A.T.E. Group has a strong portfolio in spinning, built over many decades. The list starts right from blowroom machinery, carding, drawing through roving, bobbin transporting spinning, twisting, accessories and humidification and air control. And Truetzschler India and Zinser in Ahmedabad are A.T.Es well-known collaborative ventures.
Sunil N Bhatnagar, Senior Vice-President, Textile Engineering (Spinning & Fabric Forming), A.T.E. Group is a well-known figure among the spinning industry. With an over 3 decades stint in A.T.E, he has a comprehensive idea about where this industry is spinning its way to.
A brief interlude during a visit to the A.T.E Headquarters at Andheri West, Mumbai, gave Samuel Joseph, Editor of The Indian Textile Journal an opportunity to interact with him in an exclusive, but informal, talk.
Excerpts:
SJ: What is the status of the spinning industry at present? How did they perform in 2013?
SNB: Good times for the spinning industry which started in mid 2012 have continued throughout 2013 largely fuelled by good export demand for yarn, mainly from China, as well as demand from the domestic market. With a steady inflow of machinery orders and execution keeping pace, the situation looks quite good for 2014 as well.
SJ: Which are the areas in India (North, South), showing promise for spinning in the future?
SNB: New investments are mainly coming up in Western India, particularly Gujarat, where ginners are investing in spinning units ranging from 10 to 25K spindles size supported by the Gujarat textile policy. South has started picking this year after 2 very bad years due to the severe power crisis, mainly with modernisation and balancing projects.
In the North, the big groups seem to be taking a pause and some plan to link their forthcoming investments in spinning to their composite projects to avail 5 per cent subsidy under TUF.
SJ: How do you think the cotton scenario in India is influencing spinning capacity expansion?
SNB: Cotton prices were quite steady with S6 around 39K per candy, the yarn prices also behaved accordingly. A good cotton crop expected again should certainly make the spinners happy.
Gujarat, the biggest cotton belt where 35 per cent of the cotton comes from, is already seeing good investments in spinning capacities since the last one year.
SJ: How is man-made fibre spinning in India faring?
SNB: Man-made fibres spinning largely in Rajasthan, with certain pockets in South and North, is faring quite well. Investments are by and large in small capacities, in dyed as well as niche segments like melange. However, we do not see any activity on a big scale.
SJ: What is the future of spinning in India and other Asian countries?
SNB: With India being the 2nd largest cotton producer in the world, a modern spinning industry with 2nd highest spindleage, state of the technology right from blow to ring frame available locally, the future looks extremely good. With well established export markets and growing domestic demand for good quality yarn due to high-speed looms coming in big numbers, spinning industry should continue to thrive well. Similarly, Pakistan as a prominent supplier of coarse and OE yarn should also have a good future. At the same time, Chinas dominant position in Asia as the biggest player in terms of cotton and yarn production, with an installed spindle capacity of over 100 million, would continue.