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Features : Products

Product Development Drives India to Grow its Competency in Terry Towels

Terry towels or originally known as Turkish towels, a core strength of countries like Turkey and Portugal, has in past decade moved its base from Europe to Asia, which is now becoming a hub for textiles. Countries like India, Pakistan and China have become world leaders in terry towel manufacturing. Indias terry towel manufacturing in the last decade has seeped into the organized sector with biggies like Welspun, Abhishek Industries, Modern Terry Towels and Sharadha Terry Products leading the group, which was earlier confined to decentralized handloom and powerloom clusters like Panipat, Karur, Erode, Mumbai, Solapur, Ahmedabad and Delhi. Major buyers for this product category are Walmart, Target, JCPenney, Bath & Beyond, Macys, Nantica, Ikea, Li & Fung to name a few.
Terry Towels A Growing Market Terry Towels, which in Indias total exports of cotton made-ups, accounts a major share of 14.06%, like every other segment of the textile industry, also went through a rough phase during the global recession of the past one-and-a-half years. India, according to TEXPROCIL, exported 293,114,939 terry towels worldwide in the period November 2008 November 2009, a 10.71% drop compared to the same period a year before. However, as the recession fades away, both the manufacturers and buying houses are very positive about the coming year as they see huge growth prospects for the terry towel segment. The market is showing signs of revival from the bad year, last year. Now from past 3-4 months, situation has seen a positive change. Retailers are looking at launching new programmes in June-August period. Others are trying to build up their inventory levels. This has meant a better order position for manufacturers. avers P.K. Markanday, Business Head, Abhishek Home Textiles, the third largest producer of terry towel in the world. Rajesh Mandawewala, Joint Managing Director, Welspun India Limited adds, The market for Terry Towels has been growing since the second half of 2009. During the financial meltdown in 2008 a lot of marginal capacity closed down which has also led to a demand supply balance. Also the sales for Home Textiles have been higher than expected. Welspun retains its position as the fourth largest producer worldwide, following Coteminas of Brazil and Hilasal of Mexico. To the manufacturers credit, India has started taking over competencies of countries like China and Pakistan, which lies in design and catering to the lower segment, respectively. This is because of a wider base to the product profile offered by the country. While small players and clusters are concentrating on value addition by providing decorative aspects like design, embroidery, etc. bigger players are bringing various structural innovations for better performance like better absorbency, eco-friendly inputs, fragrance, etc. thus collectively catering to the needs of all segments of society.

Abhishek Industries

Welspun

Terry towels is a diverse and growing segment for India. With cost of production relatively higher in Turkey and Portugal today, India is a gainer and in fact we are even seeing some influx of queries for low tier category which has always been the strong hold of Pakistan. Big Indian Mills are doing major back wall programmes for prime retailers of Western world. says Vikas Mathur, Vice-President, Pardesh Agencies. Developments in Terry Towels Developments are an integral part of any industry and are required in order to enhance the offerings time

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Developments are an integral part of any industry and are required in order to enhance the offerings time and again. In terry towels, manufacturers always try to be innovative in various techniques be it in terms of designs, fabrics and developing key characteristics of the towels which include improving softness, high wet strength (hydrophilic), dye well, washability, while keeping the product fashion forward and value for price. Some of the new fibres that are being well accepted by the market for this category are Bamboo, Modal, Hemp and Eucalyptus; though products made with superior cotton Egyptian and Supima still command a good price and market. Some of the new weaving techniques used by manufacturers are low twist, thick & thin yarn, low weight ZT, 3 ply, longer loops, etc. while anti-microbial, colour fastness, bleach resistant, etc. are some of the new surfaces being increasingly demanded by buyers. Unveiling the innovations in yarns, Zaid Hasan, Head Home Division, JCPenney India says, Different versions of cotton PVA blended yarns have been created to improve loft and absorbency; zero twist continues to be the hot favourite for people who love softer hand feel. Using polyester in the base helps achieve better drying time and also makes towel stronger to withstand multiple washes. Moreover, suppliers are currently researching to cater to strong demands for towels with colours resistant to Benzoil per oxide and Salicylic acid and Retinoid, chemicals widely used in cosmetics, anti-ageing creams and also dental creams. For Welspun jacquard and new borders is still in focus. In the terry towels it has launched the Hygro towel which provides high absorbency, durability and loft to the product. It has also launched Ecolite towel which dries 30% quicker in the dryer, has a soft hand and good bulk. In the meanwhile, Abhishek Home Textiles, sees huge demand for colourful trendy designs with coordination of dobby border, partial velour, variable pile height and self mild and mix textured towels in terms designs self textured towels, wave effect with differential pile height with optimum construction and light borders are in trend to avoid or minimize differential shrinkage. Combination of rich and medium construction, fibre blend with optimized functionality of the towel are also in demand. Last years biggest trends Energy Saving and Quick Dri by JCPenney are still one of the bestselling terry towels, offering a judicial combination of being comfortable and eco-friendly. Major and Emerging Markets USA and Europe account for nearly 70% of the total home textile consumption. Japan is another big market for home textiles and hence terry towels. avers Rajesh.

Though US has been and still is the largest buyer of terry towels from India, according to TEXPROCIL export of terry towels to the country dipped by 16.18% in November 2008 November 2009, due to the recessionary phase. But during this recessionary phase countries like Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UK and Italy saw an increased import of India made terry towels by 186.32%, 52.96%, 12.41% and 45.92%, respectively.

Quality Issues
Absorbency in terry towel is considered as prime parameter. Absorbency of 50% is considered as good and above 80% as excellent. Feel and softness are attractions to the customer. Lint or loose fibres on the surface of the towel is another quality parameter which manufacturers have to watch out for. Cotton made from combed cotton and long staple fibre doesnt exhibit noticeable lint on the surface after washing. Yellowing after repeated washed in hotel towel is a concern. White towels should be bleached with such process and chemicals so that it lasts long. Durability in hotel towel has to be very good as frequent washes are done. Colour fastness is important as a towel can bleed and stain other products. Bleach, if not used as per care instruction, affects the colour. Pile pulling while usage is a common problem in terry fabric. The major quality issues in terry towels relate to its appearance (bowing, shrinkage, hem opening, etc.) and absorbency and feel.

Major Expansions
Welspun India Ltd. Welspun India Ltd. has reportedly planned to spend Rs. 300 crore in FY11 to enhance capacity in towels, bed linen and bath rugs. Aiming at debottlenecking of existing equipments, the investment will help in enhance productivity with the same machinery. Our current capacity for Terry Towels is around 41,500 MT and we are planning to debottleneck by adding some machines to take our capacity to 45,000 MT per annum. This additional capacity will be available to us in the first quarter of FY11. In addition to this we are also looking at adding some more capacity by 2012, reveals Rajesh Mandawewala. Abhishek Home Textile Abhishek Industries current capacity is approx. 3000 MT of terry towels per month which translates into approx. 13.5 million pieces of terry towel. The manufacturer is considering a major expansion in 2011-12 for home textiles for which it has purchased 800 acres of land near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The production here will start by the beginning of 2011 and capacity details of which are yet to be finalised.

EMERGING PLAYERS FOR TERRY TOWELS

Chilka Weaving Mill, Solapur Yellows Spun & Linens Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai Rajesh International, Solapur Ichalkaranji Textiles Private Limited, Ichalkaranji Srinath Cotton Combines, Solapur Devinarayan Enterprises, Mumbai

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