LMW – Striving for Value Addition

September 13, 2010 9:22 am

LMW – Striving for Value Addition
 
“We are the largest Ring Frame manufacturers in the World and today out of the 41 million installed spindles in India about 29 million spindles have been supplied by LMW, and in this process the Indian spinners have become most competitive in the global yarn market”, says R Rajendran, Chief Financial Officer, Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd.
 
Lakshmi Machine Works is one of the leaders in Textile Machinery Manufacturing. What is your opinion about the Textile Machinery manufacturing industry in India?
The Textile Machinery Manufacturing Industry in India has established its position in the domestic and global markets. The industry manufactures the entire range of spinning machinery with the latest technology coupled with quality and cost had made an indelible mark in the spinning industry. In order to take advantage of cost benefit and also to exploit the market all multinational companies are establishing their manufacturing base in India.
 
You are a global player in spinning machinery segment. How mature is this segment in India, today?
The Spinning Industry has grown with more than 40million spindles installed in India. The Indian spinners are highly competitive on account of their efficient performance and capacity utilization. Apart meeting the domestic demand, this industry has considerable market share in yarn trade in the global market. This clearly reflects the contribution by the domestic machinery manufacturer by supplying cost effective quality conscious and technologically latest generation machines.
 
What is the total market size of this segment and what is your share?
Currently the total Installed spindles is around 41milloin. Our market share ranges around 70%.
 
Do you wish to mention the major road blocks in the growth of this niche industry segment?
For Spinning Industry the major road blocks are: Availability of Power, Manpower and low cost funds.
 
For Textile Machinery Industry the road blocks are: Rationalization of Taxes and Duties, Raw Material Costs, Reduction in transaction cost and trained man power.
 
The Textile Ministry intends to spend $500 billion on the infrastructure sector in the current five year plan ending 2012. Is it helping textile machinery manufacturing and spinning machinery industry to grow?
Yes, we are optimistic that the infrastructure spend will enable both the industries to grow further. Focussed initiatives under the spend programme will ensure good quality products reaching out to both the domestic and export market. This would mean increased activity for Textile Machinery manufacturers. Infact, the Textile Ministry among other things, is also looking at specialized textiles and design clusters with an aim to move India up the value chain besides focusing on new markets. Textile products with the GI tag will definitely benefit for considerable share in the global market 
 
All of these proactive measures would mean a lot of activity for both the Textile Machinery Manufacturing Industry and the Spinning Industry.
 
The Central Govt also has a plan to set up 15 Textile Parks at a cost of Rs. 2000 crore. What are your plans to capitalize maximum benefits from this initiative?
Looking at the example of Tirupur, setting up dedicated Textile Parks is a welcome move. Focused Industry Clusters have been successful in India and we hope that these Textile Parks not only promote unique textile products of India around the globe but also benefit the Textile Machinery Industry with new orders. It has to be noted that majority of the Textile Clusters will make use of natural fibre as input. 
 
Can you brief us about the achievement of LMW in this sector?
We are the largest Ring Frame manufacturers in the world and today out of the 41 million installed spindles in India about 29 million spindles have been supplied by LMW, and in this process the Indian spinners have become most competitive in the global yarn market.
 
How unique is your entire range of products compare to others available in the market?
Much of the technology that goes into our machines today is indigenously developed which means we are in a position to offer better service to our clientele as the need arises. Our pro-active spare parts programme also ensures that our clients are assured of genuine replacements at shorter intervals. Our marketing footprint covers entire geography of India and our engineers can easily reach our customers. 
 
What new technologies your company is using to provide precision machineries?
Our Research and development department is constantly striving for value addition to customers by introducing state of the art machinery to be competitive in the market.
 
What is the annual turnover and production capacity of your company?
Last Financial Year was bad in view of the global economic meltdown.  Activity picked up only from late August, we were able to reach a turnover of Rs. 1,136 Crores.
 
We have an installed capacity to make 3.50 million spindles in a year.
 
Do you have any expansion plans in pipeline?
As we have adequate installed capacity in place, we do not have any expansion plans.