The 28th edition of the Garment Technology Expo (GTE 2019) which ran from February 22-25, 2019 at the NSIC Exhibition Complex, Okhla, New Delhi saw a rich mix of technologies on garment stitching and processing on display from around 800 brands and companies. This is Indian subcontinent’s largest show for apparel technology, with unparalleled representation from all segments of the sector, from over 20 countries. All the industry stalwarts were present at this platform under one roof.
The B2B Expo provided a single point meeting ground for the garment manufacturers and technology providers to discuss, source and see new launches & latest development in garment & knitting manufacturing technologies industry under one roof. The growth of the expo in terms of the increasing number participants from across the globe and the increase in overall size of the exhibition speaks for the fruitful & appreciable role played by GTE for the apparel & knitting technology in India.
In the last edition of Apparel Views we covered comments of some of the leading foreign company representatives who participated in the show. This time we are covering views of leading Indian exhibitors taken during the show…
(Part II)
Exhibitors’ Comments…
Juki advances its activities to create the most suitable factories by making innovative efforts to solve the various problems a customer faces, through the further evolution and systemization of products and IoT. Juki’s Digital Sewing Machines can respond actively to changes in sewing items and materials. We got very good response as today everybody is talking about digital. First time we have displayed technologies with digital, which generated a lot of interested among customers. 2018 was good for us, we recently also opened our service centre in India. The market is doing well but there are no newcomers, and same existing people are expanding. Last year we saw many companies upgrading and now they are planning to for expansion. GTE is a good show, most of the big players in North India have visited here and overall we got very good response here.
The exhibition has been good. We have to do it every year and even now it is alright. A market has its ups and downs but overall, it has been good. We have displayed Epson SC F9330 and Epson SC F7270.
F7270 is the 64’’ roll-to-roll dye sublimation printer for short-to medium volume roll to roll custom fabric, textile and soft signage and F9330 is 64’’ high performance rollto-roll dye sublimation printer for medium to large volume roll to roll custom fabric, textile and soft signage. Footfall wise and organization wise the show is good. We are definitely coming back to participate next year.
The focus for us has always been the same, ‘sew free and technology’. Here, we are displaying more applications of the machines. By seeing what the machines do, people are getting more curious, so it is going good.
We have displayed here the AI 001, our own button feeder, which we are making only for Juki and the European Ultrasonic which is the number 1 machine for the world. We have also displayed our catalogue for new boilers which is running from garbage. Our most attractive displays are our applications. I’m very happy with the response; the people are coming with an open mind. I’m not directly linked to the market but for the brand, they need technology and newness, which we are providing. From last time, the show is better.
Basically, in total the focus is more on automation because if the country has to survive, you can’t be depending on the operators anymore. There is no skilled operator availability in cities due to which garment units are shifting to rural areas. We are looking at deskilling the operations. Unlike earlier when owner were concentrating on investment cost now they themselves want automation. People don’t want to be dependent on people. Considering this whole situation is changing in the industry and lot of people having garment factories are going for automation. Response here is much better than past couple of years. The turnout of people is good, unlike previous shows when footfall was limited to Delhi NCR and Mumbai, this edition a lot of people from Southern India and other regions of the country have also come. We are displaying smaller size fusing machine, automatic pant finisher, automatic knit finisher, and finishers for blouses.
This time we have focused on industry 4.0 technologies available with us. We are presenting latest technologies from Dürkopp-Adler’s industry 4.0 concept, Bullmer’s latest automatic cutting machines, Siruba’s automatic machines, Orbito’s latest machines.
The response here at GTE is good, even more than expected. Business wise last year was good for us in India. The show is overall good in terms of organisation, and response is better than last year. We will be participating here again next year.
The show is very good this time; these guys have done a good job in setting up the booth and all the things. Response wise, Saturday Sunday was very good; we got so many enquiries and now we have to convert those enquiries into deals. This time, we’re not launching anything new; it’s the same technology that we are showcasing. Being an international company, at present some markets are down while some are on the up for us. So overall, the impact on us is not that big as one market is booming while the other is a bit down.
However, the Indian market is normal for us. So, when it is down, people are keener towards the technology as they have to reduce the costs and automate the systems. Business wise, NCR is doing well and Tirupur, Ahemdabad have been very good for us. We are planning to start in Kolkata now.
