March 2018 web file

State Policy Comparison : Gujarat & Maharashtra
Cotton Weather (Yield Forecast) April 2018
Economy / Global/ Market Report
Interview : Prashant Group / Globe Textiles
R&D Update : InspirOn
Back to Basic : Basic Textile Concepts
Sustainable Fibre : Hemp
Technical Article : A Synopsis on Coating & Lamination

www.textilevaluechain.com2 March 2018

3www.textilevaluechain.comMarch 2018
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SIMPLE, RELIABLE STATE OF THE ART TWISTING
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reduction in investment with a minimum of energy consumption.
In this way, the machine productivity, the quality of the end product,
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Via Udine, 105
www.saviospa.com
SAVIO INDIA LTD
Nallattipalayam, Tamaraikulam
Post Pollachi, Coimbatore
642109 Tamil Nadu, India
Phone : +91 4259 304555
Fax : +91 4259 304567
www.savioindia.com
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MARCH 2018 ISSUE
CONTENT
Advertiser Index
BSUSTAINABLE FIBRE
13- Clothing from Hemp Fibre by Mr. N.N. Mahapatra
INTERVIEW
43- Amoli Shah, Director of Prashant Group
44- Bhavin Parikh, CEO, Global Textiles (India) Ltd.
39- STATE POLICY COMPARISON- Gujarat & Maharashtra
ECONOMY & GLOBAL FOCUS
19- How Worried Should EMs be as DM Yields Head Higher?
By Mr. Abhishek Goenka, IFA Global
21- China Artificial Intelligence Power House
By Mr. Arvind Sinha, Business Advisors
MARKET REPORT
15- Surat Report
16- Yarn Report- High Domestic Continue To Dent Exports
18- Yarn Report- Fibre to Yarn Pricing Trend in February
20- Cotton Weather (Yield Forecast) April 2018
27- R&D UPDATE: Inspiron
38-BACK TO BASIC : Definitions of some basic terms of Fibre
Properties
30- TECHNICAL ARTICLE : A Synopsis on Coating & Lamina-
tion in Textile Process & Application by WRA Scientist
22- NEWS : ITMA 2019
EVENT REPORT
23- ITAMMA Awards
25- Textile Care Forum
26- ICE Delegation visit to CAI
26- Intex South Asia 2017
46- China Home Life
42- SHOW CALENDAR
EDITORIAL TEAM
Editor and Publisher
Ms. Jigna Shah
Chief Editor
Mr. Bhavesh Thakar
Editorial Assistant
Mrs. Namsha
Graphic Designer
Mr. Anant A. Jogale
INDUSTRY
Mr. Devchand Chheda
City Editor - Vyapar ( Janmabhumi Group)
Mr. Manohar Samuel
President, Birla Cellulose, Grasim Industries
Dr. M. K. Talukdar
VP, Kusumgar Corporates
Mr. Shailendra Pandey
VP (Head – Sales and Marketing), Indian Rayon
Mr. Ajay Sharma
GM RSWM (LNJ Bhilwara Group)
Mr. Avinash Mayekar
Consulting Editor
Dr. N.N. Mahapatra
President, Colorant Ltd.
EDUCATION / RESEARCH
Mr. B.V. Doctor
HOD knitting, SASMIRA
Dr. Ela Dedhia
Associate Professor, Nirmala Niketan College
Dr. Mangesh D. Teli
Professor, Dean ICT
Dr. S.K. Chattopadhyay
Principal Scientist and Head MPD
Dr. Rajan Nachane
Retired Scientist, CIRCOT
Back Page : Raymond
Back Inside: Picanol
Front Inside: Raysil
Page3: Savio
Page4: Sanjay Plastic
Page5: SGS Innovation
Page6: GENTEX
Page7: Kotak Commodities
Page8: Non Woven Tech Asia 2018
Page9: SM Spinning
Page10: SKBS
Page47: ITMA ASIA 2018
Page48: TPF
Page49: OMAX & BST ARN
Page50: Oerlikon

EDITORIAL
Ms. Jigna Shah
Editor and Publisher
All rights reserved Worldwide; Reproduction of
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Value chain is not responsible for any unlikely
errors that might occur or any steps taken
based in the information provided herewith.
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Maharashtra Textile Policy 2018-2022 :
Rural Farm Sector Focus..!!!
M
aharashtra, being 45 % urbanised state with 11.24
crore population as per 2011 census, accounting
9.3 % of the total population of the country with
geographical area 3.08 lakh sq.km. State having abun-
dant natural resources, good connectivity with developed
infrastructure facility, and this textile policy is focusing on
rural Maharashtra, as special focus given on Vidarbha,
Marathwada & North Maharashtra.
Maharashtra is having abundance natural resources of
cotton, silk and wool sectors. Raw cotton utilised only 25
% by the state and grey fabric is sent out of state for pro-
cessing. Policy is aimed at reducing gap of this production
and processing, resulting into integrated farming to mar-
keting value chain.
New textile policy of Indian state of Maharashtra has the
provision of privatisation of spinning mills and power
loom societies in the state. The new textile industry policy
will offer them an opportunity to change the use of land
provided, under the ‘one-time exit policy’.
Capital subsidy will be continued with some additional
benefits to self financing projects for cotton growing ar-
eas like Vidharbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra.
Processing projects under ETP/ CETP/ ZLD will be eligible
for this subsidy.
Special incentive extended by Maharashtra Government
to green technology i.e. Solar and Wind energy projects.
Reduced Power subsidy given to co-operative spinning
mills, power looms as per subsidy clauses mentioned.
Marketing & branding with textile fairs, seminar, work-
shops will be organised in focus area of Maharashtra to
attract investors and promote industrialist, hand loom
products, cotton bales etc. To boost the Handloom prod-
ucts, collaboration with NIFT will have benefit at a longer
run.
Training courses maximise the impact of ISD, ITIs devel-
oped for cooperative spinning mills which will be increas-
ing the overall productivity.
To promote silk industry, agriculture research, promot-
ing farmers, training etc many such facilities given to
silk farming community. Special incentives given to non
conventional yarn like bamboo, banana, maize, ambadi,
ghaypat etc to support farmers.
Overall this textile policy is to support rural India, pro-
cessing sector and farming community. Processing being
highest water consumption industry, farmers not getting
water to harvest food grains (primary necessity), will tex-
tile industry get water to finish the raw fabrics?? Hope
Time will do the needful for our industry with best solu-
tion.
Wish you Productive and Fruitful Financial Year ending..!!!

CLOTHING FROM HEMP FIBRE
N
ature and organic fibres become more and more
popular these years. Most of people come to real-
ize that nature, soft and health yare the most im-
portant things of the textile. Hemp is naturally one of the
most ecologically friendly fabrics and also the oldest. The
Columbia history of the world states that the oldest relics
of human industry are b its of Hemp fabric discovered in
tombs dating back to approximately 8000 B. C. Hemp is
called a fibre of hundred uses. The significance of Hemp
to the economic and day to day lives of our ancestors is
increasingly being recognized. It was important for tex-
tile, paper, rope and oil production. Indeed, Hemp was so
important in England in the sixteenth century that King
Henry VIII passed an act of parliament which fined farm-
ers who failed to grow the crop. Besides fabrics, Hemp is
also used in the production of paper. The oldest piece of
paper – over 2000 yrs old – was discovered in China and is
made from Hemp. Until 1883, between 75 % and 90 % of
all paper in the world was made with Hemp fiber. Hemp
paper can also be recycled more times than wood – based
paper.
Hemp is a bast fibre plant similar to Flax, Kenaf, Jute and
Ramie. Long slender primary fibres on the outer portion
of the stalk characterize bast fibre plants. It was prob-
ably used first in Asia. Hemp is also one of the bast fibres
known to ancient Asians, long before the birth of Christ.
The primary hemp fibre is attached to the core fibre by
Pectin – a glue –like soluble gelatinous carbohydrate. The
primary hemp fibres can be used for composities, rein-
forcements and speciality pulp and paper. The wood-like
core Hemp fibre can be used for animal bedding, gar-
den mulch, fuel and an assortment of building materials.
Hemp also produces an oil seed that contains between 25
to 35 % oil by weight, which is high in essential fatty acids
considered to be necessary to maintain health.
The composition of Hemp is as follows:
Alpha cellulose 62-67 %.
Hemi cellulose 8-15 %
Lignin 4%
Ash 5%
Wax 1%
Hemp (Cannabis sativa) could be an important crop ena-
bling the production of environmentally – friendly, lo-
cally produced high quality textiles. Hemp is an annual
plant that grows from seed. It can be grown on a range
of soils, but tends to grow best on land that produces
high yields of corn. The soil must be well drained, rich
in nitrogen, and non-acidic. Hemp requires limited pesti-
cides because it grows so quickly and attracts few pests.
Hemp is a traditional fibre crop which for centuries was
important in meeting our needs for textiles, paper and
oils. It is easy to grow organically, without a need for ar-
tificial pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers, so it can make
an important contribution to a sustainable future. The
production of cotton, on the other hand needs lot of pes-
ticide. Hemp is environmentally friendly in many ways. It
can displace the use of cotton, which requires massive
amount of chemicals harmful to people and the environ-
ment. The production of cotton consumes 50 % of the
pesticides sprayed in the entire world. Hemp has a deep
root system that helps to prevent soil erosion, removes
toxins, provides a disease break, and aerates the soil to
the benefit of future crops. True hemp is a fine, light –
coloured, lustrous, and strong bast fibre, obtained from
the hemp plant, “cannabis sativa“. A plant similar to jute
grown in many countries. When spun, it is rather like flax
but thicker and coarser. It is a very strong fibre and is
used in the manufacture of carpets, rugs, ropes etc, but
has limited use because bleaching is difficult.
Hemp is a renewable resource which grows more quickly
and easily than trees making hemp more cost effective
than waiting decades for trees to grow to be used in man
– made fiber production such as Lyocell and Rayon from
wood pulps. The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast
fibers, which are among the earth’s longest natural soft
fibers and also rich in cellulose.
The term “Hemp“ is often incorrectly used in a generic
sense for fibres from different plants e. g. ;Manila“Hemp“,
Sisal“Hemp“ , Sunn“Hemp“etc. Hemp is grown in coun-
tries like Canada, U. S. A, France, Hungary, Belgium, Hol-
land, Thailand, Austria, Italy, China, Philippine island,
Russia, Mexico, Germany, West Indies and India. In India
Deccan Hemp is grown both as crop and hedge plant. It
is cultivated largely in Maharastra, Tamil Nadu and north
Gujarat. It can be grown in all temperate and tropical
countries of the world. Currently the bulk of our demand
for textiles is met by cotton and synthetics, both of which
have serious environmental problems associated with
them.
Following are the steps required for Hemp processing in
textiles:
1. Retting - Harvesting is done with a conventional com-
bine harvester machine. Once cut, the plants, which are
composed of two types of fibre – long outer fibres suit-
able for textiles, and short inner fibre suitable for paper
or industrial applications – are left in the field for about 10
to 20 days to “ ret‘.
Retting are if two types:
a. Water Retting –It involves lying the stems in water in
tanks, ponds or in streams for around 10 days –it is more
effective if the water is warm and bacteria laden.
SUSTAINABLE FIBER

