Turkey is an important market for us as we are the market leader there
Rieter is one of the world’s leading suppliers of systems for short-staple fibre spinning. Based in Winterthur (Switzerland), the company develops and manufactures machinery, systems and components used to convert natural and man-made fibres and their blends into yarns. Rieter is the only supplier worldwide to cover spinning preparation processes as well as all four final spinning processes currently established in the market.
How would you describe the spinning market in India? Are you seeing new markets?
I think it is growing at the rate of CAGR of 2-3 per cent, and investments are coming in. Hopefully, India's future free trade agreements will improve exports, and be helpful to the industry.
What were your expectations from India ITME 2016?
Our expectations from the fair were to provide a platform for our sales, to launch new machines or products, and get in touch with our customers. It is clear that we would like to sell machines in the market, but it is very important that we use such kind of platforms to launch products and inform everyone about our whole system setup and solutions that we can offer to our customers. This is the right way to do it, and India ITME is one of the most important exhibitions for us.
Which latest technologies are being appreciated and accepted in the Indian market?
When we talk about our Indian customers and our market in India, Compact spinning is an important topic. We sold a lot of Compact spinning machines like K 42. The K 42 is an important machine, and the right one for the market. Not only the single machines, but the whole system from fibre to yarn is highly welcomed and is a good product for India. When we talk about technology, Rieter is a leading system supplier. We have built a network in all countries. We are with our customers through service and sales networks. We offer machines for all four spinning technologies like ring, Compact, rotor and airjet.
We launched the R 36 semi-automatic rotor spinning machine, and new spin box S 36 with higher yarn quality at India ITME. We have our own yarn clearer Q 10. We have especially launched a R 36 machine in India because there is still the problem of power failures. It is the R 36 with automated spinning in (ASI) that starts automatically after a power failure.
A trend that we have recognised in India is to blend. We have the right machine to get the precise blending. The UNIblend A 81 is for tough blending; we promoted it last year. At ITMA Asia we had launched our single-head draw frame, the RSB-D 50, an autoleveller draw frame. We go in the same direction-high productivity, good evenness with different materials, and polyester can be produced at really high productivity.
Then we have SPIDERweb, a wellknown mill monitoring system that lets you see quality data, and gives you an overview about the productivity of your entire spinning mill. With our new solutions like Mobile Alert system, our customers can set alert levels. This allows customers to react at an early stage to what is going on in the factory, and ensuring high productivity. We have also developed a mobile app. We offer after-sales solutions for new installations. The idea behind our after-sales solution is that we offer technology. We check the installation to see how we can increase the productivity and quality of the machine, and with which kinds of solutions. The learning system Rieter UPtime Solutions, which supports the preventive maintenance of plants, is a step towards the digitisation of spinning mills.
What is hampering the exports?
Demands from China are decreasing. Export is mainly based from the China market, and that export is slowing down. On the other side, our exporters are looking for new markets which are growing. Government initiatives in investments benefit when the subsidy is in the downstream process. This will also improve our domestic consumption.
Which are your big markets?
The biggest market, when you look at the world, it is clear-that it's China, followed by India. For Rieter, Turkey is also an important market where we are the market leader. We sold the most system installations there, which means from fibre to the end spinning systems. Our key customers and big customers are situated worldwide. But Southeast Asia is very important to Rieter, especially markets like Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In the beginning Bangladesh started downstream with knitting, but now they are investing more in spinning.
If you had to compare the spinning technologies in China with that of India, how is India faring?
When I think about India, I think about ring, Compact and rotors. Those are important topics here to produce yarn. At the moment, China is moving into fully automated machines. Customers in China are keener about airjet spinning. India is an expert at the spinning business when compared to China.
Which fairs will you be attending in 2017?
2017 is not a 'fair' year; last year was the big fair year. In 2016, we were at ITM Istanbul, besides ITMA Asia and ITME India.
How open are mills in India to adapting automation, robotics and systems with the internet of things?
From my point of view, there is a trend in automation. I think they are open, and they are interested in the whole thing and we at Rieter have the right solutions for it. SPIDERWeb does not only provide information, but also gives customers the opportunity to act at an early stage. Data about maintenance, productivity and quality makes a smart factory in lot of ways.
Published on: 21/02/2017
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.
