One of the most common industries in almost all countries around the globe is Textile industry. Recently this textile processing segment has witnessed shift in base from the West to the East and this trend is accelerated with the lifting of quota restrictions under WTO. In India several large Textile mills made huge investments in anticipation of increase in demand from the overseas market. The recent global recession and financial melt down is forcing textile processor to seek ways of shortening processing routes, minimizing energy costs and increasing production capacities for achieving cost effectiveness.

This industry comprises a diverse, fragmented group of establishments that receive and prepare fibers, transform into yarn, convert the yarn into fabric and then dye at various stages of garment manufacturing. The growth of consumption and export of fabrics and garments implies a corresponding growth in the consumption of textile specialty chemicals and dyes used for coloration. The processing of such a huge volume of fabric and clothing is carried out in different locations belonging to the hand processing units, composite mills and independent process houses of various sizes.

The coloration of textiles is an important aspect of the production process and adds value to it, be it by dyeing or printing. The specific requirement of color shade/ hue and its fastness properties is a major quality parameter demanded by the end users. So, the contribution of dyestuff industry in wet processing operations is enormous.

The global production of dyestuffs is somewhere in the region of 1.2 Mio metric tonnes per annum, out of which production in India is 130,000 metric tonnes per annum. The market size of the Indian dyestuff industry is approximately US$ 3.5 bn, of which US$ 1.3 bn is export. In global dyestuff market size, Indias share is about 6%, while leading contributor is China with 25% share.

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Source: Technical Service, Atul Ltd (Colors Division), Atul - Valsad, Gujarat, India