Value addition stands out

Value-added yarns are growing at a faster pace and hybrid yarns have emerged as a force to reckon with the rise of customer interest in functional values, finds an exclusive report from the ITJ.

Simple and plain yarns are passe, though they are a basic necessity. But new yarns under fancy and functional categories have multiplied over the years, and India is no exception. At the very recent Yarn Expo Spring 2019 in China, 75 per cent more Fancy Yarn Zone exhibitors took part, underlining the importance of such value-added yarns in the export market too.

Yarn market has taken to functional values in a big way. Says Avinash Mayekar, Managing Director and CEO of Suvin Advisors: “Today once alien terms like anti-fungal yarn, conductive yarn, etc. are all regulars. These innovations in yarns have widened the applications of textile. Today textiles are used in industrial and construction segments where high strength and durability are the most important aspects.”

The hybrid fabric market is projected to register a CAGR of 16 per cent, in terms of value, between 2019 and 2024. The hybrid fabric market size is estimated at $197 million in 2019 and is projected to reach $415 million by 2024. Hybrid fabric offers various benefits such as non-corrosiveness, high stiffness, non-conductivity, flexibility, low maintenance, durability, design flexibility, and cost saving. Owing to these properties, hybrid fabric is used in various end-use industries such as aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, sporting and recreational, wind energy, and consumer goods. The balance in cost and performance offered by the hybrid fabric is a major factor driving this market. However, high technology cost associated with the manufacturing of hybrid fabric is restraining the growth of this market.

Speaking on the dynamics of yarn market, Raj Kapadia, President – Sales & Business Development of Sanathan Textiles, said, “Yarn market is a growing market. We see a large market from functional yarns. Generally when a product starts, it takes generally a decade to penetrate the market. But for PET and industrial yarns, it may take some time to kick off. But in a year or two, there will be a good demand for these yarns, and I don’t know how India will be able to supply these demands. In fact, there may be demand for some functional yarns, which no one in India manufactures.”

On the company’s journey over the years, adds Kapadia, “Sanathan Textiles is a family-owned company, and I manage their marketing side for DTY and ATY. We originate as cotton yarn traders from 1947, and were one of the largest cotton traders in Kolkata. As we moved to Mumbai, there we have grown into largest PVPC cotton traders. In 1993-94, Sanathan started trading polyester yarn. Around 1999-2000, we moved into backward integration. From polyester DTY yarn, we started manufacturing POY using polyester chips. Thereafter in 2006-07, we put our CP, where we moved in to continuous polymerisation. Now we use PT and MEG as our raw materials. We have around 60,000 spindles of cotton since we started in 2005. We plan to add 60,000 more spindles this year.”

“Value addition is done for some custom-made orders”, said Kapadia while speaking on value addition for polyester. He adds, “Dyeing is combined into making yarns or by trying to combine two yarns or changing some properties at QY or DTY stage. This may give a slightly different look, which may add to fashion. The next step is how well you manage to market it. There is demand of these kind of yarns. People in India have started to get very innovative. The very fact that people are getting very innovative is because consumers wants something new every time. You may have seen that in the last three to four years, exhibitions are doing much better. Even smaller markets like Ichalkaranji, Amritsar, etc. have started their own exhibitions and are doing well.”

Sanathan started manufacturing industrial yarns a year back, said the company’s President of Sales. He adds that the company uses the latest Barmag lines. “The quality has been very good since day one. We may be the best in India at least.”

Sanathan has been doing about 30 per cent exports. He said, “We have been doing this for a longest period and year or year. In fact, we have created a brand in exports. We produce very good products with very good quality. We also recently installed six Barmag machines, and are looking forward to add a few more. We are very proud of this.”

Sandeep Sharma, Export Manager of JB Ecotex, who are into manufacturing of fibres from PET bottles, said that the recycled fibres manufactured by them are used in higher-end applications too. He said, “The technology of recycled fibre manufacturing is upgraded. The quality parameter of these fibres are at par with virgin fibres. Many people are converting virgin into recycled fibres.”

JB Ecotex sources raw materials through road waste. He adds, “There are many traders in road waste bottles. The ragpickers pick these bottles and these they send these bottles to traders and then the traders sell it to us.”

