Value addition needed for TT industry

Converting sector is much needed for growing the technical textiles sector. Sushil Kapoor, President and CEO of Technical Textiles Business at SRF Limited, India emphasised the need for value addition in technical textiles sector while speaking at the recent Technotex International conference organised by FICCI with the support from Government of India in Mumbai.

Innovation, competitiveness, scale and collaboration are the key ingredients for the growth of the technical textiles sector. Kapoor emphasised the need for creating functionality to textiles and delivering technical textiles at correct price point.

Stating that India?s per capita consumption is merely 2 kg as against 18.8 kg in the US, Kapoor was optimistic that India provides huge opportunity for this sector. Giving a scorecard of the Indian technical textiles industry, he pointed out the weak links in the sector such as fabrication (converting), pilot R&D facility, standardization and delivery infrastructure.

Fabrication or the converting sector, innovation, developing domestic industry are key towards the growth of the Indian technical textiles stated, Kapoor.

This scribe has been insisting on the development of the converting sector in India for many years to grow the technical textiles industry, which echoed very well in the presentation made by Kapoor of SRF. Globally technical textiles industry is valued at $145 billion with an annual growth of 3.6 per cent.

By: Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University, USA