b. Dew Retting -It is a natural process that is triggered
by dew that falls on the crop each morning. After cutting,
the hemp stemswere laid parallel in rows to dew ret. the
stems needed turning at least once (sometimes) twice in
order to allow for even retting. Retting (or rotting) being
the name given to the process where by bacteria and fungi
breakdown the pectins that bind the fibres to the stem al-
lowing the fibre to be released. Retting is complete when
the fibre bundles appear white, separate from the woody
core and divide easily into individual finer fibres for their
full length. Once this process is complete (dry), the stalks
are collected and sent to the “decortication“machine.
The major Hemp varieties are calledF 34, F 56, Uniko BF
and Kompolti.
2. Decortication - In this process the de-leafed Hemp
stems are then dried, i. e. Conditioned and freed from
wood kernel in a sequence of squeeze, break and scotch-
ing processes. In other words it is described as breaking
the stems by passing through a “breaker “or fluted rollers.
Then the fibre is separated from the woody core (“scotch-
ing“) by beating the broken stems with a beech stick or
passing through rotary blades.
3. Softening – By using a so called Hemp softener or roller,
the decorticated fibres are made softer and more supple.
4. Combing - The shortening of the initial fibre lengths
from upto 3 m down to 650 mm is done on a special cutting
machine. Then the short and tangled fibres are combed
out, the long fibres are parallelized and smoothed using
a hackling machine. In other words “hackling“(combing)
means to remove any woody particles and to further align
the fibres into a continuous “sliver “for spinning.
5. Spinning – After several drawing and doubling passag-
es, the manufactured slivers are pre-spun roving yarns
and according to quality and the desired yarn fineness,
spun into Hemp yarn by wet or dry spinning processes.
Although as Hemp is coarser than Flax, the pins on the
board for drafting the combed fibre into a sliver needed
to be set differently. The rove produced was then boiled
in caustic soda to refine it and most of the yarn was
bleached with hydrogen peroxide. As it is similar to Flax
fibres, generally the best yarns are obtained by wet spin-
ning, in which fibres are allowed to pass through a trough
of hot water before being spun. This softens the Pectin
allowing a greater drawing out and separation of the fi-
bres and producing a finer yarn (greater than 12 Nm).
Dry spinning is cheaper, producing yarns and fabrics with
a different appearance and handle. Using the above pro-
cess two types of 100% Hemp yarn is made known as long
yarn and short yarn. . Normally the counts are Nm 7/1,
Nm 8. 5/1, Nm 10/1, Nm 16/1, Nm 18/1, Nm 24/1 and Nm
36/1.
The above preparatory processing of Hemp fibre incur
considerable waste and add significantly to the cost of
the fibre which could be made available as a raw textile
fibre for 3500 USD /tonne. The Hemp was successfully
processed to produce non aligned fibres, with a yield of
20-25 %.
Properties of Hemp fibre –
Hemp fibre is dark tan or brown and is difficult to bleach,
but it can be dyed bright and dark colours. Hemp fibre
is a lustrous fibre, has characteristic nodes and joints of
linen, but the central canal is wider. The cells are blunt
ended, when the fibre is viewed under microscope. The
Hemp fibres vary widely in length, depending upon their
ultimate use. Industrial fibres may be several inches long,
while fibres used for domestic textiles are about ¾ inch
to 1 inch (1. 9 to 2. 54 cm) long. The elongation (1 to 6
%) is low and its elasticity poor. The thermal reactions of
Hemp and the effect of sunlight are the same as for Cot-
ton. Hemp is moth resistant, but it is not impervious to
mildew. Furthermore Hemp has the best ratio of heat ca-
pacity of all fibres giving it superior insulation properties.
As a fabric, Hemp provides all the warmth and softness
of other natural textiles but with a superior durability
seldom found in other materials. Natural organic Hemp
fiber “breathes “and is biodegradable.
Hemp fibre is longer, stronger, more absorbent, more
mildew resistant and more insulative than Cotton fibre.
There are thirty varieties of Hemp fibre. It is a tall plant
with a natural woody fibre. All these varieties resemble
one another in general appearance and properties, but
only those having fibres of high tensile strength, fineness,
and high lustre have commercial value. It resembles flax
closely, and its fibre is easily mistaken for linen. Hemp is
harsh and stiff and cannot be bleached without harm to
the fibre. As Hemp is not pliable and elastic, it cannot be
woven into fine fabrics. Hemp is durable and is used in
rug and carpet manufacturing. It is especially suitable for
ship cordage as it is not weakened or rotted by water, This
means that Hemp will keep you warmer in winter and
cooler in summer than Cotton. Hemp is more effective at
blocking the sun‘s harmful ultraviolet rays. The nature of
Hemp fibres make them more absorbent to reactive dyes,
vat dyes and sulphur dyes, which coupled with Hemp “s
ability to better screen out ultraviolet rays, means that
Hemp material is less prone to fading than cotton fabrics
are.
Cotton was known of their naturalness, but look at the
comparison as below.
parameters cotton Hemp
( single fibre )
Fibre length ( mm ) 20-30 15-25
Fibre diameter (um) 15-19 22-25
Fibre fineness ( tex ) 0. 1 – 0. 4 0. 25-0. 52
Specific weight ( gm/
cm3)
1. 52 1. 47
SUSTAINABLE FIBER

Tensile strength
( N tex –1)
0. 15-0. 55 0. 53-0. 62
Breaking elongation
( % )
06-Oct 03-Apr
Blending of Hemp fibre
Like Cotton, Hemp can be made into a variety of fabrics
, including high quality Linen. When blended with ma-
terials such as Cotton, Linen, and Silk, Hemp provides a
sturdier, longer lasting product, while maintaining quality
and softness.
Hemp Active, an Austrian company supplies Hemp
blended yarn which is made of Hemp with cotton/or-
ganic cotton. . Nowadays few mills in Europe are making
Hemp/Polyester 60/40 blends and Hemp/Wool/Polyester
40/40/20 blends.
Hemp Textiles Intl, Canada supplies blend of Hemp/Wool
50/50. Hemp blended with other fibres easily incorporate
the desirable qualities of both textiles. When combined
with the natural strength of Hemp, the soft elasticity of
Cotton or the smooth texture of Silk create a whole new
genre of fashion design.
Uses of Hemp fibre -
Coarse Hemp fibres and yarns are woven into cordage,
rope, sacking and heavy –duty tarpaulins. In Italy, fine
Hemp fibres are used for interior design and apparel fab-
rics. Hemp is used in tapestry, hats, shawls, rugs, posters,
and towel.
Dyed hemp yarn from Hungary is suitable for rug weav-
ing, placemats, crochet and other craft items. It has been
found that 3 ply, 6 ply and 12 ply are used for weaving,
knitting or crochet. Hemp is stronger than linen and jute
fibre, hence it is ideal for making twine,r opes, cables, car-
pets, canvas, ship cordage, sail cloth, etc. Central Ameri-
can Hemp is chiefly used for cordage. Manila “Hemp “ is a
fibre from the leaves of the Abaca plant ; it is very strong,
fine, white, lustrous and, though brittle, it is adaptable for
the weaving of coarse fabrics.
Lastly more research work has to be done on Hemp fibre
like scouring /bleaching using enzymes without affecting
the strength of the fibre.
Trials can be taken in cotton and synthetic spinning by
adding Hemp fibre in many value added items and make
various types of fancy yarn which can be sold in the mar-
ket at premium rate.
Acknowledgement - The author is thankful to Mr. Sub-
hash Bhargava, FSDC (UK) Managing Director, COLORANT
LTD for giving permission to publish this article.
Dr N.N.Mahapatra
President
COLORANT LTD
12% or 5% : Confusion over GST rate on unstitched
fabrics !!
After eight months of new tax regime, textile traders of
the city are still confused over various rules and regula-
tions of Goods & Service Tax(GST). The textile traders
dealing in lenghas-Chunnis, unstitched salwar kameez
and dress material are worried over actual tax rate on
these fabrics. A large section of traders are doing busi-
ness by imposing 5% GST on these items while othere are
Charging 12% and maintaining record accordingly to file
the returns.
The textile traders and tax consultants have understood
the special and particular type of fabrics falls under dif-
ferent HSN code and tax rate to be imposed on it. But,
as far as unstitched fabrics are concerned, traders are
in dilemma about GST rate!!! The industry sources said,
earlier, the GST Council had kept GST rate on unstitched
fabrics at 5%. Now, the rate has been increased to 12%
on products above Rs 1,000 !! The unstitched fabric is in
demand across the country. Women and girls prefer buy-
ing unstitched dress material and then get it stitched as
per their size. Some traders believes that as per GST law,
lenghas-Chunnis falls under stitched fabrics category. The
tax consultants are arguing that the GST rate on products
below Rs 1000 is 5% and 12% on the products above Rs
1,000. Majority of traders are counting lenghas-Chunnis
as stitched fabrics. There is no clarity from the GST com-
missionerate over GST rate on unstitched fabric. The trad-
ers are going to seek advice of senior authorities in the
GST commissionerate next week.
Nylon yarn prices surge upto 10/kg. on supply dearth
Due to a fall in supplies, nylon yarn prices are increasing
in Surat market. The prices of various nylon deniers have
increased upto Rs 10/kg. in the recent days on the back
of rising demand and supply fears. Sources said because
of price rise in Caprolactam and workers strike in local
nylon yarn manufacturing company, yarn price has gone
up. Filament yarn prices has increased by 3 to 5 rupees
SUSTAINABLE FIBER
SURAT REPORT