JB Ecotex, who is majorly selling its products to the domestic market, exports around 10 to 15 per cent. The company has a capacity of manufacturing around 5000 metric tonne per month. He said, “Mostly our end product goes into the spinning segment. People make yarn out of it. are making yarns like automotive spun yarns, needlepunch, geo textiles, roof membranes, etc. There are many other applications of recycled fibres. These yarns also goes into shirts, hosiery items.”

The composite application form segment is projected to dominate the hybrid fabric market, between 2019 and 2024. The hybrid fabric market is segmented into two application forms, namely, composite form and non-composite form. In the composite application form, a resin is used as a matrix with carbon, glass, natural, and aramid hybrid fabric. For reinforcement material to be used in composites, these reinforcements should possess properties such as high modulus, high strength, high flexibility, high aspect ratio, and higher elasticity. The hybrid fabric is used extensively in the composite application form to cater to the demands of various end-use industries such as aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, wind energy, and others.

The automotive and transportation end-use industry segment is projected to hold the highest market share, between 2019 and 2024. Hybrid fabric has major applications in the automotive and transportation industry. This has helped the automotive and transportation segment to hold the largest market share in the global hybrid fabric market in 2019, in terms of both value and volume. The use of hybrid fabric helps in achieving cost-effective and lightweight solutions in the automotive and transportation industry.

The hybrid fabric market in APAC is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period, in terms of value and volume. This growth can be attributed to the increasing demand from the automotive and transportation, wind energy, sports and recreational, and consumer goods end-use industries. The increasing focus toward large automotive manufacturing is a key factor that is helping the market grow in the region. Europe holds the largest market share in the hybrid fabric market. This largest share is due to the demand for hybrid fabric from the automotive and transportation end-use industry in Europe.

The hybrid fabric market comprises major solution providers, such as Royal DSM N.V. (Netherlands), SGL Group (Germany), Gurit (Switzerland), Hexcel Corporation (US), Exel Composites (Finland), Solvay (Belgium), Textum Inc. (US), BGF Industries, Inc. (US), HACOTECH GmbH (Germany), and Arrow Technical Textiles Pvt Ltd (India). The study includes an in-depth competitive analysis of these key players in the hybrid fabric market, with their company profiles, recent developments, and key market strategies.

Hybrid fabrics are woven from myriad kinds of fibres including combinations of carbon fibre and aramid yarns in different proportions in warp and weft. They are mainly differentiated from other textiles due to their low areal weights, cost reduction, and high impact resistance along with a combination of possibilities and striking patterns.

Escalating demand for the product in automotive and transport, sports and recreation, and wind energy industries will accelerate the growth of hybrid fabric market in the years ahead. In addition, massive preference for hybrid fabrics as a result of its beneficial features such as ability to reduce item weight and robustness will contribute notably towards the hybrid fabric market revenue in the foreseeable future. Growing use of hybrid fabrics in countries such as the US, Brazil, Japan, China, and Germany will augment hybrid fabric market demand.

Furthermore, technological advances in hybrid fabric materials are likely to boost their applications in the downstream markets and this will further expand the business scope. The leading companies have recently invested immensely in raising their production capacities and commenced adoption of other strategies to fulfill the escalating demand for hybrid fabric. A plethora of applications of the product in myriad sectors along with the massive preference for these fabrics as a result of changing lifestyles and fashion trends in clothing will augment the market size.

The global hybrid fabric market can be divided into the fibre, application form, and end-use. Based on the fibre, the market is sectored into glass/carbon, carbon/aramid, carbon/uhmwpe, and glass/aramid. On the basis of the application form, the market is segmented into composite and non-composite. End-use wise, the market is divided into automotive and transportation, wind energy, and aerospace and defense.

North American market is slated to witness a lucrative growth over the forthcoming years, subject to constant product innovations and development of new hybrid fabric products in the region. In addition, manufacturers in the region are coining new business strategies to reinforce their market position. The Asia Pacific and Latin American markets are projected to experience tremendous growth in the years ahead.

Value addition is important not only from the demand point of view but also from profit point of view. As a value added yarn manufacturer one can definitely get better yarn realisation when compared to companies offering conventional yarns. Step by step growth oriented companies are moving forward towards value addition in yarns. China and Vietnam have already taken to tough fight to Indian spinners when it comes to value added yarns.