Italy based Bierrebi, in the business of industrial fabric cutting machines since 1963, claims to offer the best solution for the tubular fabric industry. Boban Charly, executive director, Bierrebi, gives an insight into his company.
Last year was a difficult year for the world due to the pandemic. How has the Italian textile machinery industry been affected?
The pandemic effect was a global phenomenon, and the Italian textile machinery industry was not an exception to it. However, since Bierrebi operates in the garment machinery market, some of our customers worldwide were able to convert their production by manufacturing masks in bulk quantities and some started producing PPE such as gowns, caps and gloves.
Which are your major markets?
India represents the best market for Bierrebi thanks to the major presence of textile products within the country. The availability of raw materials, competitive labour cost, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labours, and also the availability of all processes of supply chain along with competitive pricing, are forcing many buyers to approach India from all over the world. Apart from India, America is our other very important market.
Which are some of the major textile/ apparel brands who are advocates of your machinery?
In the automation market, Bierrebi is a simple and single solution for tubular fabric products. All the major players of tubular products have Bierrebi machines within their production processes all over the world.
How have customer preferences changed in the current scenario and how are you reacting to that?
All of us know that it is a pandemic which was not expected. Initially, it was very difficult to adapt to this situation. Gradually, by following the protocols, securities and precautions, everything started slowing down and then everything changed again thanks to the online platforms. For instance, online meetings became a common thing. To some extent, this had some positive effects, mainly from the managerial aspects. On the other side, the possibility to have demonstration of machines, where there is the need of a physical presence, still is a problem. Of course, the virtual meeting cannot replace the benefits of building and bonding with a customer during a direct face-to-face meeting.
Since Bierrebi produces machines to cut different types of fabric with a high level of production flexibility to cut diverse models, most of our customers were able to switch their production to manufacturing masks and PPE kits. This certainly represented an advantage for us. Even during the peak time of Covid-19, the requirement of consumables maintained a good sales level and we had supplied them with a discounted price in order to support our clients in a difficult time.
How big is the market of industrial fabric cutting machinery worldwide and in Italy? What is Bierrebi's market positioning with respect to that?
The market of industrial fabric cutting machinery is quite big worldwide. There are different machines for different cutting purposes. Bierrebi machines represent a cutting system technology that is unique, and you cannot find it in the market. For these reasons, we are a leading company in our business area. Our systems can guarantee a very high amount of cutting pieces in a very short period, guaranteeing at the same time, a top cutting quality and a drastic reduction of the operative costs. In addition, our continuous innovation and investments in R&D allow us always to be ahead within our market.
Where is the manufacturing/ production done? How is the demand and supply worked out?
Bierrebi is having its production plant located in Bologna, Italy. Bierrebi has always had its demand and monopoly in the market, which continues. All customers, that have at least one Bierrebi machine, are adding more to their fleet of machines by Bierrebi one-by-one. We have customers who own around 80-85 machines at their tubular fabric cutting plant. In India, we have customers with more than 5 machines minimum and, the same goes for other countries in Asia as well. Since Bierrebi represents the best solution for tubular fabric industry, the demand is always open for us in India. Furthermore, we are listed with The Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFs)-India and, thanks to this, all our customers are enjoying the benefits of subsidy from the government of India.
Where in India is your branch located? How many people are employed there? What are the kind of machinery manufacturing happening there?
In India, Bierrebi's subsidiary company is located in Tirrupur (Coimbatore). We are a good team of 5 members including administration manager and the technical service, who are taking care of Asian operations. The machines are manufactured at our head office in Italy. The possibility of a manufacturing unit in India is not to be excluded in future.
What is the USP of Bierrebi fabric cutting machines?
Bierrebi's unique selling point: "Every cut performed by a Bierrebi machine embraces a long history of innovation and success that we are so proud to share with all our partners around the world ". We build every single machine with the same purpose -- to create the best cutting system in the market, able to guarantee high quality and reduced costs…all made in Italy.
Where do you source the raw materials for machinery? How does your supply chain work?
All Bierrebi machines production is in Italy, and of course, all the raw materials are from Italy as well. We have a good purchase department team, which coordinate in the best way to get the materials on time. In addition, we implemented a very efficient tracking system too.
What are the new launches / product offerings to look forward to in the current year?
Bierrebi is always known for its tubular cutting solutions. By keeping this technology with its evolutionary improvements, based on the common suggestions from customer requirements, we are always moving forward and innovating. Apart from this, we have developed a new machine called Crystal, which cuts on a patented glass surface with a double blade system. Thanks to this new technology, we are able to expand our market, focusing on the medical and fashion field too.
What are your future expansion plans?
Forecasting and expanding the market share of the fabric/textile industry, we step forward with our new machine in Ludhiana, which is a big market for tubular products. Giving insights and more exposure about Bierrebi and our innovative cutting technologies is going to be one of our main motto this year. As per my view, there will be a boom in the market soon after circulating the vaccines. Some of the customers have already started to plan and are expected to invest in our machines and equipment by taking advantage of the Covid-19 best offer price. (PC)
Published on: 06/04/2021
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
