The sector is expected to grow exponentially in the near future, making it a lucrative one to get into

Technical textiles, directly or indirectly, play an important role in making our lives much more comfortable. Right from the time we wake up in the morning to the time we go

back to bed, we constantly come across technical textiles in some form or the other. For example, your bedding might be made up of a certain kind of technical textile; these days food items are being packed in a form of technical textile, nearly 15 parts of automobiles contain technical textiles, the stain- free clothes that we wear are also technical textiles—the list is long. With the domestic market size for technical textiles going up from Rs 39,876 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 66,405 crore in 2012-13 and domestic consumption also expected to increase significantly, there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap this growing segment.

What is a technical textile?
The National Technology Mission on Technical Textiles (NTMTT) defines technical textiles as “textile materials and products used primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic value.” They are either used individually or as a component of a product to enhance its functional properties; for example, fire retardant uniform worn by firemen and webbing in a seat belt, respectively. However, these days the definition of technical textiles is changing. Samir Gupta, managing director of Business Co-ordination House (BCH), explains, “These days, with better research and development, technical textiles have been given an aesthetic appeal as well. So now, it can be said that technical textiles are gaining both functional as well as an aesthetic value.

Of late, the industry has been witnessing a good growth, with even the government providing incentives for entrepreneurs to enter the segment. “Technical textile is a pretty new industry in India, in the sense that though it has been there for many years, the potential in terms of its end-use is being explored only now,” explains Samir. Another growth factor for this sector is that technical textiles find use in a number of industries ranging from agriculture to aerospace to even garments and home furnishings. In fact, more than 200 products have been classified as technical textiles so far! And this is expected to grow in the future with the ongoing technological innovations and research and development activities happening in India and abroad. Technical textiles find use in a number of industries due to a number of reasons such as- its versatility, strength, functional property, health and safety, and so on. Based on the end-use it has been classified into 12 different industries including agrotech, meditech, hometech, and sportstech, which have been taken up in the later part of the article.

How big is the market?
According to the National Technology Mission on technical textile document, the global market for technical textiles was around 19.68 million tones in terms of volume and US$107 billion in terms of value in 2005. This is expected to grow to 23.77 million tonnes and US$127 billion by 2010. The growth has been mainly attributed to the demand generated by Asian countries especially India and China. On the other hand, the Indian market for technical textiles was estimated to be around Rs 39,876 crore in 2007-08, and is expected to swell up to Rs 66,405 crore by 2012-13. Of this, while mobiltech, indutech and sportstech dominate the international market; in India, the segments having the maximum share are held by clothtech, packtech and sportstech.

Unlike the conventional textile industry, the technical textile industry is dependent on imports to meet its domestic needs. While some of the products such as adult diapers are entirely imported, a major portion of the demand for some other products such as baby diapers are also met through imports. India also exports some products such as tarpaulin, surgical dressing, sports composites, etc. In 2007-08, India’s total imports were Rs 3,897 crores compared to the total exports worth Rs 2,759 crores. Given these facts, the time is just about ripe for entrepreneurs to tap the segment.

Source: BCH

Entrepreneurs willing to enter the segment can explore several lines of businesses. They can get into manufacturing of these technical textiles, which is very capital-intensive. Several big multi-national companies as well as Indian companies are already present in this segment. Besides, big manufacturing units, there are several converter units in India as well. These converter units convert these fabrics into finished goods. According to the NTMTT document, there are 3,000 such converting units in the country. These units are mainly operating in the bag- making, stuffed toys, zip fasteners, tarpaulin, and other segments. With a number of foreign companies willing to enter the Indian market, aligning with them could also be a lucrative business opportunity. Samir says, “Another interesting business opportunity could be associating with the foreign companies. A number of foreign companies are planning to enter the Indian market with their products, aligning with them could also prove to be beneficial.”

What are the different segments?
As mentioned above, technical textiles find use in a number of industries, and based on its end use they have been broadly classified into 12 different categories.

Agrotech: It mainly includes textile products used in agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and forestry; for example, shade-nets, mulch-mats, crop-covers, anti-hail nets, bird protection nets and fishing nets. The market size of agrotech is expected to increase from Rs. 553 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 811 crore in 2012-13, whereas the domestic consumption was expected to grow from Rs 487 crore to Rs 709 crore during the same period. The National Horticulture Mission (NHM) has also been promoting the use of agrotech products such as shade-nets and bird protection nets extensively. Moreover, the XI five-year plan also proposes to provide assistance to hail-prone states to buy nets.

Mobiltech: This segment includes products which find application in automobile and automotive components. This can be further classified into two categories—visible components (e.g. seat cover) and concealed components (e.g. Noise Vibration and Harness (NVH) components). In 2007-08, the market size of this segment was Rs. 3183 crores which was expected to increase to Rs. 5166 crores in 2012-13. The domestic consumption was Rs. 3161 crores in 2007-08 is expected to increase to Rs. 5137 crores by 2012-13. One of the key growth drivers for this segment has been the increase in the number of automobiles especially small cars in India.

Meditech: This sector is mainly comprised of hygiene, health and personal care, and surgical applications, for example, diapers, sanitary napkins, surgical dressing, artificial implants, etc. Meditech products are available in woven, knitted and non-woven forms depending on the area of application. The market size of this segment is expected to increase from Rs 1669 crores in 2007-08 to Rs 2263 crore in 2012-13. The domestic consumption, on the other hand, is expected to grow from Rs 1514 crores in 2007-08 to Rs 2263 in 2012-13. With the government laying emphasis on this segment for promoting rural healthcare, this segment is expected to grow significantly in the future.

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A resorts by textiles
written by Manimaran, December 19, 2009

We have constructed our resorts using 130gsm cotton canvas materials to make our swiss cottage tents and so this kind of materials will be used in leisures industry more

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