Malegaon to have common fabric processing facility

23 May '12

3 min read

Powerloom owners in textile cluster of Malegaon in western Indian state of Maharashtra are in the process of setting up their own facility to process fabrics. The new facility would be the first government sponsored Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Nashik district.

Malegaon currently has two privately-owned process centres with a capacity to process a maximum of 250,000 metres of cloth per day, which is very small compared to an estimated production of about 10 million metres of grey cloth every day.

So far, around 70 percent of grey poplin manufactured in Malegaon was sent to process houses in Balotra and Pali in Rajasthan. But, a court order in February this year banned textile process houses in these two towns from discharging waste water and effluents into the Luni river.

The Rajasthan High Court asked the process house owners to install plants for treating waste water before they are again allowed to begin their operations. The court order resulted in closure of several process houses in Balotra.

To ease the situation for Malegaon powerloom owners, Dr. Baliram Hirey Hi-Tech Textile Cluster Services Pvt Ltd. is setting up the CFC, which will have a fully automatic and hi-tech process house. It will provide pre-weaving and post-weaving industrial assistance to the powerloom weavers.

Mr. Prakash Kankaria, Director of Dr. Baliram Hiray Hi-Tech Textile Cluster Services, told fibre2fashion, “We are installing a CFC sanctioned by the Government of India. In the CFC, we are going to install wet processors for bleaching, mercerization, etc.”

Apprising about current situation in Malegaon, he says, “There are around 200,000 traditional powerlooms in Malegaon which manufacture around 10 million metres of cloth per day, but the town does not have adequate facilities for pre-weaving and post-weaving treatments. There is also a lack of technical support.”

“Currently, we are installing automatic machines for various processes and then we will be installing the process house. This will enable us to produce fabric that is ready for dyeing,” he states.

The CFC is being established with an investment of Rs. 158.4 million. The Central Government is funding 80 percent of the capital and the state government is contributing another 10 percent.

“Our stake in the CFC project is 10 percent. We are 15 member companies and we have around 2 acres of our own land on which we are setting up the CFC,” he informs.

“The project will take at least one year to be completed and become operational. The members will provide their fabric and get it processed on job basis. This will help the powerloom industry to bloom in and around the town,” he opines.

“Currently, very low grade quality cloth is produced in Malegaon. So, the CFC would also act as a catalyst for upgrading the quality of the cloth from 50 GSM to 200 GSM. Companies can also take up manufacturing of denim fabrics, suiting, shirting, etc.,” he avers.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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