News From Textile Excellence

Over 16,000 visitors meet 100 exhibitors at ITMACH 2014
Industry stalwarts hail ITMACH 2014, Bhiwandi

The inaugural function of ITMACH 2014 exhibition was organized with much fanfare on January 22, 2014, in Bhiwandi.

A maiden venture of Textile Excellence, the country’s leading textile publication, ITMACH 2014, from January 22-24, is also the first textile machinery event of its kind, organized in the country’s largest powerloom weaving cluster. ITMACH 2014, Bhiwandi, is the first in the series of localized textile engineering exhibitions that the organizers – Textile Excellence – have planned.

Shri Rupesh Mhatre, MLA, Bhiwandi (East), lightening the traditional lamp		Shri Rasheed Tahir Momin, MLA, Bhiwandi (West), lightening the traditional lamp

The exhibition, at Indian Corporation Premises at Bhiwandi, was inaugurated by Rasheed Tahir Momin, MLA, Bhiwandi (West), Rupesh Mhatre, MLA, Bhiwandi (East), and M Y Momin, a veteran in the Indian textile industry, and President, Bhiwandi Weavers’ Federation.

The guests of honour, in their address, hailed the efforts of Textile Excellence, for organizing the show in the Bhiwandi cluster. According to Rasheed Tahir Momin, “Weavers in this cluster today realize that they need to upgrade and move up the value chain to survive in a competitive market. Technology upgradation for this is very important. Bringing in the right machines to this market, through a show like ITMACH, is very helpful for this cluster. I am sure the show will be very successful.”

Rupesh Mhatre, in his address, said, “Powerlooms are the mainstay of the economy of Bhiwandi. Millions of families are dependent on this industry. With changing times, weavers here are realizing the importance of improving their production and productivity. ITMACH will help them to understand the kind of machines and technologies they can invest in.”

Shri M.Y. Momin, President, Bhiwandi Weaver’s Federation lightening the traditional lamp		Mr. Arvind Semlani, Director, Textile Excellence along with dignitaries on dais

Speaking during the inaugural program, M Y Momin congratulated Textile Excellence on its pioneering initiative. “Bhiwandi is the country’s largest powerloom cluster, accounting for a majority share of the fabric production in the country. There are many government schemes for the betterment of this sector. Weavers need to come forward to avail of these benefits. Opportunities to grow in the market are many today, as the industry tries to increase exports. Bhiwandi powerloom weavers must realize these opportunities and move ahead.”

Around 100 machinery suppliers – Indian and international have participated in ITMACH 2014. Around 4,000 business visitors came to the show on the first day.

Out of 23 lakh registered powerlooms in the country, only 1.05 lakh looms are shuttleless loom. Offtake of powerloom sector under TUFS has been negligible. This highlights the immense investment potential in machinery in Bhiwandi and other powerloom clusters. The government, through its comprehensive cluster development scheme, is encouraging investment in TUFS compatible machinery, as a minimum benchmark.

Flow of visitors was continued on 2nd Day and recorded over 6000 visitor registrations. Exhibitors have evinced satisfaction with the response at the show. While visitors from Bhiwandi were there, business delegates also came in from Ichalkaranji, Malegaon, Solapur, Ujjain, Ludhiana, Panipat, and also from southern India.

Exhibitors received serious enquiries during the show. Many business deals have been finalized. There was a lot of interest in weaving and allied technologies, especially of Indian origin. Weavers are finding these machines to be a good fit for their up-gradation needs towards shuttleless looms, in terms of productivity, price, service etc. International exhibitors too have received good response.

Exhibitors and organizers expect even bigger crowds on the last day, as more weavers from Bhiwandi will converge at the exhibition grounds, tomorrow being the weekly holiday here. Also, more delegates are expected from other clusters from around the country.

On the last day of ITMACH 2014 there was a saw huge crowd descending on the exhibition grounds, was there a weekly holiday in Bhiwandi. Around 15,000 business delegates visited the show, over the three days from January 22-24. Exhibitors were happy with the overall organization of the show. It is a well-managed show, and serious business visitors came to the show from all over the country.

Companies showcasing Indian made and Chinese machines, in particular, have booked many orders at the show. According to Hemant Shah, Director, Manisha Overseas, they showcased Waterjet looms and other very unique technologies for the Bhiwandi and the decentralized powerloom sector. He said that the response was overwhelming. Bhiwandi weavers need to be made aware of the various technologies in the market, and this show has fulfilled this objective.

Hasmukh Textile Works is another company that offers rapier machines and other weaving and processing machines, imported from China. “There is a great deal of interest in these machines from the decentralized sector.

We have received visitors from Solapur, Kolhapur, Bhiwandi, and other parts of the country. The machines are cost-effective, have good performance, and are well suited to the needs of the powerloom sector. This sector still hesitates to invest in high end technology. The medium range Chinese machines are much in demand here. It will take some more years for this industry to upgrade to higher technology levels.”

Surjit Singh Mahajan, Director, Staubli India Pvt. Ltd. says that the decentralized market has begun enquiring about European high end machines too. “We do have some installations in Bhiwandi, these are very few now. For Staubli, Bhiwandi is a potential market, and we expect to see a lot of improvement here over the next few years.”

The exhibition showcased technologies and machines related to weaving and weaving preparatory, spinning, processing and finishing, printing, and other related segments. ITMACH 2014 offered a one-ofa- kind opportunity to business visitors from Bhiwandi and other textile clusters across the country, to see the latest and most appropriate technologies spanning the textile value chain.

 

Business visitors at ITMACH Exhibition		Crowded Booth
Delegates at Registration Counter		Manisha Overseas gets good response
Good number of visitors at ITMACH exhibition

With encouraging response from exhibitors and visitors, the organizers have announced ITMACH 2015. Most of the first-time exhibitors have confirmed participation in ITMACH 2015. “The local industry and exhibitors have evinced keen interest in such sustained efforts. The industry in Bhiwandi has given us whole-hearted support in this venture. We will therefore strive to make this a regular event, with the objective of helping the industry’s up-gradation process,” said the organizers.