Invest in cotton-based technical textiles: SIMA chairman
August 28, 2014 - India
Industrialists involved in technical textiles should look forward to invest in cotton-based technical textiles, feels T Rajkumar, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA).
Addressing the ‘Industrial Textiles – Products, Applications, and Prospects (Indutech)’ conference in Coimbatore, Mr. Rajkumar said considering the large amount of funds needed for non-woven manufacturing and lack of technical know-how, entrepreneurs should focus on cotton-based technical textiles.
SIMA and the Indian Technical Textiles Association would help the companies investing in expanding cotton-based technical textile products, he said.
Technical textiles require special knowledge and technical know-how along with new marketing strategies to acquire a place in the domestic and international markets. As technical textile industries in Tamil Nadu would need a long time to develop their local brands alone, they have to tie-up with international brands to get higher market share.
Around 70 percent of technical textiles require man-made fiber and filaments, Mr. Rajkumar said. The cost of these fibers and filaments in India is around 20-30 percent higher, as compared to China and Indonesia.
India produces nearly 39 million bales of cotton every year, and cotton industry is the backbone of the textile sector in Tamil Nadu. The state has various units across the textile value chain, ranging from spinning to garmenting.