“We gear up to serve your future needs sustainably”- interview published in Textile Value Chain magazine

Basant Fibertek Pvt Ltd manufactures textile pins and a wide range of products for the spinning sector and other segments. Located in Rajasthan, the company has made rapid strides in the production of these products supported by high-tech technologies and machinery. The company has never rested on its laurels. Its Unit-II now is manufacturing rotors and opening rollers.

Mr. Kishore Khaitan, Managing Director of the company is a well-known personality among the textile industry circle. He replied in detail to a Questionnaire sent by the Textile Value Chain. Excerpts:

What are the various products your company manufactures, especially for the spinning segment?

We started with manufacturing Pins 58 years ago in 1964 and over the years expanded our product range to include a wide range of products for all types of Spinning proesses. We also manufacture some products for sectors other than Spinning and for non-textile applications too. For the Spinning sector, wemanufacture spiked lattices, pinned beaters for Blowroom, Chute feed opening rollers and Pinned Lickerins for cards. For Open-end Spinning, we set up a new advanced manufacturing facility, as our Unit II, to manufacture Rotors and Opening rollers for all makes of latest OE machines.

Besides, we also manufacture Pinstrips for Worsted Spinning Gill Boxes used in woollen, acrylic and silk spinning. For Linen Spinning preparatory lines Hackle pins and pinstrips as well as nylon Gills. We are also a major supplier to the recycling industry  of pinned lags used for converting textile waste into fibres. Most of the large well-known Spinning Mills in India are our clients. We supply to many OEMs too besides many Mills abroad.

What are their USPs and special characteristics? How are they better in terms of quality than cheaper imports?

We are pioneers in India, having started manufacturing steel pins for textile machinery way back in 1964. Since then, we have diversified our product line and updated our technology with the best know-how from the world’s leading companies in Germany and USA. Our USP is world-class innovative products, application engineering and custom solutions to problems faced by Mills and the best value for money in terms of payback on investment. Another USP is our ability to innovate new and customized solutions to meet specific requirements of our clients, given our deep understanding of fibers and spinning and we produce our own pins. We have successfully been pioneers in developing many import substitute products indigenously, the lastest being Magnetic Rotors for fully automatic Rotor Spinning machines. We also hold international patents and registered designs for some of our products.

If in exports, where are your markets abroad?

Let us know about new markets that you have opened up recently? We export 50% of our production to more than 40 countries in all five continents including Asia, Europe, America, Africa and Australia. Recently we have entered the CIS countries and plan to enlarge our presence in South America too.

Please do let us know about the technolo- gies and machinery being utilised for the production?

We use CNC machines and high level of automation in all our processes. We use more than 25 di”erent technologies for manufacture of our products including wire working and heat treatment, surface finishing, injection moulding, CNC machining, ultrasonic equipment, dynamic balancing and electroplating, among others. In all our processes, we extensively use best manufacturing practices such as TPM. Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, SQC, and many others.

What are your plans for the next phase of expansion and diversification?

We recently completed a major expansion in 2021 to double our capacity for Pinned Rollers and lags as well as for OE components. The next expansion is planned in 2023. We are also aggressively investing in Sustainability. Our Unit II is a green building. We are installing rooftop solar to cover a major part of our power consumption, making e”orts to reduce water consumption, increasing use of recyclable materials in packaging, and taking several other ESG initiatives. We are also doing our bit in promoting recycling in the textile industry by providing highly cost-e”ective solutions, using pins in recycling machines, to regenerate fibers of high quality at a low cost. We have been able to raise production and quality while reducing cost for many of our recycling clients. We have plans for o”ering comprehensive support services to Spinning Mills and will share the details when the time comes.

How has your company managed the Covid times?

We have grown our turnover by more than 110% over the pre-covid FY 2019-20. This has been possible only due to the trust and relationship we enjoy with our domestic and foreign clients. Our production su”ered only for one month in each of the years 2020 and 2021 but due to the dedication and hard work of our employees, we were able to spring back strongly. We also used the Covid time to focus on innovation, cost reduction and adding new products and services to our range so that we can add more value to our clients and improve profitability.

What is your wish-list for the industry and also the Government to promote textile spares and accessories?

The Indian Government is not doing enough specially to encourage MSMEs in the Make In India initiative. While the government did something for financial support during Covid, taxation is high, incentives for expansion as well as depreciation rates are very low, export incentives have reduced and the ecosystem for R&D and innovation is also insufficient. It will hugely help promote manufacture of textile machinery and parts in India if the government launches a TUF-like scheme for Textile Engineering Industry (TEI) also.

However, that said, I strongly believe that the companies engaged in the Indian TEI should think big and aspire to become global players in their line of product or service and adopt global standards of manufacturing, design and service in their operations. The other thing they should focus on is to understand the user needs more deeply and provide superior solutions to enable the mills to improve their quality, productivity and cost competitiveness. Though the journey will be tough and challenging,  it is certainly achievable and worthwhile. Indian Textile Industry can aspire to global leadership only if the backbone of TEI is strong to support that goal!

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