Arvind, India’s top denim producer has installed the nation’s first Monforts Eco Line. The particular Eco Line denim finishing range in India has been installed at the company’s Ahmedabad mill. The installation will increase production, reduce energy usage and respond more quickly to customer requests for specified designs and finishes.
Monforts Area Sales Director for Southeast Asia, Hans Gerhard Wroblowski said Arvind’s early investment in this new technology gives the company at least a year lead ahead of competition. The Eco Line, which can handle fabric widths of 1800 millimeters and operate at high speeds of up to 80 meters/minute, is being operated alongside four Montex foam finishing stenters that are also able to handle this same width of material.
Arvind is rated in the top three denim producers in the world, and sees further export potential. Aamir Akhtar, CEO of Arvind Lifestyle Fabrics’ Denim division, says in India, the denim industry is growing at a CAGR of 13 to 15 per cent. Arvind’s own export-domestic output is around 50:50, but some of the domestic production is worked up into garments and exported, so distorting the figure: taking that factor into account, Akhtar believes that the export proportion is closer to 60 per cent.
Founded in 1931 as a maker of traditional Indian clothing, Arvind modernised in 1984 and brought denim into the domestic market thus starting the jeans revolution in India. Today, it retails its own brands like Flying Machine, Newport and Excalibur and licensed international brands like Arrow, Lee, Wrangler and Tommy Hilfiger through its nationwide retail network.
