Sewing spares and services will do well in the next few years
Hari Chand Anand and Co. (HCA) is a leading manufacturer for sewing spares and services in India. In an exclusive interview with fibre2fashion.com, Anil Anand, MD of HCA Group presents the current market for sewing machinery in India and Bangladesh.
For which type of machinery has the demand been the most in the last two years in India and Bangladesh?
Demand for more automated machinery, that can increase productivity and deskill the work, has been the most. Machines such as automatic pocket attaching, patter sewer, surgers, auto jogs, button wrapping, knotting, etc has been the most in demand.
How has the demand been in the second hand machinery market?
The second hand machinery is still in demand in India, but today these second hand machines are refurbished and sold as almost new.
How would you size up the machinery market in Asia, especially with reference to the countries mentioned earlier?
China's manufacturing of garments is decreasing due to very high labour costs. But everywhere else, it is increasing, since the work from China is coming to the other three countries due to depreciated currencies and cheap and abundant labour.
What is the trend in the machinery market when it comes to energy efficiency? How good or bad are they? Any innovations which incorporate solar energy?
Sewing machines do not incorporate solar energy, so this question is not relevant.
How has the growth story been at the HCA Group? What is the targeted percentage growth for the next two years?
HCA Group has been continuously growing, not only in sales or personnel, but also in R&D and in development of new technology. We are the only company in India that is putting effort into R&D and trying to make certain operations less labour intensive and deskilled - be it with the patented button wrapping and knotting machines or the surging equipment. It can also be as small as the dart guides or the edge guides. We are continuously evaluating ourselves and the industry in order to provide more affordable and better equipment.
We saw an average growth in the recent years. We expect around 100 per cent growth in the next two years. Exports are growing in India, and so is the domestic consumption. We expect the industry to do good in the coming two years.
