GST will now bring in a levelplaying field for all
Established in 1956 with a small beginning, Embee today manufactures a complete range of rotary printing machinery system at various manufacturing facilities with a combined factory area of more than 40,000 sq m. Harsh Shah, Managing Director, Embee Group discusses the post-GST impact on the textiles industry.
As a private enterprise, what is the kind of governmental help that will advance growth in your field?
Special finance scheme and free trade in textile-centric regions can help boost export.
Which factors will have a major impact on the industry's performance in the years to come?
Strengthening of the banking sector and debt collection laws-this will help disburse loans to genuine buyers faster, with real valuation and thus boost development sectors and upgradation of machinery. The skill development initiative can provide skilled labour and skilled technicians faster to benefit both employers and the ever-growing young educated population in India.
How do you see the Indian textiles industry evolve in terms of technology by 2020?
It's growing through a diverse phase wherein we are capturing the global textiles market steadily.
What is the rate at which your company is growing? What is Manufacturers should try to focus on new technologies and innovations which would increase the efficiency of the machine. the target set for the next two?
The growth rate of the company is 30 per cent. In the next two years, we intend to increase growth rate to 50 per cent in both domestic and export markets. Moreover, we intend to focus on new products in aiding the textile energy sector and water conservation.
Which latest technologies are trending in textile processing?
Foam dyeing, rotary printing, laser engraving and design effects are some of the technologies.
Which are your bigger domestic and export markets for textile related machines?
Asia is the most promising market for us.
What percentage of textile machineries offered at Embee is sustainable or energy-saving?
With our enhanced focus on making all machines energy-efficient, we are modifying driers worldwide to be more energy-efficient. We are also focusing on processing and chemical dispensing systems with better energy, water and steam conservation devices and also ultra-modern high-efficiency machines.
How will GST impact the textiles industry once it is rolled out?
'One nation, one tax' is a great concept. Since the economic reforms undertaken by the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1991, this has been the single-most major reform which will impact the country in a major way. The current taxes in the textiles industry vary from 4 per cent to 12 per cent based on different categories, while the unorganised sector has been given tax exemptions based on size. This situation has brought in a lot of disparities. GST will now bring in a level-playing field for all the players in the industry. A uniform tax rate will also result in efficient movement of goods in the supply chain, thus increasing the productivity and efficiency of the textiles industry. Since exports under GST would be zero rated, it would give a major boost to the country's textile exports against the stiff competition at the global level. However, the tax on garments priced above ?1,000 will be at a higher rate than today. This will negatively impact this segment.
What are the major challenges that this industry faces? What do you propose to overcome them?
Lack of innovation: Most of the textile machine manufacturers try to imitate the current textile machines available in the market. They don't try to invest in R&D which leads the company to a saturation level. Manufacturers should try to focus on new technologies and innovations which would increase the efficiency of the machine. This will lead to growth and development.
Traditional management vs professional management: Most of the companies are run by traditional managements, where only one person has the authority to take decisions. Companies should move towards professional management where everything is organised and runs in a systematic way. In this type of management, due to delegation of authority everyone is responsible for one or the other task and it invites out-of-the-box ideas and positive changes in the organisation.
What are the future plans at Embee?
We have recently launched a revolutionary product-LaserBird, which has completely changed the process of reusing the textile rotary printing screens. Hence, we aim to develop and focus on such breakthrough technologies and products which can bring about a revolutionary change in the textiles industry. Further, we aim to work more on automation systems to improve the efficiency of textile processes and digital printing to provide innovative solutions.
Published on: 04/10/2017
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.