We’ve launched 2 different types of products: A hydro carbon dry cleaning machine and a post and preprocess printing related machines These are the two machines that we’ve launched here. Since last year, we’ve added a lot of products and there’s been a complete sea change in the company; new people, new design, new products, this is a turnaround year for us. At GTE, the footfall has come down as compared to last year, the response hasn’t been great. More than the footfall, we come here to show our products. As far as the industry is concerned, it is all stabilized since every company in this industry has a set of buyers. We have our buyers and our competitors have their buyers, As long as we don’t lose our quality, they won’t go away from us. So our status is stabilized. We keep on adding new products and increase sales, it is simple. The industry is not doing badly, it is growing definitely.
In previous years, I hadn’t been satisfied much but this time around I’m really happy with the response. What used to happen earlier was, local people used to come just to watch but this time maybe the exhibitor has made some arrangements for only the customers to attend. People from all over India have been coming. We are the masters in button feeder and still in that we have upgraded. To deskill the Button stitch operation, Loiko has come up with Button Feeder attachment LOIKO MODEL ST-12 MADE IN KOREA. In 2018, we completed our sales target one month in advance, so, for us it was very good. I expect this year to be great too and we’ll definitely compete. The market is good, customers like to invest and grow. Thing is, the Karnataka government is not as supportive as say Jharkhand, Andhra and Orissa. They’re giving more subsidies and labour. The Central Government should give more support to our industry as the textile industry is the largest after agriculture.
Our cutting room machinery, software and friendly service network represent the top ambition for those who operate in the textile industry and are willing to innovate. Morgan Tecnica provides software solution for pre sew process optimization. Some of our latest technologies are Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Cop-Cut Order Planning, 3DRESS.
The response at GTE on the initial 2 days was really good, now it’s a bit up and down but overall, it has been good. We met people from all across India. The show has definitely improved from the last 2 years and we are seeing a larger footfall compared to the last few years. As for the industry, 2018 wasn’t good for anyone in my opinion. 2019 looks to be promising.
We are displaying High Tex FH Industrial Textile Printer FH3208 which is a 3.2 mtr machine that could be used for home textiles, apparels like ladies wear, sarees. It’s a multiple type of machine and we have launched it for the first time for markets like Panipat, Ludhiana which are the hubs for bedsheets manufacturing. Digital market is moving a lot towards high speed machine.
They are looking for machines with 5 to 10 thousand mtr production per day. So, both types of machines are available right now in the market from brands all over the world. Besides, entry level machines demand is also increasing. The show is not very good. Especially, for digital printing hardly two-three players are here. Footfall is OK, as we achieved what we wanted as most of our customers who were invited have been to the show.
Focus is that we are launching some new series in the basic category with modern look. We are displaying a complete range of garment and footwear along with some home furnishing machines. We have come up with some new machines for decorative stage as well. Altogether, there are about six new models that we have launched in this exhibition and getting good response. There is not much we can develop in terms of technologies nowadays but we are trying to improve the looks so that it gives a modern feel. In last three months we have seen some movement in exports market otherwise before Diwali it was not doing very well. From last three months its looking better. Industry is accepting to all the changes which were done in last two years. The show is good as always, we met several customers here. We have been participating in this show for last 20 years so we know we should get from the show, and we are getting as per expectations.
We are manufacturer and exporter of automatic filing machines, cushion filling machines, computerized quilting machines etc. Our technologically advanced machines are catering to the demands of non-woven and quilting industries. The machine that we’re showcasing here is a quilting machine called Zhengba. The technology is from China and is best in the market today.
Market for home textiles is doing well, but overall if you compare it with last year, it has slowed down. GTE is a good show, and we have been participating in it regularly. We are quite happy with the response as customers from all over India have come here.
This time we have put more attention on the applications which many customers have appreciated. We are showing our 3 year old machine which was launched in 2015 but still, no one has this technology. We can proudly say that we have the largest inventory for the glass beads work by the machine in India. Here, we have more than 110 kinds of shapes. Then we have also developed a special multi-coloured bead work, we call it MCB. The market sentiments these days aren’t very good but we hope that these kinds of innovations will not go unnoticed. GTE is supposed to be more efficient but this time, it isn’t as much it should be. The response from the market has been great and we have been doing amazing sales but discreetly. I don’t want to reveal my technology; we give a security to our users that what you have invested, it’s our duty to make it last longer. That is the reason why we have decided against revealing the technology at such a big platform and this policy shall remain unchanged for at least the next 1 year. At this show we have booked some orders, after which we take them to the showroom to give live demo.
We offer chenille embroidery machine, four in one mixed embroidery machine, laser machines, mixed cording embroidery machine, designing software for embroidery and many others. At GTE we are display many machines and also boring attachments. Earlier garment exporters used to work on very expensive machine, which makes their overall costing high, resulting in them losing their orders globally. So, we worked on and brought those in low cost.