per kg., while the prices of airtex based nylon yarn rose
by Rs 10/kg. Nylon prices have continued soaring in the
last four weeks, over a rebound of differenr raw material
costs. The currently low level of caprolactam production
may boost material costs of polyamide producers, pos-
sibly resulting in higher prices in the coming weeks. Poly-
ester yarn prices are also increasing in the local market.
In March sale, the spinners has increased POY prices by
Rs 1/kg and Rs 3/kg. of PTY. Despite the low demand the
prices of various deniers of polyester yarn has risen upto
Rs 25/kg. to 50/kg. during last seven months.
Industry demands inclusion of high-speed machines
under A-TUF
Weaving industry associations of the city are demanding
more fund allocation and relief under Amended Tech-
nology Upgradation Scheme(A-TUF). The association has
submitted representation to the office bearers of the tex-
tile commissionrate seeking subsidy for 8-24 powerloom
machines and inclusion of waterjet, airjet high-speed ma-
chine under the scheme.
For the promotion of Power Tex India scheme, last week,
ahmedabad textile commissionrate has organised a
meeting with weaving industry association in Surat. They
breif about the yarn bank scheme under Power Tex India
with an objective of providing interest free corpus fund to
special purpose vehicles or consortiums to enable them
to purchase yarn at wholesale rate and give the yarn at a
reasonable price to small weavers. The Power Tex India
scheme aims to boost common infrastructure and mod-
ernisation of the powerloom sector in the country. They
briefed about Pradhan Mantri Credit Scheme for power-
loom weavers and solar energy scheme for powerlooms.
The members of the association coveyed them that the
textile industry had been badly affected by demonetisa-
tion, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and e-way bill. The in-
dustry is seeking relief from the government. In cluster
like Surat, the country’s largest man-made fabric MMF
hub, there are around 6 lakh powerloom machines work-
ing in decentralized and unorganized sector. For better
quality and production high-speed machines are need of
the hour. The weaving association has demanded that
the waterjet and airjet machines in MMF hub in Surat
should be included in the A-TUFS by the Ministry of Tex-
tiles. The textile units are waiting for the subsidy amount
since long. The Association has appealed to clear the dues
(subsidy amount) that need to be paid to the textile units
under the scheme.
SGCCI seeks refund of GST paid on textile machinery
under EPCG scheme
The office bearers of Southern Gujarat Chamber of Com-
merce and Industry (SGCCI) and weaving association of
Surat had met the Commercial tax commissioner of the
state and requested to consider opening stock credit on
the goods held by the weavers and traders pre-GST. They
have also demanded refund of the GST paid on the textile
machinery purchased under Export Promotion Capital
Goods (EPCG) scheme. The industry delegation has high-
lighted the anomalous situation which has emerged after
the implementation of GST. They have requested for free
movement of yarn without e-way bill in the state. They in-
formed that refund mechanism of input tax credit on ac-
count of IGST has become a matter of serious concern as
there is no clarity on the refund process. High rate of IGST
without any refund relief has rendered the EPCG scheme
unattractive. The commissioner has asked the delegation
to prepare a report on the losses incurred by the sector
and the list of demands related to Goods and Service Tax
(GST) to be submitted to the GST Council.
High Domestic Prices Continue To Dent Exports
C
otton exports continued to decline in January with
shipment of 12.4 lakh bales (170 kg each) as against
14.3 lakh bales exported a year ago in a disrupted
market environment. The slowdown this year is largely
due to rising prices and slower buying exports to Bangla-
desh. Thus, the first four months of 2017-18 cotton mar-
keting season, recorded shipment of 33.5 lakh bales as
against 35.9 lakh bales in the corresponding months of
previous season. The price realization averaged INR 114
a kg or US cents 82.75 per pound in January as against
spot Shankar-6 at US cents 82.69 per pound. Global spot
benchmark, the Cotlook Index ‘A’ averaged at US cents
91.5 per pound. The current season began with average
export prices at US cents 80.8 in October which jumped to
US cents 90.68 in November only to moderate at US cents
75.5 in December, but domestic prices rose to US cents
79.4 per pound which made exporters cancel contracts.
During January, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam were
the largest importers of cotton with combined volumes
SURAT REPORT
YARN REPORT

at 1.07 million bales amongst the 17 countries that im-
ported cotton from India. Shipment to Pakistan was up
33% in volume and 42% in value as its average unit price
was US cents 82.5 per pound against US cents 77.5 last
year. Exports to China 80% during the month.
Italy, South Korea and Spain were new cotton buyers this
January while Turkey, France, United Arab Emirates, Ger-
many, Mozambique and Singapore did not import any
cotton, in comparison to last year.
Exports of cotton yarn declines, polyester up
In January, spun yarn export shipment declined 28% while
values in US$ term were down 21%. Volume totaled 102
million kg during the month, worth US$ 315 million. Unit
value realization averaged US$ 3.08 per kg, up US cents
12 from previous month, and US cents 28 up compared to
last year. Meanwhile, the INR appreciated from INR 67 to
INR 63 this January. Yarn exports to the largest buyer, Chi-
na declined 70% both in terms of volume and value dur-
ing January. It still accounted for 14% of all yarn shipped
during the month. In 2017, India was the second largest
cotton yarn supplier to China with a share of 19% in its
total imports. The top suppliers, obviously, remained Vi-
etnam with a share twice of India. However, there was
a sharp recovery seen in imports from India in last few
months of 2017 with India topping against all others, but
opening 2018, this position has dropped sharply.
Exporters had complained that the imposition of inte-
grated goods and services tax (GST) and delays in re-fund
of input tax credits were hurting overseas shipments,
prompting the GST Council to continue two pre-GST era
schemes that allow duty-free sourcing of materials for ex-
port production until March 2018. Ex-porters insist duty
refunds under GST have been tardy. Federation of Indian
Export Organisations (FIEO) has urged the government
seriously address is issues relating to refunds and take
measures to clear all cases by 31 March 2018. It has al-
ternatively suggested that banks may be asked to finance
exporters against the pending GST refund claims with in-
terest to be borne by the government.
Cotton yarn export at 81 million kg worth US$ 258 million
(INR 1,623 crore) was down 25% in November as 75 coun-
tries imported yarn at an average unit price realization of
US$ 3.16 a kg, US cents 15 more than previous month and
US cents 31 up from last year
China sharply reduced its import of cotton yarn from In-
dia by 70% in January in value terms, but still ac-counted
for only 17% of total shipment during the month. Bangla-
desh was the top importer of cotton yarn accounting for
25% of total exports. While volume export to Bangladesh
jumped 33% value was up 35%. Portugal and Egypt were
the other major importers, also increasing their souring
from India, while Pakistan was the fifth largest destina-
tion, but has reduced its import by about 50%. 13 coun-
tries did not import any cotton yarn from India as they
did last January, but were replaced by 10 other countries
which imported yarn worth US$ 1.40 million
Argentina, Syria, Australia, Ethiopia and Czech Republic
were among the fastest growing large markets for cotton
yarn in January while China, South Africa, Brazil and USA
significantly reduced their import com-pared to last year
100% man-made fibre yarns export also moderated in
volume and value in January. MMF yarns comprised 4.7
million kg of polyester yarn, 1.3 million kg of viscose yarn
and 1.1 million kg of acrylic yarn. Polyester yarn exports
rose 9% in value while viscose yarn exports value declined
45% during the month. Acrylic yarn exports were also
down 305%
Polyester spun yarns were exported to 50 countries at
average unit price realization of US$ 2.33 a kg. Tur-key
remained the largest importer of polyester yarn, followed
by USA and Egypt
Viscose yarn worth US$ 4.6 million or INR 29 crore was
exported in January at an average unit price realiza-tion
of US$ 3.55 per kg. Belgium was the top importer worth
US$ 1.2 million, followed by Turkey and Bangla-desh
Blended spun yarns worth US$ 40 million were exported
in January, up 13% YoY in value terms. During the month,
7.6 million kg of PC yarns was exported worth US$ 20 mil-
lion while another 4 million kg of PV yarns were exported
worth US$ 11 million
Egypt, Bangladesh and Turkey were the largest import-
ers of PC yarn from India while Turkey was also the only
major importer of PV yarns from India followed distantly
by South Africa
Source: Fibre to Yarn Export Statistics – India report of
January 2018
YARN REPORT

Fibre to yarn pricing trend in February
Cotton
The most-active US cotton May contract lost 3.8% YoY
in February to average US cents 78.69 per pound while
maturing March fell 3.2% to average US cents 77.86,
despite hitting the highest weekly close since 25 January.
The future had fallen to eight-week in the second week of
February on continued fund long liquidation selling which
maintained pressure on futures. While the fall reversed in
second half of the month as mill fixations, slackened fund
long liquidation selling followed by rounds of speculative
short covering propelled futures to gain.
Meanwhile, the USDA unveiled its first full estimates for
world cotton supply and demand in 2018-19, predicting
that Cotlook A index will decline 12%. The forecast came
despite world cotton stocks likely to fall by 5.9 million
bales to a seven-year low over this season. Cotton Out-
look, at the same time also predicted world cotton pro-
duction shortfall of 2.68 million bales next season – well
below the 5.9 million-bale deficit expected by the USDA.
World demand forecast for next season is at 122.7 million
bales, in line with USDA estimate. Global spot benchmark,
the Cotlook A index gained 2% on the fortnight at US cents
89.20 per pound.
In China, spot cotton market was stable and prices for
mechanically-harvested grade-3128/29 cotton in Xinjiang
were at premiums over futures. Some textile producers
were still relying on older stocks. The China Cotton Index
gained 24 Yuan to 15,698 a ton (US cents 112 a pound). In
Pakistan, dull trading was witnessed on the Karachi Cotton
Exchange while spot rates declined PakRs550 during the
month to PakRs7,195 per maund ex-Karachi. The decline
in trading activity implied that the traders remained on
the sidelines because besides cotton prices, yarn prices
were also depressed. Spinners are not entering in buying
at higher rates. In India, cotton prices moved down across
specs. Arrivals remained around 1.40-1.50 lakh bales per
day. Shankar 6 spot price averaged INR 40,050 a candy,
down INR 1,425 from previous month.
Cotton Yarn
Cotton yarn markets in China were gradually recover-
ing after long holidays and prices were kept steady amid
modest transaction. Conventional and low-count yarn re-
ported slightly better sales, and 32s and 21s sold well. 32s
were at 22.90 Yuan a kg (US$ 3.62 a kg) and 40s at 23.90
Yuan a kg (US$ 3.78 a kg) in Shengze. In India, cotton yarn
prices were up, despite cotton prices were slightly down.
30s combed cotton yarn for knitting were at INR 199.50 a
kg (US$ 3.10 a kg) in Ludhiana while export offers jumped
US cents 13 to average US$ 3.33 a kg.
Polyester
PSF markets were quiet in Asia and prices mostly rolled
over across China and India. In China, post Spring Festival,
crude oil and upstream feedstock moved up but PSF mar-
ket sentiment was quiet as downstream spinning mills
were yet to resume normal operation and were on the
sidelines. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, offers for 1.4D direct-
melt PSF almost rolled over at US$ 1.42-1.45 a kg, while
the same in Fujian and Shandong were at US$ 1.42-1.49 a
kg. In India, offers were raised on rising cost. 1.4D were up
INR 3 at INR 94.25 a kg or US$ 1.47 a kg.
Spun polyester yarn markets were stable in China with
32s yarn offers unchanged amid moderate transaction.
Downstream spinning mills were closed for almost two
weeks and stood on the sidelines after converters re-
sumes normal operation. In China, 32s polyester yarn of-
fers rolled over at 13.90 Yuan a kg (US$ 2.20 a kg) while
60s were at 15.70 Yuan a kg (US$ 2.48 a kg). Export of-
fers for 30s however, were up US cents 6 to US$ 1.58 a kg
FOB. In India, polyester yarn prices were raised to partially
pass-on the hike in PSF prices last fortnight. Support from
export markets was also firm as shipment in January were
slightly down but unit prices realization was up in year
on year comparison. 30s knit yarn prices were raised INR
3.75 to INR 132 a kg (US$ $2.05 a kg) in Ludhiana market.
YARN REPORT

