Wake up India…time to encash opportunities
The exhibition Techtextil 2024 was a very good eye-opener, not only from the point of view of innovations which have been developed by various existing European and developed countries, but also because of seeing the truth of technical textiles markets soon shifting from the developed countries to developing countries, in the similar fashion which has happened to the conventional textile markets. It is obvious that countries like India would be one of the prominent claiming countries for this shift and also heading to be tomorrow’s developed country. Why I am saying this because when I started promoting technical textiles about 25 years back, I have seen most of the stake, from the USA (23 per cent) & Europe (22 per cent) capturing the major share being leaders in technical textile production with a combined global share of 45 per cent followed by China & Japan having a share of 13 per cent & 7 per cent respectively.
The technical textiles are functional textiles. They are being used for a very specific purpose and they need technical specifications which are performance-driven and with consistent quality. These technical textile products need precise engineering for their manufacturing. Most of the technical textiles are being produced or they need to be produced where they are required to be consumed. Now, if we see the so-called developed countries, they have already consumed a lot of technical textiles in their day-to-day use as far as institutional or engineered products are concerned. The factories in these countries that produce these engineered products are now getting shifted to developing countries like India as they have a larger consumption in these countries.
To elaborate, let us look at airbags which are used in automobile industry. The producers in developed countries has been supplying to the automotive industry however which was having huge market in developed countries. However, today the automotive industry itself has shifted to countries like India. The automotive industry in India is the world’s 4th largest by production as per 2022 statistics in the automobile industry, in global trade. That’s why the airbag, which is one of the prominent products to be used in automobiles, has to be produced in the country where automobiles or where the cars are manufactured.
Now, the airbag fabric is not just one single fabric that can be simply produced and supplied directly to the automotive manufacturers. The story doesn’t end here. It has to be supplied to an assembly vendor who creates that particular assembly for airbags. Then the entire assembly is supplied to the automobile manufacturer. For example, Hyundai India will need a complete assembly to be fitted in their car model with specific design and highly engineered parameters. From the assembly of the steering wheel to the airbags to the steering wheels. So in other words, Hyundai India has to start developing vendors who can give them complete airbag assembly for their various types of car models. This is where the innovation and the concept clarity need to come in, and we need various vendors for different automotive products and various technical textile materials as well for different industries.
However, over the years we as Indians have developed this unfortunate habit of producing a product and not the assembly. So new Indian entrepreneurs need to open their eyes and look beyond their capabilities and join hands with other stake holders. They need to enter into the business of complete setup for producing such assembly lines. Of course, this cannot be developed overnight. We need to have some sort of collaboration with global players. What I have seen is that global leaders from different industries who are in assembly line businesses, (using technical textile products in one of their assembly lines) are ready to join hands with Indian entrepreneurs. Because we have now proved globally that we can be the best alternative to give them products that their own country is not producing and that too at appropriate pricing. In other words, we should not see one product of technical textile as fabric or nonwoven felt, which is engineered fabric to be produced, but we need to understand that this technical textile product fits up in the assembly line and that assembly line has to be produced in our plant. We should have the capability to produce it with a collaborative approach and supply it to the end users.
Now there are many sectors in which we can start developing this as a concept and explore n-number of possibilities for a variety of products as far as the technical textile assembly model is concerned. New Entrepreneurs need to show their strength and do homework. Suvin is always ready to handhold our clients for various types of assignments to explore new business initiatives. Searching for right product portfolio, preparing the strategic investment scenario along with technology selection for technical textile products and identifying the perfect line best suited to client capabilities and area of interest. Mapping market gaps and identifying the product basket. Preparing road map for the business line along with
Conclusion
It is the time now…the clock is ticking to think, plan and implement not just the best suitable product manufacturing but developing the concept of our complete assembly line. And become one of the great reliable suppliers not just for Indian market but also for the entire global market. Once we achieve this, then the sky is the limit.
An ideal action plan would be;
- Identify the product line
- Target market segment
- Plan strategy to market
- Product performance review
- Understand vendor management
- Develop strategic alliances
- Operational management
- Logistic study
- Competition analysis
Our typical scope of work;
- Strategy report
- Desk Research
- Market Intelligence
- Techno-economic feasibility study for textile project
- Technology Selection selection
- Advisory Services services for business implementation
About the author:
Avinash Mayekar is the Managing Director of SUVIN. He has over 35 years of experience working in consulting firms and various reputed textile companies of India. Suvin has an expertise in the textile industry for more than 300 clientele and are capable of giving services from project conceptualisation to implementation. Suvin believes in preparing business models with refreshing ideas and techniques that will help in identifying opportunities that remain unnoticeable but play a vital role in increasing profitability & global competitiveness.
