India ITME 2022: Where textile meets innovation

With 1600 live machineries on display and 69 new product launches, the 11th edition of India ITME demonstrated a quality standard and success never seen before. ITME proved to be an empowering expo for textiles, with more than 10,000 visitors from 87,400 distinct visitors from 68 countries.

India ITME 2022 prestigious textile engineering and technology B2B Exhibition hosted in IEML, Greater Noida, UP showcased 1600+ live machinery and unveiled 69 new products with participation from 68 countries.

11th edition of India ITME displayed a never before quality standard and success in terms of amenities for exhibitors and visitors setting new benchmark for exhibitions in India. 87,400 unique visitors totaling to 1,10,000 footfalls over 6 days enjoyed an array of activities at the venue. Concurrent programs included technical discussions, CEO conclave, industry awards, wildlife photo gallery, alumni meet and Government to industry interactions enhancing the experience and raising the excitement of participants.

After a gap of six years, the event recorded a high flow of quality visitors which included industry members, technocrats, academicians, students and government officials apart from the delegations from 13 countries lead by senior officials of respective country who are looking to engage with India as sourcing and trade partner for developing their textile industry.

On December 8, 2022, the event was opened in accordance with Indian tradition of lamp lighting, Ganesh Vandhana & national anthem attended by S Hari Shankar, Chairman, India ITME Society; Ketan Sanghvi, Hon. Treasurer; Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, Chairman & Managing Director, Lakshmi Machine Works and Sanjiv Lathia, Past Chairman; Anuj Bhagwati, Past Chairman, Chairman & Managing Director, ATE;  Rakesh Kumar, Chairman, India Exposition Mart  along with other dignitaries who joined the simple ceremony.

The high-profile technology & engineering exhibition for textiles witnessed participation from leading Indian institutes for textile engineering such as VJTI Mumbai, DKTE Ichalkaranji where MOU’s were signed for knowledge exchange with Swiss Textile Machinery Association and Italian Textile Machinery Association, paving way for

Collaboration not only in business but also in technical education.

Eminent Panelists from Aachen University, Germany, Prof Thomas Gries, Chairman, ITA, RWTH; Philipp Huber, RWTH Aachen; Kumar Jois, RWTH Aachen; Shantanu Bhat, RWTH Aachen; Gözdem Dittel, RWTH Aachen; Justin Kühn, RWTH Aachen, flew down to speak on latest technology topics.

The other renowned speakers included Uday  Gill, CSO, Indorama; Dr PKC Bose, MD, Enercon; Braz Costa, CITEVE, Portugal; Gurudas Aras, Strategic Consultant; Ranjit Sasi, India Head, Reverse Resources; Khusbhu Maheshwari; Anurag Gupta, MD, Usha Yarns; Dr Asim Tewari, IIT B; Dr Rajalakshmi  Natarajan,  IIT Dharwad; Saatchi Doshi, Programme; Devyani Hari, Director Centre for Responsible Business (CRB); Dr Mohit Raina, Raina Industries; Dr Asim Tewari, IIT Bombay & Prashant Agrawal, Wazir Advisors.

The topics included by them were:

• Transformation through collaboration to achieve sustainability
• Hydrogen storage systems – Trends in Europe and India
• Role of carbon in fuel cell technology and energy conversion devices
• Fibre based materials for future energy applications
• From fibres to component: What hydrogen storage technology has to do with textile technology?
• Composites & technical textiles for energy efficient building
• Multifunctional textile reinforced concrete structures for building applications
• Strategic innovation in textile value chain
• Need of composites in the energy sector
• Learnings from the transformation in the Apparel & Textile Industry in Portugal
• Accelerating innovations for circular textiles

India ITME Society facilitated an interaction between industry and policy makers through CEO Conclave coordinated by Avinash Mayekar, Suvin. This session was attended by Rohit Kansal, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI; P Sathasivam, Ex-Chief Justice of India & Former Governor of Kerala; Prajakta L

Verma, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI; Rajeev Saxena, Joint Secretary,

Ministry of Textiles, GoI; Roop Rashi Mahapatra, Textile Commissioner, GoI. Industry sector were represented by T Rajkumar, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry; M Sankar, President- Textile Machinery Division TMD (Operations), Lakshmi Machine Works; Arun Kumar Garodia, Chairman Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC).