Polyester intermediates
Purified terephthalic acid markets in Asia resisted any
price drop during and after the holidays on the back of
feedstock costs. However, the pressure on the conversion
cannot be underestimated. In China, the spread between
PTA spots and futures got stronger on the either side of
New Year holiday. Asian PTA markers were up US$ 25.75
on the fortnight with CFR China at US$ 761-763 per ton
and offer from Taiwan/Korea at US$ 773-779 a ton. In
Europe, February PTA contract price was up Euro3.50 at
Euro670-704 a ton alongside paraxylene.
Mono ethylene glycol markets in Asia were silent before
and had a good start after Lunar New Year holidays and
prices fluctuated upward in second half of February. In
China, MEG prices rose immediately after markets re-
sumed while forward-month goods were slightly higher
than spot numbers. Spot MEG
prices were up US$ 16-20 with
CFR China at US$ 1,017-1,022 a
ton and CFR South East Asia to
US$ 1,029-1,034 a ton. In India,
CIF values were up US$ 16 at
US$ 1,021 a ton. European MEG
sentiment was bearish and bulk
prices were assessed at Euro
800-830 a ton CIF NWE.
Nitin Madkaikar
Textile Beacon
nitin@textilebeacon.com
How Worried Should EMs be as DM Yields Head Higher?
T
he yields in developed economies have started head-
ing higher. This raises the question as to whether
the hardening global yields would be disruptive for
emerging markets and whether it would trigger a flight of
capital from EM assets as a result of carry trade unwind-
ing. There have been three instances since 2008 when
the US, Japanese and German bond yields have moved
higher sharply, in unison. When it happened in 2008, Ru-
pee moved from 39.50 to 43. The second instance was
in early 2009 during which the Rupee weakened from 47
to 52 and the third time it happened was in 2013 when
the Rupee depreciated from 53 to 68. Of course, on each
of these occasions there were domestic factors too that
were responsible for exacerbating the Rupee moves but
the trigger was a concerted move higher in developed
market yields. We are in a phase where all three major
central banks i.e. the US Federal Reserve, the ECB (Euro-
pean Central Bank) and the BoJ(Bank of Japan) are looking
to wind down the ultra-accommodative monetary policy
measures. The question therefore is whether a coherent
sharp move higher in US, German and Japanese bond
yields would spook the Rupee and domestic capital mar-
kets again.
This time around however the fundamentals are a little
different. The US Federal Reserve has hiked four times
and has also initiated balance sheet reduction without
causing a major disruption in the global financial markets
(quite unlike the time when it had announced tapering
of its QE program). Persistent undershoot of its inflation
target despite a strengthening economy has given it the
leeway to withdraw stimulus gradually. It was not until re-
cently that when the US 10y yield broke the 2.60% mark
and the US government announced a deficit widening tax
reform plan that the markets became nervous about a
potential threat to EM assets. Similarly on the domestic
front too, the BoP situation is more comfortable, inflation
is under control, a sizeable war chest has been built in the
form of foreign currency reserves and the government
seems committed to fiscal prudence. Again, it is only re-
cently that a few concerns have resurfaced as crude pric-
es have managed to sustain at elevated levels and there
is some uncertainty around government’s indirect tax col-
lections that could possibly result in fiscal slippage.
So what would it take for the current nervousness to
transform into alarm and panic? The move higher in US
yields from current levels could result in panic especially
if accompanied or driven by certain other factors such
as pick up in inflation and higher breakevens resulting in
higher expectations for the terminal federal funds rate
and steepening of the US yield curve. There is a signifi-
cant positive correlation between US 10 year breakevens
and India 10y yields. A quarterly regression run from 2006
till date gives an R-squared value of 0.39 which implies
changes in US 10y breakevens explain changes in Indian
10y yields to the extent of 39%. Breakevens are spreads
between the nominal yield on the 10y bond and the real
US 10y TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protection Securities)
yield and indicate inflation expectations. While the Fed-
eral Reserve has prepared the markets for imminent rate
hikes and balance sheet reduction, the rise in inflation is
something the market is not prepared for. The next few
PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditure), core CPI and
wage growth prints would be extremely crucial. US yield
curve flatteners have been the preferred trades to bet on
GLOBAL FOCUS
YARN REPORT

low inflation and positioning there seems overstretched.
A slightest hint of sustainable pick up in inflation could
see frantic unwinding of these trades andresult in curve
steepening. Therefore it would be important to follow the
2s10s, 10s30s spread closely and also the breakevens and
yield on treasury inflation protection securities (TIPS) to
see how inflation expectations and real rates are evolv-
ing. The last four average hourly earnings prints have
been 2.3%, 2.5%,2.7% and 2.9%.It would be interesting to
see if these translate into higher inflation prints.
This is also the first time that a massive fiscal push has
come at a time when the US economy is already doing
well. The US government is likely to run the biggest deficit
outside of a crisis period when the unemployment rate
is close to record lows. (Fiscal easing is usually counter
cyclical i.e. the government usually increases spending or
cuts taxes to boost growth when the economy is strug-
gling.) The sell off in US yields could get exacerbated due
to higher borrowing resulting from increased spending
and tax cuts. Also, this pro-cyclical fiscal easing could al-
ter the US Federal Reserve’s reaction function and cause
it to hike rates sooner than what the latest dot plot indi-
cates. The Fed dots i ndicate 3 hikes in 2018 and the rates
market too is expecting the same. This could change very
quickly if inflation prints surprise on the up side.
The cushion of higher FX Reserves makes the Rupee less
vulnerable to outside shocks this time around. Usually a
bit of risk aversion initiates FPI selling in stocks and bonds
and as they withdraw money from domestic stocks and
bonds, the Rupee weakens. Rupee weakness in turn
starts diminishing the Dollar denominated returns of ex-
isting investors as a lot of investments areunhedged. This
triggers panic and exacerbates the sell off in domestic
stocks and bonds. The central bank has been intervening
on both sides to keep the Rupee stable and the stability of
the Rupee would comfort FPIs. Unless there is a concert-
ed move higher in DM yields that causes all EM currencies
to weaken in tandem, thereby
allowing the central bank to let
the Rupee move in tandem with
them, it is unlikely we would
see that sort of panic in domes-
tic assets. To get early warning
signs though, of a capital flight,
we need to closely monitor the
next few inflation prints in the
US, Eurozone and Japan.
GLOBAL FOCUS
MARKET REPORT
Mr. Abhishek Goenka
CEO & Founder : IFA Global
Author : Bhupendra Dholakia, Ahmedabad
Presented the probability of weather effects in different
states, keeping in mind the dynamic mechanism of the
solar system, astronomical matters and ancient history of
seasonality.
During the first week of April 2018 , the proportion of
winds in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh and South Rajasthan is very high. Its negative
effect can be seen in some extent. Cotton fodder may
increase. The effect of which is seen in cotton yield.
In the second week of April, frost in the northern part of
the country appears. The probability of weather forecast
in the central part of the country and the pre-monsoon
showers in eastern India. Kutch, Saurashtra, North Guja-
rat, Central Gujarat has the possibility of moderated rain
fall.
In the third week of April (the days of Amas), heat will
increase in the region of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh. At the end of the third week, the proportion of
cyclone increases from April 17 to 20. Cotton flowers will
be affected.
At the beginning of the fourth week of April Kutch, Sau-
rashtra, North Gujarat, Central Gujarat, Maharashtra and
Madhya Pradesh will see clouds during 21st to 23rd. The
possibility of rain in the western part of the country, some-
what hail. 24th & 25th April Jammu and Kashmir cooling
will effect the possibility rains. North India and East India
(North East India) seem to have expected shorter rainfall.
South India seems less affected.
During the last week of April, the weather will change.
Weather in East Gujarat, Central Gujarat, North Maha-
rashtra, and Western part of Madhya Pradesh South India
seems to have little effect.
n April 29 - 30, the region of Curacled winds up rapidly in
wind storms Dangerous effects on the east coast of south
India can be seen. Its effect will be on the cotton produc-
tion.
Cotton Weather (Yield Forecast) April 2018