If the price remains low, exporters will be able to gain more orders. Besides, we have displayed laser machines also. The response was average, most of the people visiting are from North India only. The market is also doing OK, not much demand as orders are shifting to countries with low cost labour. We hope after election the market scenario will improve.
Our company is presenting Co2 Marker & Fiber Laser Marker Machine and Angel Co2 Laser Marker Machine. The response at this show is good, as customers from all over India are visiting the same. Overall, we are satisfied with the show. The market scenario is also good and it has improved in past few months.
Steps like GST and demonization did not affect us as we are doing everything in an organised way, infact orders have increased now. Our industry is not affected much. We have more than 80 types of products which all can’t be displayed here. We are planning to introduce more new products in coming few months.
Our major products are sublimation printers and belt textile printers. Recently, we’ve launched this DX 5 printers with 8 heads, the speed is around 1200 meters a day; we can say that it is the most affordable printer in India. We are running these printers with Huntsman inks. If you talk about sublimation printers, then we have got 2 models. One has a production of 800 mtr a day, having 2 heads while the other has 3 heads and has a production of 1,200 meters a day. This is our first time at GTE and we expected a lot more visitors, so it has not been up to our expectations. There are no genuine buyers here, 95 per cent of the visitors are here to just check out what has been happening. As for the market, if we talk about digital printers, this is the new era and there is scope; we are doing very well. We have been receiving new inquiries and demands every day. Compared to last year, this year has been better. We are planning to launch new high speed sublimation printers this year.
This machine is a gas dryer which initially was imported from Germany and the USA. We’ve successfully made this machine locally in an indigenous way. Comparing to the other machines, we have improved so many things. So now this machine is a substitute to many international brands. The response regarding it has been very good. Though people from various regions have visited but major footfall was from Delhi NCR. Our marketing strategy is to give good things to customers and they’ll support you. We have specialised engineers to take care of everything and we’ve used parts from Germany and Italy so reliability wouldn’t be an issue. As for the response, it has been very poor. It has been a really unfocused exhibition. Our stall is are among embroidery and cutting technology people. They have not got any printing people here. Whoever we have invited, have come but other than that, there has been no response.
This time we are displaying new Mimaki sublimation printer and Reactive printer having Konica print head. These are the new products we have presented for the first time in GTE. Mimaki printer is having Epson head and ink cost is also less when compared to previous model. The speed is around 30-35 sq mtr per hr and we are getting good response for the same.
The market for digital is increasing day-by-day but it was slow for last two years after demonetisation. For our company last year was good, we introduced Konica printer and already sold 10- 12 machines. So, it is Ok for us to start with and we are expecting more in 2019. We are also coming up with T-shirt printer soon. Overall, the show is good having good footfall as only genuine buyers have visited the same.
Ours is a 35 year old company having five units in Ludhiana offering dyeing, washing, dry cleaning & finishing systems to markets in India and abroad. We have recently introduced Magic series which has liquor ratio of 1:3. Earlier denim used to be dyed with 132 ltr water but now only 32 ltr. It saves a lot of water, dyes, chemicals and steam. Besides, Guruson’s new environment, production and pocket friendly “SMART ATOM” machine is in the market, creating Atomized Mist of the chemicals with Pressurized spray on the entire lot of the garments for homogenous effects and better reproducibility with our Inbuilt Smart Programme. “SMART ATOM” Spraying System, which is for whole garment surface is now available for batches with Guruson finishing system instead of one by one processing and it is favourable for chemical process – Potassium Permanganate- Softeners- Binders and all other Spray finishing process for whole garment surface. Overall response has been good here, customers from Delhi NCR, Kolkata, Mumbai, Southern India have been here.
We are a multi-trading company; we are trading lots of products from overseas as well as India and we are participating in this exhibition for new customers and product developments. This is the new focus for us. We have recently introduced new products and that is one of the main reasons behind us participating here. The response has been pretty good and we’re happy with it; many serious buyers have come here.
The market is a bit volatile now as we have lots of new people coming. The footfall this time wasn’t as good as last time and I hope that next time it would be better. My feeling is that the printing industry wasn’t much focused on this time. More of sewing people were coming to the exhibition.
Our company Jack Fang is displaying here pearl fixing machine, thread trimmer, tagging machine and a hot and cold cutting machine. All these are our exclusive machine. The response has been brilliant here. The number of visitors has been less but the buyers have been really good, it is definitely better than before.
