Anjani Udyog Pvt Ltd
Plot No-481,                                                                                                    
Udyog Vihar, Phase-V
Gurgaon, Haryana-122001
India

Construction on the new plant, which is located in Mundra Sez, in Gujarat, India, was completed in January. The move is the company’s first nonwovens venture.

    Complementing the Fleissner spunlace equipment is a grey fiber opening line and cards, which were supplied by Truetzschler, Germany, and bleached cotton cards from German manufacturer Erko Truetzschler. A bleached fiber opening line and driers were supplied by Italy-based Gavazzi while the fiber bleaching line was made by Fongs in Hong Kong. The multi-supplier project is the first of its kind in India and is expected to be a trendsetter in nonwovens arena.

    When the line comes onstream in May it will have an initial annual capacity of 7000 tons and is expected to increase production up to 40 tons within a year. Anjani Non-Wovens will initially create 140 jobs, targeting markets in Europe, Japan and the U.S. “We  are now taking a step forward in a new industry,” said Anjani founder and director Shankar Sharmar, adding that the move will give Indian manufacturers within the industry the technological motivation to act.

    According to Sascha Berck, Fleissner’s marketing manager, Fleissner is working closely with A.T.E., its sales agent in India, to bring the line onstream. Based in Mumbai, A.T.E. is a textile technology specialist that was established in 1939 and today enjoys a formidable presence in the textile engineering sector in India with complete solutions for spinning, weaving, processing, knitting and embroidery and garmenting.

    Recently A.T.E. has established a presence in the quickly emerging nonwovens and technical textiles areas. Over the years A.T.E has also successfully diversified into other sectors such as print and packaging solutions and flow technology (pumps). The company has also recently forayed into machine-to-machine solutions and clean technology.

    Anjani’s investment marks the second nonwovens line to come up in Gujarat, India, following Ginni Filaments’ establishment of a Rs.1.31 billion spunlace line in 2007. Ginni Filaments’ plant, located at Panoli industrial estate near Vadodara, has a manufacturing capacity of 12,000 tons per year and focuses on exports.

    According to recent reports, Ludhiana, India-based Oswal Woollen Mills Limited, part of the Nahar Group, is also foraying into the nonwoven segment as part of recent diversification efforts. Plans are reportedly underway to build a new Rs.3 billion spunlace line in Mandideep, about 30 km from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The project, which should be up and running in 2009, will produce spunlaced nonwovens for exportation to European and U.S. markets.

    The market for nonwovens and technical textiles in India is expected to grow to a value of $12.5 billion by 2012, according to the Indian Ministry of Textiles. The launch in India of the National Technology Mission for Technical Textiles aims to promote the development of the technical textile industry. With a budget of $170 million, it is being implemented during the 11th five-year plan (2007-2012).

    Among its aims are to build up nonwovens and technical textile manufacturing and related machinery bases, as well as establishing centers for research and support with testing and standardization. The Indian government has identified four key sectors within the technical textile industry for immediate attention—medical and hygiene, geotextiles, agriculture and protective materials.