News & Events
News & Events
‘KNITCON 2015’, was a first of its kind Conference on Advancements in Knitting, Processing and Stitching Industry held on May 09, 2015 at The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata.
The Conference served as a veritable platform for discussing about trends and various issues on the knitwear industry. With Speakers / Experts drawn from both national and international textile machine manufacturing companies, the discussions &information sharing were manifold. It was organized by FOHMA in association with West Bengal Hosiery Association (WBHA) and Bengal Hosiery Manufacturer Association (BHMA).
In his Welcome Address, Mr. K B Agarwala, President of FOHMA mentioned that the Indian knitwear industry which started as a domestic player, had expanded into the global markets with great success. Despite seventy percent of the units operating in unorganized sector, the growth was praiseworthy – both on the domestic as well as the exports front. The Indian knitwear industry had evolved significantly over the past few years – owing to several inter-related factors which worked positively for this segment. The slowing down of production in many countries, the bullish nature of the fashion industry and cash rich consumers seeking newer products & stylish outfits had shored up the demand for knitwear products. The online trend for purchasing was growing rapidly and had opened up new vistas for product marketing. He hoped that the domestic knitwear players would make efforts to innovate and upgrade their facilities – so as to become competitive and sustain themselves amidst local and global competition.
Mr. Pradeep Arora, Convener of KNITCON 2015 spoke about how this Conference had been conceived with the objective of getting insights about knitting, processing and stitching – so that existing manufacturers could know about more about the new technologies, adopt them and grow their businesses. He added that while this Conference was being organized in the eastern region where the knitting industry was predominant, the learnings would be applicable for all levels of manufacturers located in India.
In his presentation, Mr. M. Chaudhary, Regional Head, Textile Commissioner’s Office (Eastern Region) outlined the assistance it could offer to the hosiery & knitting sector. He emphasized the need for having more manufacturing units for faster development of the sector. Referring to the importance of SkillsDevelopment Program, Mr. Chaudhary said his office had set up a training Centre at Ranaghat in Nadia district of West Bengal where people were being trained to serve the industry. Concerned companies could hire skilled personnel from there for their Industry.
In the ‘Fibre & Yarn session’, speakers discussed various aspects of yarns in the context of growing cost of cotton fabric resulting in higher price of the cotton made item, which was now becoming beyond the reach of common people. They stressed the need for selecting good quality of yarns producing different parts of the country for substitute to cotton. They felt that more attention should be given for collection of proper quality of yarns for producing quality items in the face of severe competition world-wide.
It was also opined that manufacturers should select proper types of cotton avoiding contaminated thread that caused qualitative differences from the quality one. They said India being producer of multi-category yarns, there was no dearth of quality fibre which should be chosen with great care and proper verification. At the same time, polyester was now becoming the fastest growing sector which had to be utilized properly to meet the growing demands of the Indian domestic market. They also urged the manufacturers to take advantage of the declining export in the countries and increase their export volume to obtain the new markets.
In the knitting session, representatives from several international textile machine manufacturing related companies highlighted the advancements taking place in the machinery front and the trend of manufacturing companies adopting the new technologies to boost quality and production in the current global scenario. They also demonstrated the latest technology invented by the companies to bring about a significant change in production capacity as well as quality of the products.
The Processing Session saw a galaxy of some of the best equipment manufacturers under one roof including: Thies, Fong’s, Bruckner, Ferraro, Bianco and Corino.
Speakers representing the manufacturers spoke on the salient features of their equipments along with the latest developments being done by their research team. Further, they apprised the gathering about the types of processes possible on their machines and various kinds of savings conceivable by virtue of latest technological advancements. The dialogues provided for greater understanding of the subject matter, while giving the participants relevant insights about new developments in the processing segment.
One of the companies speaking on this segment was Britacell Silicones. They were clear about the contribution of their products to the sustainability issue and emphasized how they were able to incorporate several benefits on water saving, effluent treatment facilitation and maintaining an ecological balance. They also spoke about various kinds of “value added finishing”, which were possible with their new products. It was a worthwhile experience to get so much inputs, with such clarity during this Conference.
The Garmenting &Printing segment had a very interesting thing to offer – with the participation of one of the best creator of ultra-modern garmenting line in India. He gave a clear insight into the ways and means of setting up a modern garmenting line and advised on the modalities of the same. This was a novel experience for the participants, as it gave the importance of productivity and quality and development of local female personnel for the unit. The viewpoint was different and had a successful approach. With units operating on different parameters in West Bengal, the ideas were a welcome change.
