The Indian textile and apparel industry is witnessing a lot of changes. With growing quality consciousness, steady improvement in technology and application standards, consumers have started looking for innovations and value additions in the products they buy. Having realized the demand and mindset of New Age consumers, manufacturers are outdoing each other by creating products that are unique and stand out because of their value additions. Indeed, these innovative products give higher rewards while increasing profits and build brand image.

Rising demand for finishing machinery

Finishing machines are high on the list of ‘must buys’ for most textile makers today. Finishing machines are used to give special finishes to the fabric or garment. It is mainly used to make the fabric softer and more aesthetic in nature. Experts say just producing a good fabric is not enough anymore, unless it’s given a good finishing and value additions are made to it, it will not fetch the right price. Similarly, garment manufacturers too need to add value to stand out with their offerings. Embroideries, specialized printing, embellishments et al, help in increasing the salability of a product. “Earlier people did not invest much in such machines but now they have started thinking of adding value to the fabric. Simple things like embroidery and high quality printing that adds value to the fabric is also important. Embroidery is done on almost all apparels, small logos or brand names are written on the garment,” says Rais Inamdar, Sr GM, Bakubhai Ambalal.   He goes on to say that value addition machines are gaining momentum and they have a high potential for growth. 

There is good demand for both single headed and multi headed embroidery machines. Similarly there is a demand for finishing machines, used for giving a special sheen to garments. “In denim industry laser wash machines as well as dry gas washing plants are gaining popularity,” explains GV Aras, Director, ATE Enterprise.

Brands keep ahead with value additions

While textile and apparel manufacturers have realized the importance of value additions, brands too are using it to enhance their collections. Fusion Beats and 109°F are two of them. Their value additions include exclusive prints, exotic embroidery, which includes intricate threadwork, beadwork and digital printing. The brand also offers necklaces, brooches, belts, laces, fancy buttons, etc. The company has in-house embroidery machines, computerized machines and skilled artisans for hand embroidery, high end printing facilities including sublimation, heat transfer and screen printing installed in its manufacturing unit.

Brands are also investing in high quality fabrics to offer innovative products. For instance shirt brand Arrow has invested in high quality finishes. The brand has recently introduced ‘Travel Series’ and ‘Puradio’ shirts. As Rishi Vasudev, COO, Arrow explains, “Keeping in mind the upcoming festive and wedding season where people travel and look for special garments we have introduced the ‘Travel Series’, these are stain free, wrinkle resistant shirts. This season Arrow has also launched the ‘Puraido’ shirt, made with Japanese technology. It is completely wrinkle free with a DP rating of 4.0.”

Similarly, Madame has invested in imported a washing plant. Vaibhav Jain, Director, Madame informs, they have imported a garment washing plant from Italy. It saves water and does not use any chemicals for washing garments. Instead nitrogen gas is used to give the garments a shin and softness. “One of the main reasons why we invested in this washing plant was the efficiency and quality of garments, the sheen, softness and feel of the first and the last garment are the same.” 

Meanwhile Bhaskar Denim has added mercerizing capacity since there’s a big demand for stretch fabrics. In addition the brand has machines to do value addition on denims. Srigopal Jhawar, Business Head, Bhaskar Denim opines, “In denim industry washes and finishing is imperative. We see a good demand for vintage look, printed and jacquard denims. With growing consciousness for eco-friendly apparels, it has become imperative to invest in green manufacturing processes especially for denims. We have a state of art manufacturing unit equipped with all the value added machines that give different effects and finishing to the denim fabric.”