Picanol presented all its latest high-tech weaving machines and underlined its prominent position in the Indian market by displaying four high-tech weaving machines at its booth. Besides the recently introduced airjet, the OMNIplus Summum and the art rapier machines like the OptiMax and the GTXplus were on display. In addition, one Picanol Jacquard TERRYplus 800 weaving machine was presented at the Stäubli booth and an OptiMax jacquard weaving machine at the Bonas/Van De Wiele booth.
Mr. Kasiviswanathan, Head of Indian Operations, Picanol, said: “The response at India-ITME 2012 was very good both in terms of the number of visitors and the quality of visitors. In comparison to the last ITME fair in 2008, the 2012 edition was an absolute success. This definitely gives positive outlook for the Indian textile industry in 2013 even though there is some momentary slowness seen in the early part of this year. We at Picanol are firm believers in the growth of the Indian textile market in the mid and long term”.
Picanol has been successfully serving the Indian market since 1956. In view of the potential and expected growth of the Indian market, the company decided to set up its own organization in India early 2008 in order to more actively support its local activities. Since inception, and more particularly during the last decade, it has been focussing strongly on local sales and service activities.
In recent years, Picanol India has seen a steady growth in its market share, which has led to it becoming the leading provider of weaving machines on the local market today. India is a market of crucial importance for Picanol as it is one of the key textile markets in the world.
On the company’s performance during 2012, Mr. Kasiviswanathan said: “We experienced a hesitant start to 2012 as a result of the weaker order book at the end of 2011. However, in the second quarter the demand for weaving machines increased. Demand continued to remain strong even during the third quarter of 2012. This is due to the success of new Picanol weaving machines and the favorable exchange rate of the euro. The group is also forced to focus heavily on flexibility in order to handle production peaks”.
As part of its further commitment to the Indian market and marking a milestone in India, Picanol inaugurated its new headquarters in New Delhi in August last. With the broadest product range on the market, improved local services and considerable presence, the company remains highly committed to India and plans to be the leading provider of weaving systems for the entire Indian weaving sector.
By taking the decision to handle local market directly through Picanol India, it has been able to penetrate into newer areas and improve customer relations as well as aftersales service.
Picanol weaving machines are a synthesis of technological know-how and experience built up over more than 75 years. Today, about 2,600 weaving mills around the world use Picanol machinery, totalling some 130,000 weaving machines.
R&D, technology and continuous innovation are core tenets of the Picanol Group business philosophy. With R&D efforts aimed at creating the best solutions to its customers’ weaving challenges, the company has been the first to introduce many revolutionary concepts in the weaving industry. It currently holds more than 880 patents worldwide.