Double-Digit Growth of Nonwoven, Technical Textile Industry in India

The study, done at the Nonwoven and Advanced Materials Laboratory at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, was conducted by Seshadri Ramkumar, an assistant professor and expert in the field of nonwoven fabric technology, and by Appachi Arunachalam, a visiting scholar from India. It measured growth opportunities of the nonwoven and technical textile industry in India.

Their findings, contained in a report titled India Rising: Opportunities in Nonwovens and Technical Textiles, show the growth and potential of India’s technical textile industry and the consumption of nonwoven technical textiles from 2007-2050, which is derived from gross domestic product growth data using World Bank Statistics.

This study was published in leading international textile magazines such as Nonwovens Industry and Textile World Asia. It coincides with the effort of the Government of India to create a National Technological Mission to spearhead the development of the technical textile industry in India.

“In this era of globalization, such a study will be useful for the U.S. textile industries to seek joint ventures and collaboration with the emerging market,” Ramkumar said. “By 2035, the growth rate of the nonwoven and technical textile industry will be exponential. However, with the new government initiatives in India, the growth rate will be much faster. The report highlights the growth pattern and government initiatives such as the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme and Special Economic Zones.”

Already, Ramkumar said India has initiated steps toward the establishment of four centers of excellence: medical textiles, geotextiles, agrotextiles and protective textiles. This offers a business opportunity for U.S. and European textile industries to expand and seek new markets. Players such as North Carolina-based Glen Raven and Finland-based Ahlstrom are utilizing this new opportunity.

For the past four years, researchers at the laboratory have worked to bridge the nonwoven and technical textile industry of developed economies such as the U.S. and the emerging economy such as India.

Texas Tech University will organize the fifth annual Advances in Textiles, Machinery Nonwoven and Technical Textiles –ATNT 2008 conference, which runs July 14-16 in Coimbatore, India. The conference fosters relationships between the textile industry of developed economies and India. Visit http://www.atnt2008.com for more.

To get a copy of India Rising: Opportunities in Nonwovens and Technical Textiles, visit http://www.tiehh.ttu.edu/documents/News_Release/India_Rising.pdf

CONTACT: Seshadri Ramkumar, assistant professor at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, (806) 445-1925 or s.ramkumar@ ttu.edu