Interview with Andreas von Bismarck

Andreas von Bismarck
Managing Partner
Terrot

Growing potential for India and other markets

Germany based Terrot, founded in 1862, is one of the leading manufacturers of electronically and mechanically controlled circular knitting machines. Andreas von Bismarck, managing partner of Terrot discusses the market of the company's products in India and beyond in detail.

What are your expectations from the fair?

The climate for investment seems to be very good in India at the moment even though the current financial matters need to be overcome. Therefore I was expecting a little more restraint by the customers but was actually very positively surprised that there is so much interest.

How are your products being received by Indian clients?

We have received a very good response. In 2016 we continued to have big shipments to India and I expect to keep on moving that way, maybe a little more in the upcoming year.

What are the latest technologies that you are displaying here?

We are showing one double jersey 8-lock machine that is usable for all double jersey structures. Furthermore a single jersey machine with Sinkerless technology, which is from our Pilotelli brand. It is a very efficient and productive technology and outperforms every other machinery in the market. We have already quite some customers here who run this machine and the interest in it is very high.

Which are your major markets in India?

Traditionally, it's Tiruppur - very strong market for knitting, Kolkata - we also have a good market there, and Mumbai. We have the feeling that the market in Ludhiana is opening up to sophisticated and high quality machines in comparison to the Chinese or Asian machines which were used previously. But it seems that the mindset is changing.

If you break it down to the number of machines, India is among the top three. If you compare it to last there was an upward going trend.

Which are your bigger markets apart from India?

Turkey is the biggest market apart from India. Bangladesh is also strong. But we are talking about number of machines so I need to differentiate. We also have certain markets where we sell lot of jacquard machines. Therefore, there are other markets which are bigger in terms of turnover.

Do you plan to explore any emerging markets?

It's very hard to find a new knitting market. But the world is changing every day. So I would expect some markets which have been quieter in the recent years to be stronger again next year. We see some movement again in places like Brazil and Indonesia. But there is nothing completely new.

How would you describe the technologies being used by Indian knitters as compared to their contemporaries say Bangladesh, China, Vietnam?

Indians are keenly interested in new technologies. I mean if you look at Vietnam, most of the investments are coming from foreign countries like China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. For instance the Chinese specially, they are more conservative in number of feeders, in terms of speed, whereas the Indians have been more demanding and are keener on new developments.

Which major fairs will you be attending next year?

We plan to attend a lot of fairs in 2017, approximately 10 different exhibitions. We will be in India again, Bangladesh, Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and China.

Has demonetisation affected your business in anyway?

It brought a lot of confusion actually. I am positively surprised how Indians have accepted something like this. In Germany, everything would stand still, even if this would not be practically normal in Germany.

What are your thoughts on the possibilities of India signing a FTA with Europe?

Free Trade Agreements (FTA) can always bring huge contribution to economic growth. We have seen this in many cases. But at the moment I have a feeling that the political situation in the world is uncertain. Nobody really knows what will happen, as major FTAs in the world like TPP and TTIP are under question but I would actually be in support of it.

Which verticals in the textile niche do you think India is still lagging behind?

I think India can play a bigger role in terms of export. This is probably also an ongoing process. People do realize this but of course this cannot happen completely overnight. But they are trying to push this and in my opinion this is the right direction but there is room for improvement.

What are the main challenges that you face when dealing with Indian customers?

Banking issues and bureaucracy are some challenges. Some projects take longer to complete and that is a disadvantage because the world is moving so fast today. Especially if a customer here gets orders from big brands for export for example. They are very strict on deliveries.

If you have to summarise your whole experience at the fair what would you have to say?

I love the campaign name - Incredible India. You are always in for a surprise when you come to India and in most cases it is positive. At the moment there are the challenges from all the things that are happening here but also people are really trying to find solutions and move forward, which is what I like.

What are your expectations from next India ITME?

The different technologies should be showcased amongst the fair ground in a better way. We experienced from our customers some confusion to find out what is where. As for example knitting was spread out over all halls.

Please share details about the latest innovations at Terrot.

We would like to point out our Corizon technology, which combines spinning and knitting in one process. Among the huge variety of applications, it seems especially interesting for blends of polyester, viscose, cotton or any other fibre for the Indian market. Furthermore only with our technology different usages of lycra are possible as well as the possibility to produce knits in single and double jerseys. We would like to invite Indian customers for making trials. As we start from the roving as raw material this is especially interesting for integrated spinning and knitting mills or spinning mills which have plans to add knitting as well. Corizon offers a big variety of innovative product opportunities.

Published on: 06/01/2017

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.