It has been 3 years since I first participated and if compared, this year the show has been improved a lot. Business wise, last year for us was okay and demonization and GST hasn’t affected us much. In the future we plan to introduce more new machines from the brand.
We are a startup and just started in 2016. Till now, we’ve participated in only 2-3 exhibitions. We don’t have much experience in this field and are still very new but apart from this, we’ve had an experience of 16-18 years with companies like Mimaki, Mutoh and Konica Minolta. The machine that we’re showcasing here is a sublimation machine which is the smallest one that we have. We also have a direct textile printer which can produce from 25 sq. mtr to 200 sq. mtr per hour. The response here has been so-so; not many quality customers.
The show has been very average for us. The industry is still in a very bad state after demonetization and GST. We don’t expect much from the market, neither exporters nor the domestic suppliers have the demand. We started just after demonetization and so, we don’t have much knowledge about the industry before it. Almost 2 years have passed now and I hope that everything goes fine onwards.
We are representing Shaoxing Jinteng Knitting Machinery in India which is in the manufacturing of Socks Knitting Machine (Single & Double Cylinder), Gloves Making Machines, Flat Knitting Machines and many more. At GTE we are displaying socks knitting machinery for women, children, and military. There are many specifications for this machine, so depending on the customers’ requirements we sell it. This is my third time participation at GTE, and I feel this year response is better than last two editions.
We are based in Jaipur and have team of engineers trained in China for after sales support. We have sold more than 1000 machines all over India. For this machine, market is really good and I expect atleast 2000 machines to be sold every year for new few years.
We are importers of industrial sewing machine spare parts and steam irons. Here we are displaying products from DJW China, Wayken, The Fighter, Kenlen, ONS, OWBOSS etc. Great Knives company is from Taiwan manufacturing all types of knives, and quality wise it is better than Chinese. Price wise also it is very competitive to other brands available in the market.
We are catering to markets all over India via dealer network and getting good support from the customers. We have been participating in this show for last three years. We are not here with motive of sales but to meet our customers, take their feedback and improve our products accordingly. Overall, response here is excellent.
Jack Holding started Bruce Brand 10 years back to supply to the European market, which is the reason of it being a high quality product. They started here in 2018 January; it’s a new brand in the Indian market and doing very well. The quality of product speaks of itself, which is the reason we are getting a lot of orders / enquiries. Quality wise it is better than other brands and our market is a little top end. We are very happy to get associated with Bruce. At GTE, we have displayed wide range of our machines.
It’s been a very huge show and the customers have been coming in large numbers from all over India. We are offering a warranty of 3 years, so customers are very happy. In 2019, our target is double our sales by making sub dealers all over India. There are many competitors, so, it is not easy to double our share in just one year but we are trying our best.
We are into manufacturing of zippers, our raw materials are from China, Taiwan, Italy and then we are manufacturing it here. We believe in purchasing raw material from abroad due to quality issues and pollution. If I’ll be manufacturing completely here it will create a lot of problem for our country especially in pollution field because plating is a very deadly poison for soil water and everything. That’s why I make sure to procure my entire product from abroad and manufacture them here.
Mainly garment manufacturers, shoe wear, and sportswear people, luggage and many others are our customers. In terms of response I will rate this show seven out of ten. I would like to suggest to organisers to keep some wi-fi as network is a big issue here. Otherwise we are really happy, we’ve been participating since past 10 years now, and it’s like a family.
We are getting very good feedback in this exhibition. After GTE we will be participating in another exhibition in Surat, as these are very good platform to showcase our innovations to the customers. Though customers walk-ins from all over India is there but most of them are already associated with us. Overall footfall is not as expected.
We have come up with many new products and have introduced new catalogues for furnishing and garments here. We are also displaying few samples here. Market scenario is improving, so we are hoping future to be bright for us.
Here we are providing entire solution for garment industry. We are focusing on sports apparel market, especially four way fabrics, two way fabric and hi stretch sports performance fabrics. The machine we are displaying is Titan M from Automatic Screen Printing Machine from Anatol US which has been manufactured in Poland for Asian market. Titan M features the most common print area, 16” x 18”. It has advanced features like servo lift and indexing, electric print heads, digital off-contact and a 15” touchscreen on a flexible boom that can be turned to face any station. Anatol has more than 4,000 machines all over India, and this year we are introducing them through GTE. Basically, in Indian market, we have machines from pneumatic side; of course their consumption is more, but it has more of maintenance issues. Our machine is 60 per cent electric and 40 per cent pneumatic, which means its head are more of electric which would require less maintenance, and more of productivity.