India’s largest textile machine manufacturer Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) has opened a new plant in the industrial hub here, gaining a foothold in the world’s biggest textile market of China.
The new plant, which was built with an outlay of $29 million, would be a major boost to LMW’s plans to consolidate hold in Indian and Chinese markets, its officials said.
“India is our home market, and China is a strategic country for textiles. It will give us a tremendous foothold in one of the largest markets in the world,” Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, Chairman and Managing Director of LMW, told PTI.
$29-million facility Built within a span of one year, the $29-million-plant by the Coimbatore-based textile major was inaugurated on Thursday in the presence of a wide range of Chinese textile industry participation besides top local officials of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and Indian Consul General in Shanghai, Naveen Srivatsava.
China reportedly accounted for 50 per cent of world’s textile production and the biggest international exporter of textiles, as a result the Chinese market is viewed as the most lucrative in the world by the top global textile machine manufacturers.
“We aim to service the spinning community of China with latest technology, high productivity and automation,” Mr. Jayavarthanavelu said.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Srivatsava said LMW’s success had shown that Indian manufacturing companies could do well in China too.
Burgeoning market LMW took a major plunge into the Chinese markets in the midst of global economic downturn in 2008 by taking over Chinese plant to experiment with its technology in the burgeoning Chinese market. The fully-owned subsidiary of LMW had no liabilities, and is already on a sound financial footing, LMW Director (Finance) R. Rajendran said, adding that the 22,000 sq. metres factory was built on eight-and-a half acres provided by the Chinese government.
The plant is also eligible to avail itself of the tax concessions being offered by China for high technology units. It will eventually be a total solution provider and manufacture entire range of spinning machinery.
The company has a supplier base of 20 members comprising mainly top textile firms of China some of whom have placed orders worth about $50 million, K. Soundhar Rajan, Chairman of LMW, China unit, said. It has now 150 workers, and most them are locals.
