Mahlo’s Stephan Kehry delivers a speech at ITTA
India is known for many things: The Taj Mahal is one of the New Wonders of the World, Indian curries are very popular and the many festivities attract people from all over the world to celebrate together. Technical Textiles cannot keep up with this popularity. Not yet. Just like Germany during the second half of the 20th century, for a big part the Indian economy depends on the textile industry. And just like in Germany at that time, it is mainly mass-produced goods that leave the production sites in Ahmedabad, Mumbai or Coimbatore. And just like in Germany 40 years ago, local producers of textile web are getting under more and more pressure as far as prices are concerned.
Germany then was able to secure a significant market share thanks to the technical textile sector. The companies that are still operating today have set their course towards functional textiles just in time. Up until now, Germany has remained a market leader in the area of Technical Textiles.
In India a steadily growing price pressure for mass-produced goods is emerging. The country has plenty of experience with textiles. Demand is also sufficiently present. There is also no lack of applications such as road construction, agriculture or tent canvas. But in many places the much needed know-how for realizing these projects is missing.
By now, this know-how is highly in demand. One of the formative intermediaries in this area is the Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA). As the voice of all production facilities interested in Technical Textiles it is their task to pool all the knowledge available for the Indian subcontinent, which is needed for producing these complex goods.
In contrary to mass-produced goods, with Technical Textiles there is only a fine line between “pass” and “fail”. Tolerances are almost non-existent – critical values must be obliged meticulously. Here, the experience of the Mahlo GmbH with measurement and control technology is called for. That is why the Bavarian textile machinery builder was a clear choice to invite to the latest ITTA event. At the „International Conference on Technology & Machinery Innovations for Technical Textiles“, the modern sensor technology and the innovative interfaces attracted much interest. About 150 participants from science and industry listened to the report of Stephan Kehry, Mahlo’s Area Sales Manager, who emphasized the need to know and control processes in order to guarantee a satisfying result in his presentation titled „Technical Textiles: Guidelines for a smooth production“.
Especially the different methods of measurement with x-ray or beta emitters caught the attention of the audience and generated many interesting questions. Most likely, the Indian economy will eliminate the current deficits in producing the challenging Technical Textiles quickly, and will soon be able to manufacture high-performance products for construction, agriculture or automotive construction. The possibility that Mahlo systems will be used then is immensely high.