Strong, sustained relationship with domestic customers
Batliboi is one of the most respected and trustworthy names in the Indian textile industry. The company’s textile machinery division represents high quality imported and indigenous machinery from leading global manufacturers for spinning, knitting, processing and garmenting sectors. In a market like India, which is the largest manufacturer of textile products, a significant percentage of textile machinery are still being imported from Europe, Turkey, Japan and China.
It is in this context that companies like Batliboi become very important as they provide Indian textile mills the much-needed knowledge and technology on manufacturing and, most importantly, the aftersales and service support. In many cases, final buying decisions are taken by the customers mostly based on the trust and confidence they have in the local partner.
One such trusted face in the Indian textile industry is Mr. Abhay Sidham who comes with years of experience working closely with the Indian textile industry, partnering and executing some of the largest and most prestigious projects. As CEO of Batliboi’s textile machinery division, Mr. Abhay Sidham spoke about the company’s recent performance and plans for the future.
Excerpts from the interview…
We started by asking him about the industry’s performance in FY18. Mr. Abhay Sidham said: “In spite of many challenges like GST and demonetization, which affected the entire textile value chain, we have posted decent growth in knitting, rotor spinning as well as finishing machinery business. Our business in effluent treatment plants was also good”.
Also, despite the recent challenges, both the Central and State Governments have taken a lot of measures to aid the textile industry growth. “We, at Batliboi, are fully conscious of the growth opportunities and have initiated all the required measures so as to assist in whatever way we can to ensure that India maintains its leadership status in the global arena”, says Mr. Abhay Sidham.
Batliboi’s Textile Machinery Group witnessed a growth 15% during FY18. “We succeeded in improving our market share in knits, especially in the high value segment. The highlight of the year was a single order for more than 100 high production knitting machines from Bhilosa Industries, Mumbai”, he adds.
The name Batliboi is synonymous with knitting technology and is associated with Mayer & Cie, Germany, the world leader in circular knitting, for the last 35 years. Batliboi represents many leading European machinery manufacturers to market their entire range of knits processing machinery. To be honest, one cannot think of a knitting project without involving Batliboi, Mr. Abhay Sidham says with confidence.
Contrary to popular belief, knitting is no longer confined to only inner wear or the fashion segment. Knitted fabrics have made deep in roads into other areas, viz., home textiles, technical textiles, medical, mattress ticking, shoe upper, etc. Thanks to continuous R&D by Mayer & Cie, we can offer machines ideally suitable for these new applications, he adds.
Spinning
Speaking about the spinning segment, Mr. Abhay Sidham reveals that India has 24% of the installed ring frame spindles worldwide, whereas the installed capacity of open end rotors is still less than one million. “Being the second largest producer of cotton and having the largest manufacturing capacity of synthetic and regenerated fiber, I believe there is huge scope for the spinning industry to expand capacities especially in rotor spinning”.
Batliboi represents Saurer for its most popular BD series semi-automatic rotor spinning for more than 30 years. Batliboi will also promote the complete range of spinning machinery manufactured by Saurer, giving the Indian spinning industry access to the latest and most advanced technology. Apart from Saurer, Batliboi also represents Loptex, a global leader in contamination sorter technology for blow room with a very strong presence in India. Batliboi has been associated with Loptex for more than twenty years.
Dyeing and processing
Dyeing and processing has traditionally been a strong segment for Batliboi and Indian textile companies are increasingly investing in high quality solutions which are energy efficient and, most importantly, cause less damage to the environment. Speaking about the processing segment, Mr. Abhay Sidham observes: “As a responsible machinery supplier, we are always conscious of the steps necessary to protect the environment, and accordingly we offer machines which strictly conform to the industry norms. Our customers also reciprocate this sentiment and patronize manufacturers who they feel are capable of meeting demands of the industry keeping in mind the well-being of our future generations. We see immense potential for processing machines which are capable of meeting these ecological requirements”.
Lorris Bellini’s “Pulsar” is a classic example of green innovation which results in significant reduction in power, water and chemical consumption. Similarly Danitech’s “Daniflow” softflow dyeing machines, besides lower energy and water consumption offers highest productivity by reducing the cycle time.
Batliboi is also associated with leading names in the dyeing and processing segment, viz., Mario Crosta, Loris Bellini, Ferraro, Europrogetti, Pozzi, Inspiron and Pentek for a number of years. All these manufacturers are leaders in their respective field having proven their reliability in terms of consistent performance and premium quality end-products. “Since last year, we have joined hands with Danitech, a leading Italian Soft Flow Dyeing machinery manufacturer, who is acknowledged as one of the best in terms of technological supremacy”, he adds.
Despite showing lots of enthusiasm, investments in areas like technical textiles and non-woven sectors are much lower as compared to the other parts of world. In this context, he says: “We are nevertheless confident that this sector will definitely grow at a much faster pace in the coming years, thanks to the increasing awareness and growth in infrastructure. We represent QTM, China, which offers latest technology in non-woven lines, comparable to the best names from Europe.”
Another important segment where Batliboi offers solutions is the effluent treatment and waste water recovery systems. With stricter regulations to make the manufacturing process efficient and environment friendly, Indian companies are investing in high quality, reliable solutions. In this segment Batliboi represents Europrogetti of Italy, an undisputed world leader in ETP and ZLD plants. The company is also associated with another Italian company, Pozzi, to offer the most efficient heat recovery systems for different applications.
“To meet the strict environmental regulations of overseas buyers as well as local government bodies, it is imperative for the industry to invest in effective solutions from reliable manufacturers”, says Mr. Abhay Sidham.
For the success of any machine, the most critical factor is service. The fact that Batliboi has been in business for many decades is due to its strong customer relationships and service support which its dedicated team is extending to all its customers.
Mr. Abhay Sidham discloses: “As a policy, service is one of our main focus areas and we have a team of experienced technologists to take care of service and technical support for customers. Whenever we add a new product, as a policy we ensure we extend proper service to our customers. Unless we are confident of extending full service support we do not consider any expansion in product portfolio. This policy has paid rich dividends over the years. The fact that almost 70% of our customers place repeat order is ample testimony to the success of this policy. In this respect, our principals also offer full fledged support through various means. In short, when it comes to service, we have set benchmark for the industry”.
Batliboi’s strengths lie in its strong relationship with its principals. The fact that the company has been working with a global leader like Mayer & Cie for more than 35 years speaks highly of the company and its relationship with its principals and customers. India is one of the top three markets for Mayer & Cie globally, and Batliboi has a big role to play in this success story.
With strong global principals on the one side and equally strong relationship with customers in India on the other, Batliboi is well poised for a steadier growth in the years to come.