China, Artificial Intelligence Power House
T
he United States technological sophistication has
long supported its military predominance. In the
1990s, the U.S. military started to hold an uncon-
tested advantage over its adversaries in the technologies
of information-age warfare from stealth and precision
weapons to high-tech sensors and command and control
systems. Those technologies remain critical to its forces
today.
For years, China has closely watched the United States’
progress, developing asymmetric tools including space,
cyber, and electronic capabilities that exploit the U.S.
military’s vulnerabilities. Today, however, the Chinese
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is pursuing innovations
in many of the same emerging technologies that the U.S.
military has itself prioritized. Artificial Intelligence is chief
among these.
In the decades ahead, AI could transform warfare, cre-
ating disruptive new capabilities and changing the ways
that militaries command, train, and deploy their forces.
Those changes will shape the military balance among the
world’s great powers.
For now, the United States remains the world’s leader
in AI, thanks mostly to the dynamism of its private sec-
tor. But China seeks to surpass the United States, and
it may be close to doing so. The Chinese leadership has
started to prioritize AI at the highest levels. In July, Beijing
released the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Devel-
opment Plan, articulating an ambitious agenda to lead
the world in artificial intelligence by 2030. It is backing up
that commitment with deep funding for cutting-edge AI
research. As China advances in the field, the United States
will face the challenge of a new kind of peer competitor.
BRAIN GAMES
By most measures, China is already an AI powerhouse.
China produces more AI-related patent applications than
any other country except for the United States, and Chi-
nese scholars have already published more papers on AI
than their American peers. But the country’s ascendance
in AI is not a matter of quantity alone. In 2017, the an-
nual conference of the Association for the Advancement
of Artificial Intelligence accepted as many papers from
Chinese as from American researchers for the first time a
sign of the increasing sophistication of AI research under
way in China. And in November, a Chinese facial recogni-
tion start-up took first place in a contest hosted by the
Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, a U.S.
government organization. Thanks to China’s billions of
dollars in private and government investment, its access
to huge amounts of data, and its efforts to attract and
educate top talent, the country is on track to overtake the
United States.
So far, China’s big technology firms notably Baidu, Alib-
aba, and Tencent have tended to lead the charge in AI.
That could have important implications for the PLA, which
could use the private sector’s progress for military pur-
poses. For example, the technologies behind self-driving
cars could be used for intelligent unmanned military
systems, and advances in computer vision and machine
learning could improve weapons systems’ abilities to rec-
ognize targets.
Chinese military leaders have good reason to draw on
the private sector’s advances, since they believe that AI
could transform the nature of war. In the PLA’s jargon,
AI will set off a shift from informatized to intelligentized
warfare, becoming as central to future conflicts as more
rudimentary forms of information technology are to war-
fare today. Liu Guozhi, a lieutenant general in the PLA and
the director of its Science and Technology Commission,
has suggested that artificial intelligence will transform
militaries’ operational styles, equipment systems, and
more. AI could eventually support autonomous robots,
including swarms of drones. It could improve war-gaming
and simulated training exercises by creating clever artifi-
cial adversaries a major benefit for China’s forces, which
largely lack combat experience. And it could elevate com-
manders’ abilities to make quick decisions on the battle-
field. Indeed, the Central Military Commission Joint Staff
Department, the PLA’s top command organ, has called on
the military to use AI to help commanders do just that.
China’s recent advances in swarm intelligence which in-
volves autonomous cooperative behavior among masses
of distributed robots have been on prominent display in
official media. In June 2017, China Electronics Technology
Group Corporation, a state-owned defense conglomer-
ate, successfully flight-tested a swarm of 119 drones a
new record. In a conflict, the PLA could use swarms to
cheaply target high-value U.S. weapons platforms, such
as aircraft carriers.
As AI and robotics become pervasive in warfare, some
PLA thinkers even anticipate the arrival of a so-called sin-
gularity on the battlefield. At that point, human minds
might not be able to keep up with the speed of the deci-
sion-making demanded by AI-enabled combat and so mil-
itaries could start to remove people from the battlefield,
place them into supervisory roles, and let unmanned sys-
tems do most of the fighting. Such an inflection point may
seem distant, but militaries are already trending toward
more automation. For instance, many air and missile de-
fense platforms, such as the U.S. military’s Patriot system,
can automatically track and select their targets. Even now,
GLOBAL FOCUS

Mr. Arvind Sinha - CEO
M/s. Business Advisors Group, Mumbai
a number of militaries, including the United States’ and
China’s, are starting to use AI to anticipate failures in criti-
cal equipment and to analyze intelligence more efficient-
ly. In the foreseeable future, AI will also have applications
in cyber-operations, helping militaries discover and then
patch or exploit vulnerabilities far faster than a human
cyber warrior could.
Some observers have suggested that authoritarian re-
gimes such as China’s could eventually opt for fully auto-
mated approaches to war. That could raise a number of
ethical and operational risks: an automated system could,
for example, fail to differentiate legitimate military targets
from civilian ones. In fact, Chinese military thinkers seem
to value the role that humans will play in the machine
age. Liu, for instance, has suggested that human minds
augmented with artificial intelligence will eventually be
more powerful than AI programs on their own. And some
aspects of the PLA’s culture especially its commanders’ in-
terest in preserving centralized control could encourage
officers to keep humans in the loop on important deci-
sions.
ALL TOO HUMAN
Despite its advances in military hardware, the PLA has
struggled to recruit and retain highly educated, techno-
logically proficient personnel. PLA officials might see AI
as a solution. AI could help to automate some military
specialties and functions, replacing or compensating for
missing human talent. Along with virtual and augmented
reality, AI could improve the realism and sophistication of
the PLA’s training programs.
But there’s a catch: even as AI mitigates some of the PLA’s
systemic problems, it could exacerbate others. Complex
AI systems, for instance, can require highly trained per-
sonnel, and it could be difficult for the PLA to assemble
such talent. The introduction of AI to support command-
ers could also create new issues of so-called automation
bias, encouraging officers to rely on programs that are
prone to error.
The trajectory of China’s advances in AI remains to be
seen. But in light of the progress that the PLA has already
achieved, the U.S. military should recognize that China is
quickly becoming a peer competitor in AI and adjust its
own plans accordingly.
U.S. defense officials should carefully study the PLA’s ad-
vances in the field in the context of China’s broader strate-
gic goals. At the same time, Washington should preserve
the underlying advantages that will shape its competitive-
ness in the future. First, the U.S. government should in-
vest far more in long-term research on AI and its applica-
tions. The Trump administration’s initial budget proposal
called for a ten percent cut to the National Science Foun-
dation’s funding for research on intelligent systems, to a
mere $175 million. China, by contrast, will spend billions
in the years to come on next-generation AI research. Sec-
ond, Washington should make sure to preserve its edge
in human capital. The United States is now home to more
AI experts than any other country. That will require doing
more to attract the world’s top AI talent to work in the
United States and developing the educational program-
ming in high schools and universities needed to create
future professionals in the field. And the U.S. government
should work to prevent illicit technology transfers by, for
example, increasing its oversight of Chinese investments
and acquisitions in sensitive sectors of the American
economy, including AI and robotics, even as it takes care
that it does not generally discour-
age foreign investment, which
can support innovation. The U.S.
military must recognize the chal-
lenge of China’s emergence as
a would-be AI superpower and
prepare for a future in which the
United States’’ technological ad-
vantage is no longer assured.
GLOBAL FOCUS
ITMA 2019 will feature a number of industry-leading
knowledge-sharing events to facilitate sharing and collab-
oration among global textile and garment industry mem-
bers. Hot button issues such as sustainable innovation,
Industry 4.0 and automation will be on many agendas
during the show.
According to CEMATEX, owner of ITMA 2019, the cluster of
accompanying events will spotlight key industry challeng-
es and leading-edge solutions that will support industry
members’ drive for sustainability and competitiveness.
Mr Fritz Mayer, President of CEMATEX, elaborated: “ITMA
has evolved beyond its original aim of merely providing a
buy-and-sell platform for textile machinery manufactur-
ers. It is now a meaningful platform for all industry stake-
holders to share new breakthroughs, brainstorm solu-
tions and explore collaboration.”
Two events that have been successfully organised in con-
junction with past ITMA exhibitions include the Textile
Colourant and Chemical Leaders Forum and the Nonwo-
vens Forum. These ITMA forums are organised in collabo-
ration with key industry organisations.
For more details, visit : www.textilevaluechain.com News
Section
CLUSTER OF KNOWLEDGE EVENTS TO FACILITATE INDUSTRY SHAR-
ING AND COLLABORATION AT ITMA 2019
NEWS

“Innovtion Can Only Sustain You Tomorrow” Perception
Of Itamma Founder Shri B.k. Mehta Coming True Today.
I
t all started in 1988 when Shri B.K. Mehta, Visionary &
Past-President, ITAMMA, categorically suggested that
ITAMMA should take up activities which will make its
members and the organization very strong in terms of
system, technology and R&D. Considering his passion
for R&D, as the members of Managing Committee of ITA-
MMA on his 70th birthday in 1988 established “B K ME-
HTA ENDOWMENT FUND” in appreciation of his yeomen
and meritorious services to the Association; who was the
President of the Association in the year 1953, 1962, 1966,
1978 and also as a Trustee for four decades. This fund
was further strengthened financially from time to time for
various activities in the field of technology.
Thereafter, ITAMMA didn’t look back and set up its Road
Map of organizing programmes on 5s, Lean, Design Clin-
ics, Common Facilitation Centres, and so on. After achiev-
ing a very good response from our members and further
to acknowledge their efforts and help them to know
their status in the field of technology, ITAMMA from the
year 2011 onwards went on introducing awards like ‘Pat-
ent’, ‘Make in India’, and recently ‘Operational Excellence
Award’. Further, to disseminate the success stories of
our members in this field and to encourage those who
are lagging behind, we have released an ‘ITAMMA VOICE’
magazine during the ITAMMA Award function on 31st Jan-
uary, 2018 . The theme of the magazine was specifically
on ‘Operational Excellence’.
Further, to give a tribute to our Visionary, late Shri B.K.
Mehta, popularly known as ‘Balkrishnabhai’ in the Tex-
tile Industry; a special film was also displayed during the
award function further to create an enthusiasm and en-
couragement among the award winners for recording
more and more innovations in future. Ms. Hansaben Me-
hta, wife of Shri Balkrishnabhai was also felicitated for her
continuous support and contribution to ITAMMA; who
further strengthened the financial status of ‘B K MEHTA
ENDOWMENT FUND’ by adding an amount of Rs.25 lakhs.
In her Guest of Honour speech she mentioned that “The
activities of ITAMMA are spreading throughout the Textile
Engineering Industry and may pave way for Indian Textile
Engineering Industry to become a hub for spares and ac-
cessory for the world, as India may also become a leading
supplier of textile machinery to the developing world”.
The event started by lighting the lamp in a very tradi-
tional way followed by a prayer which was followed by
a welcome speech by Mr. Kaizar Z. Mahuwala, President,
ITAMMA who brought back the yesterday’s memories of
the Association and informed the important role of the
founder-members of ITAMMA in creating the vision which
is being systematically followed through cluster develop-
ment activities like 5s, Lean, Kaizen, Design Clinics, and
Common Facilitation Centres at PAN India. He also men-
tioned that apart from being the oldest and largest engi-
neering Association in the World, the continual develop-
ment of ITAMMA members in technology is helping us to
sustain our status in the World. Mr. Kaizar Z. Mahuwala,
President, ITAMMA informed that ITAMMA is celebrating
its 75th Year and accordingly he invited Ms Hansaben Me-
hta to launch ‘75th Year Logo”. After the launching cere-
mony of the Logo was over, the release of ITAMMA VOICE
a quarterly magazine of 2nd Edition, which was based on
the theme of “Operational Excellence.”, took place in the
hands of Ms Hansaben Mehta.
The function was further taken forward with a pro-
gramme of ‘Farewell Dinner” to Mr. Mayank J. Roy, Past-
President of ITAMMA who addressed the audience with
his thanking speech to all those who guided and encour-
aged him for organizing various fruitful activities during
his tenure as President in the year 2015-16
Thereafter the Award function started where the follow-
ing ITAMMA members bagged the Awards in respective
categories.
Award winner Category
M/s. Samruddhi Engi-
neering, Ahmedabad
Top Rank Award for the cat-
egory of Micro & Small En-
terprises (2016-17)
M/s. Supertex Industries,
Mumbai
Highest Export Excellence
Award for Accessory Sector
(2016-17)
M/s. Lakshmi Ring Trav-
ellers (Cbe) Ltd.,
Coimbatore
Export Excellence Award for
Spinning Accessory Sector –
Large Scale Manufacturers
(2016-17)
M/s. Maksteel Wire
Healds Pvt. Ltd., Va-
dodara
Export Excellence Award for
Weaving Accessory Sector –
Large Scale Manufacturers
(2016-17)
M/s. Precision Rubber In-
dustries Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
Export Excellence Award
for Spinning Accessory
Sector – Micro, Small &
Medium Enterprises (MS-
MEs) (2016-17)
M/s. Century Inks Pvt. Ltd.,
Mumbai
Export Excellence Award
for Processing Accessory
Sector – Micro, Small &
Medium Enterprises (MS-
MEs) (2016-17)
EVENT REPORT