M & R – representing the printing segment had speakers talk about their machine and the benefits thereof. The piece printing machine was gaining in popularity in the eastern part of the country.
The Title Sponsor of this Conference was VOLTAS, while Co-Sponsors were Birla Cellulose, Hari Chand Anand& Co., Duke and Kansai. The Associate Sponsors included M & R, Fongs, Britacell Silicones, Anaadih Vincom, Bianco, Ferraro, Fongs and Groz Beckert.
Knitcon 2016
- The domestic market for apparel & lifestyle products currently estimated at US$ 85 billion was expected to reach US$ 160 billion by 2025. Additionally, the Indian Textiles sector of which hosiery is an integral part contributed to around 13 % of total exports and employed around 105 million people directly & indirectly. This was fueling a significant part of the Indian economy.
- The proposed hike in FDI limit for multi-brand retail would bring in more players and enable more options to consumers. With global retail brands assured of a domestic foothold, outsourcing was expected to rise significantly. All of the above would help the organized apparel segment to grow at a CAGR of more than 13 per cent over a 10-year period.
- The new National Textile Policy aims to allow foreign investments, thereby creating notable employment opportunities for a large number of people.
- The doubling of import duty on 328 textile items to 20% would help domestic players to marginalize their losses, which had increased owing to the influx of imported products – post GST.
- Promoting manufacturing of specific hosiery products in our country (by limiting imports) will help in furthering the “Make in India” initiative.
- The Apparel sector has shown a dip of 4% in exports from US$17.4 billion in 2016-17 to US$16.7 billion in 2017-18. Given this scenario, India’s export policy needs to be revisited for eliminating the existing gaps and irregularities. The Government of India should provide a structured roadmap for robust growth in merchandise exports.
- The earmarking of Rs. 690 crores by Union Ministry of Textiles for setting up 21 Ready-made Garment manufacturing units in 7 states would help in developing & modernizing the Apparels sector.
- GST on Hosiery items
- Packaging of hosiery / apparel items
- Stop usage of bags with less than 50 microns.
- Efforts should be made to suitably replace Poly Propylene Bags with some other items.
- Instead of using per PP bags on per piece basis, the industry players should start using PP bags containing two or more items with PP of 50 microns and more – for economic viability.
- Adopt to other packaging materials like paper, natural fibres, etc. which are non-polluting and recyclable.
- Where single piece packing is done in boxes, PP bags should be avoided under all circumstances.
Dear Sir / Madam,
Book of Brands
Greetings from the Federation of Hosiery Manufacturers Association of India (FOHMA).
We are happy to inform you that FOHMA is commemorating its Golden Jubilee this year (2022). Having started off as a small entity in 1972, it has come a long way to evolve into a Federation of national importance. Today, FOHMA’s activities are multi-dimensional, focusing on every key aspect of the Indian Hosiery industry. Over the years it has worked closely with Central and State Governments to raise issues of concern and provide feedback / inputs on various matters, aimed at improving the industry. The “Golden Jubilee Celebrations” of FOHMA is going to be held on Saturday, 12th November, 2022 at Taj Bengal Hotel, Kolkata. We are equally delighted to share that Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles has kindly consented to be the “Chief Guest” at this event.
The Celebrations will have a plethora of activities including an industry-focused Conference consisting of eminent Speakers, Products Exhibition and a Cultural Program. To observe this momentous journey of 50 years, a Book of Brands is being published, which we shall be requesting the Hon’ble Textile Minister to release during our celebrations. It would inter-alia cover developments of the Hosiery segment consisting of: Brand Holders and “Back stage”, Spinning Mills, Printers, Knitting Machines, Dyeing Machines, Processing, Cutting, Stitching, Elastic Manufacturers, among others.
We invite you to be a part of this unique initiative as a “Contributor” and share the story of your company and its journey over the years. This publication (details attached) would be a veritable platform for you to talk about your business and reach a very large audience, both nationally & globally. Your story through photos, textual matters, etc. would enable you to highlight your achievements and position yourself in the top echelons of the market. We from FOHMA shall endeavour to assist every contributing company in connecting with potential / business entities during this Golden Jubilee celebrations on 12th November, 2022.
In the meanwhile, if you have any queries and / or need further details about the above book, please drop in a mail at fohma50@fohma.in or speak to Ayan Chatterjee, Office Coordinator at Tel: 033 4057 3150 / Cell: 91634 57687. Looking forward to your kind support in making this a memorable publication.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
K B Agarwala
President, FOHMA
Thursday, 18 August 2022