is a leader in both nonwovens and automotive interior trims. It is a recipient of several vendor awards, latest being 'Global Supplier of Year' award from General Motors.“Innovation is only way to grow in technical textiles sector. One cannot follow a herd mentality”, Mr Mohan Kavrie told techicaltextile.net on the sidelines of the International Conference on Manmade #
When asked, as to when, he expects the Indian technical textiles industry to take off, he said, “We have been waiting and watching since the last 25 years. I now finally see light at the end of the tunnel for the Indian technical textiles sector. I have been in this business since 25 years. During various years in the period, we believed the sector would take off, but it did not.
“But now I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. The Ministry of Textiles and the sector have been working on this, since the last 25 years. The next five years will witness the industry, reach heights never seen before”.
“It would be difficult to replicate the model of turning India in to a sourcing base for global buyers of technical textiles on the same lines as traditional textiles and garments as, buyers look for tailor-made products and may not have the same confidence as in his domestic supplier”, he replied when quizzed about the possibility.
He added, “Secondly, the buyers of these products buy in small quantities, which may not even add up to a container load. Also, these products cannot be sold through a dealer network”.
Regarding the scope of nonwovens and its converting products, he informed, “The scope is large, but we need to be patient. The market for disposable products is very large, but we cannot change Indian habits and culture overnight. However, India cannot stay different from the rest of the world. So, we will definitely catch up in the future.
“In order to create a demand for converter products, a few government policies need to be changed. But I can say with the conviction that the Ministry of Textiles has put in great efforts to provide a boost to the industry”.
Quoting a phrase, he said, “You can take a horse to the water, but you cannot make it drink. New entrants are apprehensive about entering the industry as visibility of the market is not there. This is a knowledge based market, so the kind of entrepreneurship visible in Surat, Tirupur or Ludhiana in the textile or apparel sector is not coming forth in the technical textiles industry”.
According to Mr Kavrie, the largest application for nonwovens comes from the automobile industry and expects it to stay that way in the future; however, he does not foresee room for more players in India in automotive interior trims.
When asked if India can compete with China, he replied, “We cannot compare the Indian technical textiles industry with the Chinese model, which has huge capacities, is export dependent and receives huge subsidies from the government. I would prefer to sell in both, domestic and overseas markets”.
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