Techtextil India gives impetus to India’s technical textile revolution

A high level of energy, business networking and dynamic synergy was seen at the 6th edition of Techtextil India where 173 exhibitors from 11 countries showcased a gamut of technical textile solutions to 5,436 visitors from across the country. Smart future textiles, recycled fibers, sustainable alternatives, welding, wearables, functional solutions were among some of the highlights on the showfloor.

Closing its three-day run with positive impressions, the 6th edition hosted a series of business and knowledge-oriented features as well as the successful launch of Texprocess in India. The co-location of the Texprocess pavilion with Techtextil India resulted in intense synergy and has created the foundation of what is to become independent co-located platforms for technical textiles and garment machinery in the coming years for India.

Pleased with the fair’s expansion into garment machinery segment and resultant visitor footfall, Mr Martin Legner, Head of Technical Textile Product Management, Stoll said:“ The number of meetings we have had are far beyond my expectations and the quality of people coming in is much better and diverse. We have met many well-established companies as well as spinning companies who are interested in change overs, recieved positive response from the medical industry and in the next edition we hope to see more participation from automotive and sports sectors. We are definitely waiting to come back the next time Texprocess takes place in India.“

Director of the renowned Killer Jeans brand (Kewal Kiran Clothing Ltd), Mr. Dinesh P. Jain, who was visiting the fair said: “Visiting Texprocess has been insightful and gave me a chance to see the new technologies on display by our regular vendors. I am looking at initiating new orders soon with exhibitors here.”

Techtextil India symposium highlights industry growth vision
Led by industry visionaries, the symposium hosted 18 sessions covering a wide range of topics from global trends to domestic market focused subjects like protective agrotextiles, aerospace applications, advanced composites, fibre innovations and smart textiles.

The full-packed hall saw 130 high-profile speakers and delegates from Garware Wall Ropes Ltd, Ginni Filaments Ltd, Grasim Industries Ltd-Birla Cellulose, Reliance, SRF Ltd, Strata Geosystems (India) Pvt Ltd etc who took advantage of the platform to gain insights on new applications and market outlook. Sharing his experience, Mr Manoj John, Vice President – Strategic Initiatives, Sutlej Textiles and Industries Ltd said: “We were here to see if there are any high-tech technologies that we can invest in and the topic which discuses about Carbon Composites seemed very interesting. We also liked the topic that discussed about coatings and finishing in fabrics. They are good value adds for our business.”

Presenting a new concept for smart wearable textiles at the symposium, Mr Saumil Shah, Co-founder & VP – Institution Sales, Broadcast Wearables Pvt Ltd who was one of the speakers at the last session explained: “We chose Techtextil India to publicise the launch of our wearable LED shirts and the response has been encouraging. Delegates have shown interest in this new concept and we have acquired good leads with whom we can initiate trade in the coming months.” Having met potential partners at the fair even in previous editions, he added: “We were also here last edition and had some very good discussions and are in the advanced stage of closing deals with a few renowned brands whose contacts we acquired from the fair. It works both ways for my business as I not only acquired leads but could also use this platform to source fabrics and raw materials for my product.”

In conjunction with the symposium, the special telecast of Dornbirn MFC was another first and was highly appreciated by sector players for providing access to the plenary lectures that the industry looks forward to every year. While several exhibitors could not attend this due to the busy schedule at stands, visitors were seen taking advantage of this new feature at the fair.

Partner State Telangana explores long-term global co-operation
As the Official Partner State for Techtextil India 2017, Telangana highlighted its policies, potential and textile park at the fair and concurrent symposium. The positive prospects and leads acquired during the three days has ensued a close co-operation with a proposed MoU to be signed between the state of Telangana and Messe Frankfurt for global outreach and promotion of state policies.

Mr Mihir Parekh, Director, Department of Handloom and Textiles, Government of Telangana said: “The Telangana state is developing Kakatiya Integrated Mega Textile Park in Warangal over an area of 1,200 acres with full complement of high quality trunk infrastructure. Through this partnership with Techtextil India and Messe Frankfurt India, we want to reach out to this niche sector and invite them to explore the immense growth opportunities that Telangana has to offer. We have acquired good leads and look forward to partnering with them to create a roadmap for technical textiles in Telangana.”

State representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand also visited the fair to explore the investment potential in technical textile industry. Organisers bring together Centres of Excellence to foster R&D within the sector Standing as the true representation of the industry, Techtextil India also brought together the Centres of Excellence to steer research, ongoing developments and exchange of ideas within the sector. Among the stakeholders represented at the fair were:

1. SITRA: The South India Textile Research Association dedicated to Medical textiles applications
2. BTRA: The Bombay Textile Research Association dedicated to Geotextiles applications
3. ATIRA: The Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association dedicated to Geotextiles applications
4. DKTE: DKTE Society’s Textile & Engineering Institute dedicated to Nonwoven applications
5. SASMIRA: The Synthetic and Art Silk Mills’ Research Association dedicated to Agrotextile applications
6. PSGTECH: PSG College of Technology dedicated to Indutech applications

Dr U K Gangopadhyay, Executive Director, SASMIRA said: “Techtextil India has given a platform to the eight Center for Excellence units to foster research and development within the sector through networking. Market creation is the biggest challenge since technical textiles are an important element at every walk of life. There has to be national level awareness on seamless movement between government and the industry where Techtextil India can play a major role.”

Held biennially in India, the next edition of Techtextil India will take place from 10 – 12 October 2019 in Mumbai and continue its focus on the 10 product groups and 12 application areas of technical textiles.

For more information, please visit www.techtextil-india.co.in