China answers call of Coimbatore

Taizhou joins list of Chinese textile machinery firms in the region

Increasing demand for Chinese machinery has been prompting a number of Chinese players in this segment to set up base in Coimbatore. The latest to join the list is Taizhou Hengsheng Spinning Machinery Company Limited (THSMC).

The Zhejiang-based company plans to open its essential spares and services facility at the Race Course area, which houses most of the textile bodies and corporates in the region, by the end of October 2006.

Chinese firms like China Texmatech Company (CTMTC), Pacific Machatronic, Juki and Shanghai Crosrol Pacific already have their presence in the textile city.

This would be THSMC's beach-head presence in India. Initially, the company would appoint around 12 technicians to provide technical expertise to the mills in the region.

"We are upbeat about the Indian market, which is witnessing a boom in the textiles sector. The existing spares and accessories suppliers, including domestic manufacturers, are all busy and we too want to join this market," THSMC chief executive Wang Xiao told Business Standard.

THSMC has a customer base of around 65 mills in India, with more than 20 of them being from the Coimbatore region.

"Between March and May this year, we sold around one lakh pieces of textile spares and accessories in the region. We are buoyed by the enquiries we have been receiving, both from private mills and the state-owned National Textiles Corporation (NTC) mills. In order to cater to the growing demand for spare parts and accessories and to boost our sales, we intend to have a direct presence in the region," he said.

On the company's order book position, Wang said, "Our Order book position had never been short ever since we started our operations here. So far, we have managed to ship around 35 per cent of our total production, which stands at 18 lakh pieces, per year." The company is also planning to double its textiles spares exports to India by next year.

Although there is no considerable difference in the quality and price of the machinery produced by the Chinese firms and their Indian counterparts, the Chinese companies score in the area of delivery schedule. THSMC's delivery schedule stands at 20-30 days as against three to six months taken by the Indian companies.

Besides India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the company's major export markets in Asia that contribute around 20 per cent to its total turnover of $10 million, he added.