Mr. Sridhar Varadaraj
Managing Director Premier Evolvics Pvt. Ltd
Pemier Evolvics is the worldwide leader in the field of Laboratory testing and On-line Quality monitoring equipment for the textile industry. Pemier Evolvics also specialises in the fields Machine Vision systems and Image Processing solutions using Digital Signal Processing based Embedded system
Quality testing in textile industry is not a new concept. Could please tell us how the whole concept evolved to its present form?
Quality testing in textile industry has a long, rich and interesting history. Initially Quality testing was purely a laboratory based activity and therefore an off-line, post- operation process. In the last quarter of the 20th Century, Quality testing has moved on-line and been integrated into textile machinery as a monitoring and control system. We believe that this trend will continue in the future, leading towards significantly closer integration of Textile Machinery and Quality systems.
Patent issues currently are in the news. We have been hearing that Chinese manufacturers copy the technology, produce and sell at a price that is 50 percent or so lower. Is getting into that market not a risky proposition?
"We cannot, for much longer, continue to dismiss China manufacturers as mere copiers of technology. Across the industries, there is now significantly more spending in Research and Development in China, compared to India and this is substantiated by significantly more patents being filed by China compared to India. Investing in R&D and learning to effectively manage the Research and Development process is something Indian companies in general are lagging behind. If we are to remain competitive with respect to China, this has to come as a wakeup call for Indian companies. Intellectual Property protection in China, while being a problem at the moment, will stop being an issue once Chinese companies themselves have IP to protect. While Chinese products will continue to be priced lower than European manufacturers, I personally believe that “uneconomically low” Chinese prices cannot be sustained for much longer.Premier has a strong focus on R&D for the last 10 years and is currently spending close to 15% of its revenue on Research and Development. We believe this continuous investment in technology will keep Premier ahead of the competition, whether from China or from any other part of the world."
Can you tell us more about the On-Line Quality & Production Monitoring Systems For Spinning & Weaving?
"There are 2 challenges facing the textile industry: 1 Quality – To achieve consistent quality with minimum deviations or exceptions. 2 Productivity / Cost – to maximise out of the resources available a)reduce the expenses and choose lower cost (most appropriate) raw material b)maximise productivity of machine, material and men. Online quality production systems are absolutely essential to achieve this. We have the following products: Premier Ringi i)Single spindle monitoring system for ring spinning ii)Production monitoring at the preparatory machines. Loomi On-line data acquisition system for weaving Milli Knowledge based Quality Management System"
Can you give us examples of successful innovations carried out by your company?
"Apart from the iQON AX, which I have already spoken about, some of our recent product innovations include the Premier iQ QualiCenter, which amongst many other firsts for an evenness tester, has also made it possible to measure Hairiness Index and Hair Count simultaneously and has a Nep classification device to distinguish fibre neps from the less harmful Seed coat neps. The Premier aQura is the most accurate neps and short fibre content measurement equipment in the market today, made possible by some very innovative and patented technologies."
How bullish do you read the current trend in the textile industry, particularly in the Indian context?
From Premier’s point of view, we are very bullish about the future of the textile industry in developing countries such as India, China and Pakistan. We believe that textile mills in these countries will increase their investment in Quality and Monitoring systems to compete more effectively in the global market.
What according to you are the emerging markets for your products and strategies that have you lined up for capturing major share thereof?
"Premier is already in all the major textile countries of the world. While we have built up a significant market share in most Quality Testing and Monitoring products, we did not have a foreign fibre clearer for the automatic winders. We will soon put this behind us when we release the iQON AX to the market in April 2006. iQON AX uses a revolutionary new technology combining both the visible and infrared spectrums to detect all foreign material include white plastics, much more effectively than the existing clearers in the market. With the release of the iQON AX, we believe that we will be converting the weakest link in our product portfolio into a flagship product for our company. Apart from the iQON AX, Premier will also continue to strengthen its product portfolio in the Weaving segment as well as Knowledge Management software segments."
What exactly is the concept of Ingineered QualityTM (iQ)?
Ingineered QualityTM (iQ), is a process by which a textile product can be made as close as possible to engineered product. An engineered product is one, which meets exact specifications and more importantly one which meets these specifications CONSISTANTLY. Achieving consistency in quality is the next level of quality improvement for textile mills. Premier helps its customers achieve this by its unique combination of Laboratory equipment, On-Line Monitoring and Control Systems and the integration of data from various points of a textile mill into a knowledge based system called "Premier Milli"
What are the factors responsible today for the improvement in the fibre and yarn quality on the whole?
While no significant improvement has taken place in the cotton Fibre Quality in the last few decades, Yarn Quality has seen a significant improvement. For example, yarn evenness has improved by 25% in the last 50 years and yarn strength has increased by 10-20% (depending on yarn count) in the last 15 years. This has been made possible by significant new innovations in fibre handling technologies implemented by machinery manufacturers, while simultaneously increasing speeds by as much 25% in the last 25 years.
What is the range of equipments that Premier has developed for different textile segments?
Premier has the most comprehensive range of Quality Testing and Monitoring equipment for the textile industry. For example, we are the only player in the market who has a foreign fibre contamination solution for both the blow-room as well as the winding stage. The Premier range of solutions include Laboratory Products, Online Monitoring and Software Based Knowledge Systems.
What is your strategy to strengthen the market position?
Our strategy to increase our lead over the competition is to continue our strong investments in Research and Development. We hope to be the company to define and evolve the next generation of Quality Testing, Monitoring and Control systems for the textile industry.
Published on: 06/03/2006
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.
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