Exclusive Interview and Pics by K. Gopalakrishnan
For Itema Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of advanced weaving technology, the city of Surat is far more than a thriving textile centre—it is the beating heart of the company’s global business. With an extraordinary concentration of high-end jacquard weaving, Surat represented in 2025 Itema’s largest market worldwide, driving exceptional demand for its latest-generation rapier weaving machines.
To strengthen its commitment to this fast-growing textile hub, Itema has inaugurated a state-of-the-art Service Center in Surat, a significant milestone that reinforces the company’s long-term strategy for India.
Surat: Among Itema’s Most Important Market Globally
Itema has been present in India since 2002, but in recent years, the company has witnessed unprecedented growth, especially in Surat. As Mr. Matteo Mutti explains, no other single city in the world accounts for as many Itema weaving machine installations as Surat.
“Surat city is in reality the center of Itema because most of our sales worldwide are for this specific city. With thousands of our looms running here, it was a must to have a dedicated service center,”
— Matteo Mutti, Chief Sales & Service Officer, Itema Group
Surat’s textile landscape aligns perfectly with Itema’s strongest technology—the company’s advanced rapier looms for jacquard applications, designed to produce complex and highly fashionable saree and women’s apparel fabrics.
Itema offers both Italian-made and Chinese-made machines for the Surat market, including its flagship Rapier R9500 series and the Galileo-RX rapier loom, ensuring solutions across different investment levels and fabric segments. As a result, Itema today is the No. 1 rapier high-end supplier in Surat in terms of market share.
The New Surat Service Center: A Major Strategic Investment
The newly inaugurated Surat Service Center is Itema’s first full-fledged facility in the city and its second major service hub in India after Coimbatore. Given Surat’s explosive growth, the company saw an urgent need to replicate its world-class service model here.
The facility includes:
- An advanced electronic repair center
- A weaving machine behavior simulator to diagnose and repair electronic boards, drives and motors
- A local spare parts warehouse ensuring fast delivery in local currency
- Dedicated Italian and Indian service engineers
- A structured customer care desk for rapid on-site support
This ecosystem is designed with one clear philosophy: reducing machine downtime to its absolute minimum.
“Once a customer in Surat told me that the name of the game here is downtime. They cannot accept a stoppage beyond two hours. Our duty is to meet that expectation—and that is why we are here,”
— Matteo Mutti
With thousands of Itema machines already running in the city, and more than 1,000 new machines installed in Surat in the last year alone, the Service Center ensures that customers receive immediate technical support and the fastest possible spare parts availability.
Surat’s Weavers Drive Itema’s Innovation and Global Leadership
Surat’s unique requirements—high-speed, high-design jacquard weaving for sarees and dress materials — have shaped Itema’s product development for years. The region’s demanding quality expectations and tight production schedules push the company to continuously enhance:
- Rapier insertion stability
- Fine weft handling
- Fabric versatility
- Quick style changes
- Electronic optimization and predictive maintenance capabilities
Mr. Mutti confirmed that Itema is actively developing a cloud-based digital service platform—with significant contributions from Indian engineering partners—to enable predictive maintenance and remote troubleshooting in the future.
This digital transformation, once complete, will make India one of the first markets globally to benefit from Itema’s next-generation service technologies.
A Strong Endorsement from Itema India
Supporting this remarkable growth story, Mr. Sameer Kulkarni, Managing Director of Itema Weaving India, highlighted Surat’s significance:
“Since 2021, Itema has registered unprecedented growth in Surat. We installed an impressive number of Itema weaving machines in the region’s textile mills. We are proud to contribute to the creation of some of the most beautiful fabrics in India and to support the talent of Surat’s weavers with our advanced weaving technology.”
This momentum reflects both the vibrancy of Surat’s textile industry and the trust it places in Itema’s weaving excellence.
Expanding Beyond Sarees: A Portfolio for Every Indian Textile Cluster
While Surat is dominated by saree and women’s apparel fabrics, Itema also offers world-class solutions for:
- Technical textiles
- Home furnishings
- Denim
- Silk and apparel fabrics
- Industrial fabrics
- Airjet weaving segments
Mr. Mutti emphasized that Itema is carefully monitoring all textile clusters across India and is ready to expand its service infrastructure wherever demand grows.
A New Chapter in Itema’s India Journey
The inauguration of the Surat Service Center marks a pivotal milestone in Itema’s India strategy. With this investment, Itema not only strengthens its commitment to one of its most important global markets but also empowers Surat’s weaving community with world-class service, rapid support, and cutting-edge repair capabilities.
As India continues to emerge as Itema’s largest and most dynamic market, the company’s focus on local service excellence, tailored technologies and long-term partnerships positions it strongly for continued leadership.
Itema’s message is clear: Surat is not just a market—it is the heart of Itema’s global growth story.