M/s. Samruddhi Engineer-
ing, Ahmedabad
ITAMMA Operational Ex-
cellence Award (2016-17)
M/s. Millwright Engineer-
ing Pvt. Ltd.,
Coimbatore Apprecia-
tion Certificate for Opera-
tional Excellence (2016-17)
Further to disseminate the success stories of the award
winners and also to encourage the others to be the part
of the award competition in future, a technical brochure
was released during the function which covers the views
of the President, Mr. Kaizar Z. Mahuwala, and the guide-
lines of Mr. Kirti Rathod, Chairman, Award Sub-Commit-
tee in the formation of this special award along with the
success stories of the award winners.
Through ITAMMA Export Excellence Awards, our mem-
bers are encouraged to enhance their Exports of Machines
and Accessories. These awards are being instituted by
the Association in 2010 under the ‘J.G. ROY ENDOWMENT
FUND’ formed in the name of Mr. Jayantilal Roy who was
the Trustee of the Association and also the President in
the year 1979.
Chief Guest, Ms. Pilloo C. Aga, Director, Goldseal Saar
Gummi India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, delivered the Chief Guest
Speech as below:
“We today live in bhooka World which is volatile, uncer-
tainty, complexity, ambiguity, and today every customer
if it’s a textile customer or an auto component customer
they want a quality product. So quality is a given; and un-
less a company has quality nobody is going to give you a
new order or a repeat order and even on the item which
you make up the aluminium there must be quality em-
bedded in it. That’s why everyone wants it and also for
your exports all over the World you said quality is a must
and you must listen to the voice of the customer. So all
that when you embed it in your manufacturing then you
get ‘Operational Excellence’. So, it’s not only technical; it’s
all the hard skill and the soft skill which is going to give
you excellence. Unless you believe you cannot give an
excellent product. So every employee must believe that I
can do a wonderful job. The question is how do we build
robust quality in to our product, how do we give tomor-
row’s quality at yesterday’s price; that’s what the custom-
er wants it; especially, I don’t know how it is in the textile
industry; but definitely in our automotive industry. we
have to give a 5 to 10% year-on-year reduction. So, you
have to have a Lean Manufacturing balanced processes
which will allow your product to be good. But today we
don’t want good; we want the best and class. If we have
only innovation. Innovation not ‘JUGAD’ embedded in
our production process. Manufacturing excellence must
ensure that all raw materials are used 100% effectively.
So you get a back best input-output ratio. The customer
wants value for his money; raw materials are becoming
expensive. So, we must ensure that our maximum output
comes from our minimum input. That ratio we must nev-
er ~ because that will give you profitability, and durability
and that’s how you invest in our Indian innovation. Op-
erational Excellence is a relentless pursuit. I keep saying,
relentless pursuit because it doesn’t end; its not a desti-
nation; it’s a journey. So you have this relentless pursuit
of finding in your way or in your means to improve the
input-output norm. Lean, Six Sigma, Productivity, Profi-
ciency, I mean all those are words which we have been
doing. But it’s innovation, it’s break-through innovation.
It can also through low cost automation. Because innova-
tion Kaizens; these are the foundations to go higher. So,
even a small Kaizen can give a big result; and even a micro
or a medium or a large scale must have a Kaizen. So we
need to have innovative products, innovative processes,
innovative designs and that will lead to break-through in-
novation to give you the end result. I am just going to say
four little steps. (1) Is a seamless integration. You must
have fewer raw materials, fewer processes, fewer people
touching the product so that you get a better output in
both quality and quantity terms. Sometimes we focus
only on marketing and do not have the back-up on pro-
duction. So, both production and exports must go hand-
in-hand. It’s good that ITAMMA is focusing so much on
technology to increase the export cell.”
Mr. Jugal Kishore Pansari, Second Vice-President, ITAM-
MA delivered Vote of Thanks wherein he mentioned that,
as the kick start to celebrate the platinum year, 2018 of
ITAMMA has already being set by our President. With a
launch of ‘75th Year Logo” we look forward for the variety
of programmes during the year, spreading the wings of
ITAMMA in every valuable field of “knowledge, business,
environment” thus conveying a message of Responsible
manufacturing to the World.
EVENT REPORT

Globally renowned textile care forum, Texcare marks its
launch in India
T
excare –the world’s leading brand for modern tex-
tile care marked its entry in India through a dedi-
cated forum on laundry, cleaning and textile rentals
organised by Messe Frankfurt India and Virtual Info Sys-
tems. The conference that was scheduled on 20 January
2018 at Bombay Exhibition Centre alongside the Laun-
drex exhibition in Mumbai, successfully brought impor-
tant decision makers, potential investors and enthusiastic
trade professionals together under one roof from leading
countries around the world.
High level panel discussions were held during the confer-
ence on subjects such as online laundry business, start-
ups and strategising success through technology leading
to share of information, ideas and knowledge pertaining
to the industry while drawing the business outlook for the
future.
The launch edition witnessed a notable presence of over
170 attendees from over 120 companies. The eminent
panel of speakers including business leaders, technology
experts and sector specialists from India and abroad such
as Mr Elgar Straub, Managing Director, VDMA Textile Care,
Fabric and Leather Technologies; Mr Guillem Clofent,
General Manager, Girbau SA; Ms Ruth Lorenz, Vice Presi-
dent Technology, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH; Mr
David Stevens, Director, NewGen Business Services, UK;
and Mr John Hacker, Director of Sales Asia Pacific,Herbert
Kannegiesser GmbH. Other notable speakers who shared
insights about new approaches taken up by start-ups
in this industry included, Mr Edward Menezes, Director,
Buzil Rossari Pvt Ltd; Mr Anup Poddar, Director, Beepee
Enterprise Pvt Ltd; Mr Balachandar R., Founder & CEO,
Wassup Laundry and Mr Rachit Ahuja, Co-Founder, Quick
Dry Clean Software.
“The potential of the Indian market brings us here for Tex-
care and it has been a very pertinent platform address-
ing issues that meet market needs. While the speaker
line has been very professional, the audience has kept us
interested in understanding the different ways in which
Indiaworks. We will take back a lot of insights from here,”
sharedMr Xavier Salas, International Sales Director, Gir-
bau SA.
Also addressing the crowd and as key memberpresent
at the launch, was Mrs Ruth Lorenz, Vice President Tech-
nology, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, who shared:
“It has been a fantastic interaction and a satisfying first
edition. Europe and Indian markets work very differently.
We see a very good opportunity in the Indian market and
I am keen to learn the demands of the markets here. As a
show organiser, I would like to inform our exhibitors glob-
ally about the need to adapt to different markets.”
Delegates attending the conference had a cross-section
of decision makers and directors from sectors like rail-
ways, hotels, hospitality, and healthcare; from institutions
and entrepreneurs; and from industry suppliers of equip-
ment, linen and chemicals for laundry, dry-cleaning and
textile care. Some of the key attendees include Central
Railway-Nagpur, North Western Railways (NWR), South-
ern Railway, German Engineering Federation (VDMA),
CINET - the International Committee of Textile Care, SB
Fabcare Pvt Ltd, Flying Laundry, Fabric Spa Laundry, IRIS
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Solutions, Refnol Resins and
Chemicals Ltd, Hollywood Dry Cleaners, Shanghai Sailstar
Machinery (Group) Co, Ltd, SDC International Ltd, Spark
Automobiles, Sparkle Quick Wash, Synergy Corporation,
The Laundry Walla, The Sparkle lounge, Xpress Laundro-
mat and Guardini.
Attending this key business event Mr Sisir Reddy, CEO
– Founder, Safe Wash, shared about the challenges
this sector faces and his views on Texcare Forum being
launched in India. He said: “One of the biggest challeng-
es we face in this sector is skilled labour. There are no
proper institutions for teaching laundry techniques, their
operating systems and the technology being used. Many
eco-friendly technologies and new technologies such as
wet cleaning and other variants are entering the market,
which I am sure will help the sector grow. This is an un-
organised sector and forums and associations like Tex-
care and Laundrex will help bring the launderers and dry
cleaners together.”
Overall, the conference proved to be a knowledge forum
and learning platform for covering most pertinent sub-
jects and issues such as Global Best Practices, Trends in
Laundry, Dry-Cleaning, Textile Care, Sustainability, Re-
source Efficiency, Process Automation and Software.
Texcare Forum India is a sister event of Texcare Interna-
tional, the world market for modern textile care. Every
four years, Texcare International provides an internation-
al venue for the textile-care sector in Frankfurt, Germany.
The upcoming Texcare International will be held from 20
– 24 June 2020.
EVENT REPORT