The six-day event carried forward its theme “Empowering textile through technology” encouraging indigenously developed innovations and research by Indian companies. “Appreciating the best of the industry” the 2nd edition of ITME awards felicitated companies like Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) , Rabatex  Industries, Texfab Engineers (India), ColorJet India, Lakshmi Card Clothing Manufacturing Company, S A Pharmachem for their outstanding products.

Giving importance to gender equality women entrepreneurs were also lauded for their success in an industry dominated by men. Deepa A Kumar, Founder & Managing Director, Yashram Lifestyle Brands & Neha Jhunjhunwala, Director, Sarla Performance Fibers were selected for women entrepreneurship award.   Proving to be a responsible industry body, India ITME Society not only encouraged modern innovations and technology but also provided inspiration for traditional skills and artisans of the nation. Under the category of best Master Weaver, Santoshi Kewat, Master Weaver, Maheshwari Creations, Madhya Pradesh & under category of Restoring Traditional Skills, Kumari Raita, Soura Development Agency, Odisha were felicitated.  Under the  category  of  Research  Excellence, Dr  Rekha  Ramakrishnan,  SASMIRA Institute was felicitated.

The prestigious jury panel comprised of the stalwarts of Indian industry Uday Gill, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Indorama Ventures; Updeep Singh, President & CEO, Sutlej Textiles; Manohar Samuel, Advisor, R&D, Reliance Retail; Gurudas V Aras, India consultant to the ITA group, Germany; R Anand, Partner, Eastern Engineering Company; Dr Manisha Mathur, Joint Director, SASMIRA; Sanjiv Lathia, Past Chairman of India ITME Society; Ketan Sanghvi, Hon. Treasurer; Hari Shankar, Chairman unanimously recommended for S P Oswal for the honour of ‘Textile Maestro of industry’ of Indian textile industry.

A Technical symposium by Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Mumbai on the theme of “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle State of the Art in Textile Sector” was well appreciated and well received by officials as well as industry.

The organiser India ITME Society executed a seamless & flawless exhibition taking care of all round growth and progress of Indian textile industry creating opportunities for business, education, women, research etc. Amidst high voltage negotiations and discussions, art and culture also was given its due place whereby an evening of cultural programme with dance, music and fine dine was organised for exhibitors. Once again working towards creating opportunities Pan India, North East folk art music and dance combined with fashion show and live music showcasing Maheshwari Sarees create using traditional handlooms by women Master Weavers of Madhya Pradesh were presented to global audience. The platform gave global exposure to our handicraft and traditional artisans especially women weavers from rural area of our Country. For those who enjoyed wildlife and photography as array of photographs captured by well-known photographer by Hari Santharam was on display which was enjoyed by one and all.

The six-day marathon event definitely set the foundation for upgradation and modernization of the textile industry of India which is the 2nd largest employment generation sector after agriculture. It also has motivated and enhanced the confidence of Indian textile engineering industry in their capabilities to cater to the demand of domestic market as well as competing in the global market.

India ITME 2022 opened the possibility and opportunities for overseas machinery manufacturers to tap the gaps in India and also connect with many buyers spread across 68 Countries.

The 11th edition of India ITME truly proved that it is a business platform which empowers and motivates the industry to the next level.

Showcasing the digital prowess of India, this edition of India ITME event digitalised all its services and provided event catalogues, visitor guide, help desk assistance, exhibitor manual etc. digitally reducing the print activity and thus saving quantum of paper usage.

The mega event concluded on a high note of enthusiasm empowering all its participants, infusing vibrancy into the industry facing geo-political turbulence amidst other challenges.