Arvind OG Nonwovens, a new joint venture between India-based Arvind and OG Corporation of Japan, inaugurated its manufacturing facilities near Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The JV will manufacture high quality nonwoven fabrics using needlepunch technology for bag house filtration, artificial leather and a variety of other applications. The JV also has a technology alliance with Kureha of Japan.

Arvind OG says it has installed custom-built machines specifically designed to achieve Japanese quality standards and capable of handling various fibers such as M-aramid, homopolymer acrylic, poly-phenelyene sulfone (PPS), polyimide polypropylene and polyester. The company says these will be manufactured at the newly installed facilities following the highest global standards of quality while leveraging the advantage of India’s cost of production.

The unit started production in May 2014 with one needlepunch line and represents a total investment of nearly INR 50 crore and targeting to reach turnover in excess of INR 100 crore in 3 years. Beyond this, Arvind will continue to expand capacities in this as well as other technologies within the nonwoven fabrics space, which will be an important pillar of Arvind’s technical textiles growth strategy going forward it says.

“This is a big milestone for Arvind and for AMD. It marks our entry in the highly attractive nonwoven fabrics space, and we are looking to aggressively grow this vertical with our Japanese partners. Beyond this, we are also looking to invest in other technologies and product categories in the nonwovens space going forward,” commented Punit Lalbhai, executive director of Arvind Limited and CEO of the advanced materials division, at the inauguration of the manufacturing facility of Arvind OG Nonwovens on May 31, 2014 in Ahmedabad.

Mr. H. Machino, managing director of OG Corporation India and director of the India JV said, “Keeping the future in mind, India is a very important marketplace for OG Corporation. We are therefore delighted to partner with Arvind and establish a nonwoven fabrics manufacturing facility in India.”