ICA DELEGATION VISITS CAI
A
two member delegation from International Cotton
Association Ltd. (ICA), Liverpool Consisting of its
President, Mr. Salman Ispahani and Managing Di-
rector, Mr. Bill Kingdon visited the Cotton Association of
India (CAI) on 27th February 2018 and met the CAI team
led by its President, MR. Atul S. Ganatra.
The CAI President took the visiting delegates on tour of
the imposing and historic premises of the Association.
The issues discussed between the ICA and CAI include a
proposal for organising a training programme on ICE fu-
tures in Mumbai, organising a road show on ICA By-laws
and Rules at the domestic conference being organised by
CAI on 2nd September 2018, visit of ICA delegation to Ma-
harashtra to coincide with the said CAI domestic confer-
ence on 2nd September 2018, harmonizing CAI By-laws
with ICA, not allowing parties appearing in the CICCA un-
fulfilled award list to become CAI members, certification
of one or more testing facility by ICA Bremen and use
thereof for the purpose of dispute redressal by ICA, ap-
pointment of the CAI recommended arbitrators and con-
ciliators from India on the panel of ICA, etc. Both parties
have mutually agreed to review progress in the activities
of cooperation between each other from time to time.
Earlier a dinner was hosted by the CAI on 26th February
2018 in honour of the ICA team.
Both the ICA and CAI have a Memorandum of Under-
standing since 2014 to combine efforts to promote better
cotton trading practices, upholding sanctity of contracts
and to pursue the cause of cotton globally and effectively.
The areas of cooperation between both the ICA and CAI
include organising yearly meetings to discuss issues of
mutual interest and further ways to increase cooperation
between each other, visits of delegation and organising
training programmes; information exchange and dis-
semination, liaisoning with Government, apprising qual-
ity related issues and speedy resolution of issues faced by
each other’s members, etc.
W
e are happy to share with you that the 3rd edi-
tion of Intex South Asia was quite successful
which showcased 180 suppliers from 15 coun-
tries and attracted 2991 professional buyers from more
than 20 countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bang-
ladesh, UAE, Oman, Mauritius, Italy, Australia, UK, France,
USA, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand
and others that attended the show over 3 days of sourc-
ing and networking.
The show was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister
of Sri Lanka, H.E. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe in the pres-
ence of the Hon’ble Minister of Industry & Commerce, Mr.
Rishad Baithudeen and Hon’ble State Minister for Devel-
opment Strategies & International Trade, Mr. Sujeewa Se-
nasinghe. The grand opening ceremony was well attend-
ed by several Diplomats, Heads of Trade Associations and
Industry stalwarts from Sri Lanka, South Asia and beyond.
This year, it was encouraging to see sourcing, merchan-
dising and design teams of many apparel exporters, in-
ternational and domestic brands, buying and sourcing of-
fices, retailers and e-tailers, fashion labels from Sri Lanka
and other markets attending the show and looking for in-
novative textiles and trims for new product development
for their next season 2018/19 SS and AW. This makes In-
tex South Asia – the largest international textile sourcing
show of South Asia region bringing together the entire
value chain and supply chain of the textile and apparel
sector under one platform.
This makes, Intex South Asia a must-visit show which suc-
cessfully brings together the entire value-chain and sup-
ply-chain of the textile and apparel industry under one
trading platform.
Intex South Asia 2017
EVENT REPORT

InspirOn Engineering is fo-
cussed to serve the industry
with innovative technology by
understanding the user per-
spective, requirement & busi-
ness aspects. Sustainability emerged as one of the ma-
jor driving force for development, covers following four
aspects, Environmental, economic, social & Culture. Very
Often the environmental aspect is primarily considered
for sustainability but the other aspects are as impor-
tant. Continual interaction with the industry enables us
to provide a better customised & cost effective solution.
Inspiron Engineering as a complete technology solution
provider for textile finishing is launching the new model
MOTEX 15000 with 15% more drying efficiency, in contin-
uation of MOTEX series Stenter.
“ MOTEX” Stenter is a popular choice of quality conscious
customers who are continuously looking for international
standards of application & technological up-gradation.
Recognised by its customers as premium Quality Stand-
ard, that delivers better quality & productivity. Besides,
Motex is versatile for various substrates (Woven, Knits &
Technical textiles) wherein, it performs with minimal en-
ergy requirements. InspirOn, with long experience of pro-
ducing stenters for 20 years, created satisfied customer
base of around 200 MOTEX Stenter machines; in the last
2 decades.
Having started in technical collaboration with A.Monforts
in 1996, InspirOn has shifted the responsibility of Prod-
uct Development from A. Monforts to its own designing
strength, as the said licensing arrangement ended in
2012 with focus on:
ƒ Need for product and technology differentiation
ƒ Known improvement possibilities in existing design
ƒ Energy efficiency - Thermal / Electrical / Mechanical
ƒ User friendliness - Safety / GUI / Aesthetics / Form /
shape / Colour / Additional features Development as-
pects:
Development aspects:
The pathway starts with InspirOn’ s own DSIR approved
R&D set up followed by below steps:
y Evolving internal innovation team and Identifying
External Resources for collaboration e.g.
ƒ InspirOn R&D team
ƒ Professional organisation for CFD and FEA analysis
ƒ I n t e r -
national ex-
perts who have
worked in such
development
Technical Uni-
versities e.g. Nirma Technical University
ƒ Aesthetics experts
y Team to work on identified areas of improvement
ƒ Idea generation
ƒ Segregating useful ideas
ƒ CFD / FEA simulations
ƒ Building Prototype/s based on above results
ƒ Testing /Shortlisting ideas
Moving on the road map two major development pro-
jects have been taken as prime target:
1.New Nozzle designing was done(two patents have
been developed and applied for registration)
Expected Benefits from change:
ƒ Reduced internal losses results in improved
efficiency
ƒ More stream lined flow with uniform distribution
ƒ Improved Drying Capacity
2.Improved Fan housing
ƒ Uniform air distribution throughout the length of
chamber
ƒ Improved drying efficiency
Achieving optimum solution for higher throughput of Hot
air is the prime objective in order to achieve higher drying
efficiency: Series of experiments, CFD analysis for nozzle
development, finally resulted into development of unique
“ UNIFLO air flow system by R&D team. Validation pro-
cess of the newly developed system was performed on
100% cotton fabric, considering the inherent properties
e.g. cool, comfort, moisture regain and user spectrum;
at state of art R&D Centre located at Chandiyel & further
augmented by running in an established process house
at Ahmedabad.
Assessment of the results in bulk condition includes series
of trials & installation of various measuring instruments.
Trials performed on the substrate: 100% Cotton 112 gsm
fabric. Processed under the standard process, machine
parameters & operating conditions. Observations of the
initial & residual moistures with respective speeds have
been made.Comparative study between MOTEX 4560 (In-
stalled in 2012) and MOTEX 15000 (Installed in Dec2015)
with technical details as a part of validation process is
given below.
R&D UPDATE

Findings: Drying efficiency of MOTEX 15000 is significantly
higher than the existing model MOTEX 4560.
Project 2 – Padder Designing with higher Squeezing Ef-
ficiency.
1.Padder design
• Robust compact frame structure.
• Small capacity pneumatically controlled (up to 60 litre)
sliding and tilting chemical trough. User friendly & re-
duces the drain losses substantially.
• 12 Ton load capacity.
• Unitary length pressure force 50 kg/cm for fabric
width 260 cm.
2. Selection of Rollers
ƒ Uniform squeezing Nip throughout width of the fab-
ric.
ƒ High squeeze Rubber coated Rollers.
Achieving higher squeezing efficiency was the prime ob-
jective specifically for Knitted fabric. High squeezing effect
resulting in High energy saving on dryers due to minimum
initial and so, residual moisture in the fabric. Uniform pad-
ding pressure across the fabric width, short cloth passage
with extreme low fabric tension ensuring minimum fabric
elongation and horizontal fabric guiding through the Pad-
der rollers. Sliding and tilting trough for easy draining and
cleaning. Trial was taken on knitted fabric S/J GSM-150,
Width-180 cm, to evaluate squeezing efficiency i.e. Initial
moisture % under controlled conditions
Findings: Squeezing efficiency of the newly designed Pad-
der of MOTEX 15000 is substantially better, as expected
Especially for knitted fabric with delicate treatment to the
web. Higher Squeezing capability ensures optimum pick
up % for specific processes e.g. wet on wet finish with de-
sired add on % next, resulting in better productivity. Op-
timised through capacity, is to reduce drain losses.
Optional feature: MOTEX 15000 UNFLO equipped with
Air to Air Heat recovery Unit makes it more energy
efficient.
1.HRU design
• Compact unit concept design
• Prototype development / Product Validation
• High energy savings, Less payback period
• Virtually no losses by heat radiation as the heated-up
fresh air is directly fed into the machine compartment
2. User Aspects
ƒ Easy mounting / Easy maintenance
ƒ Payback Period Evaluation
ƒ Integration of the unit into the existing exhaust ducts
ƒ Cleaning efforts reduced to a minimum as clean,
fresh air passes through the segments of the heat
exchanger
R&D UPDATE

