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G. Gurumurthy

Tencel is specially targeting the knitwear sector for the application of its specialty fibres for fashion knitwear and sports wear ranges.

COIMBATORE, Jan. 28

FOR Tirupur, the knitwear town which exports Rs 3,000 crore worth of garments every year, it is time to test a new fabric material to produce what the market calls `performing' garments, even though they fall in the `niche' market category.

If Tirupur knitters are willing, the Rajasthan-based Bhilwara group has a solution to offer in outsourcing the right kind of yarn to produce specialty knit products.

The Bhilwara group's flagship company, Rajasthan Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd (RajSpin), is ready with new generation specialty yarns that can knit these `performing' garments. RajSpin, in association with the UK-based Acordis, supplier of man-made fibre/specialty materials for the textile industry around the world, officially launched last week three new specialty yarns for the Tirupur market, opening new opportunities for the knitters in trying out the new generation material.

The three specialty yarns spun out of the branded fibres supplied by Acordis are `tencel', `viloft' and `amicor' whose application in garments that are comfortable has already been commercially established with world's leading garment labels/brands positioning the dress material made out of them in `niche' markets.

Acordis has a marketing arrangement with RajSpin which will produce a diverse count of yarns spun out of these man-made fibres (of wood pulp base). These engineered fibres in 100 per cent form or in blends with cotton, polyester, nylon, wool or viscose, depending upon the end application, impart enhanced drape, luxury, higher softness and breathability to the fabrics made of these yarns.

The versatility of `tencel' (whose generic name is lyocel) is that its subtle surface lustre and clear colour and pronounced stitch/print definition on the fabric gives it characteristics of high tear/burst strength; increased laundering performance and retention of its character after wash and wear.

In the case of `viloft', a 100 per cent natural fibre of man-made origin, the fibre structure is engineered to have a `flat' cross section and this blends with other fibres, trapping air-pockets to offer a protective and insulating structure at the fabric stage. The `viloft' material can be applied as thermal underwear/sports underwear or leisure homewear for men, women and children.

However, the real `performing' fibre from Acordis is `amicor', an acrylic fibre infused with anti-bacterial/anti-fungal properties. The yarn made of these could go into personal care products like innerwear, nightwear, babywear or bed linen or socks. RajSpin officials claim that in contrast to certain varieties of fabrics already available in the market containing anti-bacterial properties, which lasts up to 20 or so washes, amicor is tested and found to carry these protective properties even beyond 200 washes.

Mr Prem Sadhwani, the regional head of Tencel Ltd, Bangalore, Acordis' arm in India which markets these specialty fibres in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka told Business Line that his company will be able to see an annual offtake of 500-700 tonnes of `tencel' fibre in the Indian market where the awareness of new generation fabrics is poised to increase.

Tirupur being India's nerve centre for knitwear, is likely to see progressive knitted garment manufacturing companies taking up high value garment production in a big way in the coming months. Tencel is specially targeting the knitwear sector for the application of its specialty fibres for fashion knitwear and sports wear ranges.

In order to penetrate the Tirupur market for these specialty yarns, RajSpin has roped in Vastra International in Tirupur as its agents and will market these branded yarns and their count-variants for the South Indian markets. Vastra, as a market strategy, has sought to keep a specific volume of ready-to-use processed fabric made from these new fibres or garments made of these fibres which the knitwear manufacturers can procure and supply to the buyers as samples at short notice. "This way we can help the garment producers in meeting the sampling schedule for the new products thereby creating confidence among the buyers in indenting work orders with Tirupur exporters," said Mr R. Shanmugam, promoter of Vastra.

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Bhilwara spins specialty yarn for Tirupur knitters

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