High Performance Textiles stands out as a premier exporter of high-performance yarns, vital in various applications like protective textiles, cut resistance, heat protection, molten metal shielding, impact resilience, and superior abrasion resistance. Tailoring yarns to specific needs, the company aids in crafting final products such as woven and knitted fabrics. With plants in Sonipat and Panipat, High Performance Textiles excel in processing staple fibre and filament twisting. Dr Nandan Kumar, Managing Director, High Performance Textiles, shares the company’s growth strategies in a conversation with Divya Shetty.
What are your thoughts on the Indian technical textile industry? Are there plans for the company to explore new segments?
The Indian technical textile industry holds promising prospects. Although we have recently initiated our journey, there is significant untapped potential. Currently, high-performance fibres essential for this industry aren’t readily available in India. To address this, we are collaborating with companies to manufacture these fibres domestically, reducing our reliance on foreign suppliers. Additionally, with India’s increasing focus on manufacturing, there is a rising demand for protective textiles, especially for our workforce. This demand encompasses various items such as gloves, aprons, socks, and workwear.
Regarding our expansion efforts, we are considering diversifying into the automotive sector and exploring opportunities in sound and heat insulation.
Is your company using cotton blends, unlike most technical textile producers relying on MMFs?
Our company stands out by incorporating cotton blends in our textile innovations, a departure from the conventional reliance on MMFs within the industry. Specifically, we’ve engineered a sofa cover fabric primarily comprised of cotton, ensuring inherent flame resistance. Moreover, our commitment to enhancing safety led us to develop biker denim, where we blend cotton with HPP. This unique blend significantly improves abrasion resistance, offering superior protection compared to standard denim in case of accidents. Additionally, we’re delving into cotton-wool blends, utilising a precise mix of 35-40 per cent cotton and 35-40 per cent wool in our production process. In our denim creations, we maintain a composition of 90 per cent cotton and 10 per cent HPP, ensuring both durability and performance.
What are the growth plans of High Performance Textiles?
Currently, our primary focus lies in specialty yarns, leading us to secure a bronze trophy award from the Ministry of Textiles. We’re now concentrating intensely on technical yarn and collaborating closely with weavers and knitters to deliver high-quality woven fabric to our customers. Moreover, within our company, there is a strong emphasis on both manufacturing and establishing our in-house testing facilities. Conducting all research and development testing internally is crucial, especially in the realm of technical textiles. Without such testing, products risk failure. Although external certification may be necessary, initial sampling and comparative studies are performed in-house, a practice we find particularly compelling.
Furthermore, our facilities are open for other companies to conduct their testing here. We charge a nominal fee for these services as we offer comparative studies without issuing certificates. Many clients entrust us with their gloves and work wear for testing, enabling us to inform them about their products’ compliance. Additionally, we have forged partnerships with IIT Delhi, investing significantly in new research and development projects, further enhancing our commitment to innovation.