Study of the performance of HRU under controlled (Pro-
cess & machine Parameters) conditions running with
specific substrate. Study is carried out at the reputed cus-
tomer’s end where 7 HRU Units have been installed on
Stenter Machine.
Observations were made for inputs properties e.g.Exhaust
Air Volume, Exhaust Air temperature, and fresh air vol-
ume as ultimately the saving depends mainly on them.
Observations of output properties Delta T Fresh air side,
Energy Saving Kcal/ hr.
Cumulative Energy saving details of “HRU Units” Process
wise observed as below
For finishing process –Cumulative Energy saving 58000
Kcal / hr. Considering Energy generation cost / 1 lac Kcal
as INR 250/- Yearly saving will be INR 1314000/-
Heat setting process- Cumulative Energy saving 72000
Kcal / hr. Yearly saving will be INR 1576800/- User friend-
ly HRU for addressing the issues of rising energy costs,
limited fuel resources & energy starved future. Industry
has accepted the product whole heartedly on various ma-
chines, till date 67 units have been installed in major cor-
porates and energy conscious customers end.
Graphical Profile of energy saving by individual HRU unit
across the Stenter in Kcal/hr.
2. Process Control Module
• Residual Moisture—Contact measurement for small re-
sidual moisture for various substrates and processes by
conductivity measurement. Plug and play design included
in the Operational PLC itself.
• Dwell time Control—ensures the ease & operational
flexibility for the processor and uniformity of the process-
es. Sensor with highest accuracy.
• Exhaust Humidity Control— Measurement and control
of the exhaust humidity at Highest humidity & pollution
levels, result in energy saving and uniformity of the pro-
cess
Controlling with accuracy is always prime requirement
and challenge for various textile processes. We at In-
spirOn always strive continuously to provide a better and
complete solution to the industry. Inspiron engineering
is offering
Robust Process control module with highly précised sen-
sors for highest
Accuracy for online measurement and control of the pa-
rameters for the textile processes.
Results & discussions:
The above results itself reveals that the
1. Drying efficiency of MOTEX 15000 is significantly high-
er than the existing model MOTEX 4560
2. Better Squeezing efficiency with delicate treatment
comparatively which is specially expected for knitted
fabric.
3. Observations & details are self-explanatory for the
substantial energy conservation by HRU
Better Speed, productivity, energy efficient working
resulting in reduction of the cost/meter, and substan-
tially.
The accuracy of tests performed is subject to the usual
tolerance of +/- 10% in above studies.
MOTEX 15000 UNIFLO
-A machine that improves safety, consume less energy,
minimised waste and deliver maximum return on invest-
ment is designed and produced in a sustainable way.
Designing & Validation of machine of its kind requires a
holistic approach analysing safety, functionality, opera-
tional efficiency, productivity, material use, ease of op-
eration and maintenance. Designed by the team of young
and energetic design professionals, supported & trained
by German technologists, MOTEX 15000 UNIFLO is con-
ceived with unprecedented features with state of the art
aesthetics.
- Optimised pneumatic circuit design has been incor-
porated to provide better ergonomically, operational &
maintenance flexibility and also appearance. Plug & play
type assembly with numbering/labelling & colour code on
piping connection to ensure error free connections. Pre-
defined mounting position & single make components for
easy handling & procurement.
MOTEX 15000 UNIFLO at enviably low maintenance costs,
offers extreme sturdy design technology. Taking care of
all the practicalities of production for as complete solu-
tion for all kinds of substrates. Cradle & Brushing units for
Denim, Higher squeezing Padder, Pin protection flapper ,
cushioning effect for Knits, Desired & reproducible Hand
feel; finishing effect for Shirting & Suiting. High operation-
al speeds up to 150 mpm.
R&D UPDATE

A Synopsis On Coating & Lamination In Textiles: Process
& Applications
Abstract
Coating and laminating are increasingly important tech-
niques for adding value to technical textiles. Coating and
lamination enhance and extend the range of functional
performance properties of textiles and the use of these
techniques is growing rapidly as the applications for tech-
nical textiles become more diverse. They are two func-
tional processes which are used make a proper finishing
to the textile material. Cheaper fabric structures may
be coated or laminated to provide higher added value
to end-users and higher profit margins to manufactur-
ers. The present paper deals with the fabric preparation,
methods used, application areas, tests required and mar-
ket scenario for coating and lamination.
Key words: Coating, Laminations, methods & applications
1. Introduction
Coated fabrics are engineered composite materials, pro-
duced by a combination of a textile fabric and a polymer
coating applied to the fabric surface. The polymer coating
confers new properties on the fabric, such as imperme-
ability to dust particles, liquids and gases, and it can also
improve existing physical properties, such as fabric abra-
sion. The fabric component generally determines the tear
and tensile strength, elongation and dimensional stability,
while the polymer mainly controls the chemical proper-
ties, abrasion resistance and resistance to penetration by
liquids and gases. Many properties, however, are deter-
mined by a combination of both these components, and
both base fabric and polymer must be carefully selected
by a thorough consideration of the properties required in
the finished product.
Coated textiles is defined as a material composed of two
or more layers, at least one of which is a textile fabric
and at least one of which is a substantially continuous
polymeric layer. The layers are bonded closely together
by means of an added adhesive or by the adhesive prop-
erties of one or more of the component layers. In other
word it is described as a textile fabric on which there has
been formed in situ, on one or both surfaces, a layer or
layers of adherent coating material. Coated fabrics can be
used as
ƒ Coverings or as a barrier for protection, separation
containment.
ƒ For appearance modification for decorative or func-
tional purpose.
ƒ Improving dimensional stability, controlling stretch,
preventing edges from frying or curling.
ƒ For control of porosity, e.g. for filtration.
ƒ As a matrix for holding some functional material,
chemical, pigment or other agent.
ƒ As a processing aid, for example in ‘in situ’ moldings,
vacuum technique or thermo-moldings.
ƒ Combining the specialist properties of polymers with
the flexibility, strength, drapability and covering power
of a fabric.
On the other hand, lamination process is used to prepare
some important textile products with daily uses in our
practical life like- blackout curtains and blinds etc1-7
.
The key to success in textile coating and lamination de-
pends upon the application of appropriate technology
using modern machinery. Machine productivity is im-
portant, but flexibility in terms of production speed and
the versatility of coating/lamination methods are impor-
tant factors to consider, as well as a high level of process
monitoring, process control and automation to satisfy de-
manding technical specifications.
2. Material & their properties
Preparation of fabrics(3,4,5)
A. Woven fabric:
The original and still most commonly used is the woven
fabric. The woven fabrics have three basic construction
.the plain weave, the satin weave, and the twill weave.
B. Knitted fabric:
Knitted fabrics are used where moderate strength and
elongation are required. The knit market, it has recently
been replaced by polyester or cotton yarn and filament.
The main use of knit fabric is in apparel, automotive and
furnishing furniture upholstery, shoe liner, boot shanks
–any place elongation is required.
C. Non-woven:
Many types of nonwoven fabric are used as a substrate
.The wet web process gives a non-woven fabric with pa-
per like properties, low elongation, low strength and poor
drape. It is difficult to achieve strength as well as a smooth
surface; therefore, a high quality non-woven of this is very
expensive.
A thin layer of polyester based polyurethane foam can be
needed into the non-woven to improve the surface coat-
ing properties.
2.2 Material/Polymers used in Textile Coating (2, 3)
The wide ranges of polymer used, are available for differ-
ent types of coatings. The functional property of coated
fabrics will depend on the chemical nature of the polymer
used. Following table 1 indicates main polymer used in
TECHNICAL ARTICLE

textile coating & Table 3 depicts the function of functional
properties of different coating composition:
2.3 Materials for lamination
2.3.1 Membrane Laminated fabric: Membranes are ex-
tremely thin films made from polymeric material and en-
gineered in such a way that they have a very high resist-
ance to liquid water penetration, yet allow the passage of
water vapour. Films have the advantage over fabrics of
100% cover at light weights; they are generally completely
impermeable to liquids and gases and are also excellent
barriers to dust and other particles. Film/fabric laminates
are used in sail making, hot air balloons and airships etc.
Films can be used to produce reflective surfaces with ef-
ficiencies much higher than can be produced with a fab-
ric. They are of two types of membrane, microporous and
hydrophilic
A. Microporous Membrane: The first and probably the
best known microporous membrane developed and in-
troduced in 1976 by W. Gore, is known as Gore-Tex. This
is a thin film of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
polymer. The latest Gore-Tex membrane is a thin film
claimed to contain over 9 billion microscopic pores per
square inch, these pores are actually 20,000 times smaller
than a water droplet, but 700 times larger than a water
vapor molecule. Other manufacturers make similar mem-
branes based on microporous polyvinylidene fluoride
(PVDF) cast directly on to the fabric. The hydrophobic na-
ture of the polymer and small pore size requires very high
pressure to cause water penetration.
B. Hydrophilic Membranes: Hydrophilic membranes are
very thin films of chemically modified polyester or polyu-
rethane containing no holes which, therefore, are some-
times referred to as non-poromeric. Water vapour from
perspiration is able to diffuse through the membrane in
relatively large quantities. The polyester or polyurethane
polymer is modified by incorporating up to 40% by weight
of poly (ethylene oxide). The poly (ethylene oxide) consti-
tutes the hydrophilic part of the membrane by forming
part of the amorphous regions of the polyurethane poly-
mer system. It has a low energy affinity for water mole-
cules which is essential for rapid diffusion of water vapor.
The membranes are laminated to the textile material with
chemical or thermal bonding8
.
Speciality films are widely used in protective clothing as
waterproof and breathable barriers against the weather.
They are also used in footwear, and medical applications
are being explored.50–55 The market leaders are Gore-
Tex which is a PTFE film, Sympatex (Acordis) which is
made from polyester, and Porelle (Porvair) which is polyu-
rethane based.
2.3.2 Polyurethane & Poly Olefin foam
Polyurethane foams are available in various qualities,
such as different densities, FR properties, different po-
rosity and other specialist chemical and physical proper-
ties. The largest outlet for polyurethane foam is in tex-
tile laminates, used for automobile seats covers and for
other coverings in the car interior. The usual form is sheet
foam with a thickness of anything between 2 and 10 mm
or more, laminated to the face fabric on one side, and a
lightweight ‘scrim’ fabric on the other side.The polyure-
thane foam may be either polyester polyurethane or pol-
yether polyurethane. The polyurethane foam is generally
more easily laminated by the flame lamination technique.
For polyether polyurethane foam chemicals are added to
the foam to make this possible. Polyurethane foam devel-
ops cracks in hot, humid areas2, 3
.
3. Coating Methods:
3.1 Principle of fabric coating1-5
Coating method can be classified in several ways. Their
most fundamental characteristics are the number of layer
that can be applied per applicator. Single layer method is
applied coating layer at a time and requires several appli-
cator inline to achieve the total number of layer desired
in the coating structure. These analyses classify method
by number of layer and indicate which give more uniform
coating.
Single layer method:
In this type of coating, usually the layer, which is applied
on the base fabric, is single coated. This is useful when we
required a thin coating to a substrate. It is also possible
that by applying single layer, we will get a thick coating.
But that time coating solution should be more viscous by
nature.
ƒ Dip coating: knife coating, air knife coating
ƒ Rod coating: blades coating, forward and reverse roll
coating
Multi layer coating:
In this type of coating, more than one layer is usually ap-
plied on single coated fabric. By using multiplayer coating
method we can improve the serviceability, durability even
other coated properties for fabric. Sometimes while ap-
plying coating solution on the fabric, then it is difficult
to achieve proper property to the fabric because of thin
coating so that time it is necessary to apply more than
one coating to the fabric to get proper properties by ap-
plying thick coating.
Slide coating, curtain coating
Basic consideration to select coating method:
None of the basic families of coating technique can be
applied for all purpose because coating involve different
coating weight, solvent and viscosity achieve though de-
sired quality and functionally of a coating in an economi-
cal way .we must select an appropriate coating method (1)
ƒ Number of layer
ƒ Wet layer of thickness
ƒ Viscosity
TECHNICAL ARTICLE

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