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Tirupur exporters face problems in processing

Processing is always a problem area which gives jitters to the garment manufacturers. The problems are colour mismatch, uneven leveling due to use of poor quality dyes and chemicals. Sudha Swaminathan reports from Coimbatore.

Sourcing the right fabrics at the right time is always an arduous task for most of the garment exporters. For most of the garment manufacturers, the problem area is processing. Says Mr Vikram K of Sara Apparel, “In a garment unit, 75 per cent of the problem pertains to fabric. There are a lot of variables in fabrics, which are beyond the control of the garment manufacturers. The diameter, GSM and stitch length, etc can be controlled at the knitting stage. If these are not properly controlled, it will be carried forward and the entire chain will be a problem. The shrinkage should be below five per cent. Even if there is a small difference in the diameter, there will be a problem. If the diameter is more, say 27 inch instead of 26 inch, one inch goes as waste. Getting all this organised at the right time is a problem.”

According to Mr M A Senthil Kumar, CEO, garment division of Prime Textiles, “The infrastructure in knitting is good but not as good as it should be. Nearly 99 per cent of the knitting units have no enclosures to avoid dust. The acceptable defects in a finished fabric is three in a roll of 18-20 kg. But there are more than three defects at the fabric stage alone. In most of the knitting units, the machines are operated by unskilled persons, who have no knowledge of the maintenance of the machine or other aspects”.

Says Mr Senthil Kumar, “Very few processing houses have proper laboratory, which is a requisite. For example, the colour matching cabinet used by a processing house is different from what a buyer has. Hence matching the colours is always a problem. Most of the dye houses in Tirupur are exporters themselves and are not in a position to commit timely deliveries. The priority is always on working on their orders and outsiders have to wait”. Irrespective of having a processing house, Mr Senthil Kumar emphasises the need of establishing a fabric management team (FMT) to work on the fabric. The FMT of Prime Textiles has two divisions, viz, fabric intelligence team and a normal follow-up team. While the intelligence team is responsible for developing new fabric, the other one takes care of normal day-to-day activities. In order to strengthen its garment division, Prime Textiles is planning a knitting division with 100 persons, which will be the best in Asia, says Mr Senthil.

Sara Apparels has an active fabric sourcing team, which constantly monitors the parameters to get the right fabrics at the right time.