The words of Praful Shah, Chairman, Garden Silks Limited at the Yarn Expo 2006 Inaugural Function on 18th November still echo in my ears. Shah said "the modern technology has substantially contributed in providing a wide variety of yarns becoming available in the market. There is similarly a scope for adopting advanced technologies by the weavers". I do not think anybody has taken a better hint out of the situation narrated by Praful Shah than the embroidery sector in Surat. There are revolutionary changes visiting the textile sector globally and the opportunities for the entrepreneur are unlimited if he has the penchant and eye for picking up the early bird advantage. I have always felt there is a peculiar Surati spirit as the entrepreneurs in Surat never got bogged down with a close mind. As a result Surat has emerged as a major centre mainly producing sari and dress material. With the production capacity averaging around 26 million meters of cloth a day, Surat today produces 18 kilo m eter length of cloth every minute! And that too virtually round the clock!!

However best of the optimists would have never thought that the new grounds being broken by the entrepreneurs just around 2003-04 in the field of embroidery with about 500 machines would turn out to be a silent revolution growing to over 25000 machines in just around five years earning Surat another distinction as a major centre for embroidery industry in India. In terms of investment in machinery in this sector over last five years, it means a whopping figure of around Rs.3000 crore in terms of number of units 6 to 7 thousand units and at average two personal on machines and one person per unit for sundry activities this simply means an employment generation directly to the tune of 70000 new jobs operating mainly the machines of the Chinese origin. One of the major factors I believe promoting this sector successfully as a profit making activity is a competitively low price advantage brought in by the machines of Chinese origin. For the sake of comparison while a ZSK machine would cost in the vicinity of around Rs.50.00 lakh a Chinese machine initially was quoted at Rs.12.00 lakh and with the subsequent lowering of the prices one could say the industry average would be in the range of Rs. 8 to 10 lakh per machine. This added with the advantage of the machines being computer operated and the ease with which the operator could be trained the entry of Chinese machines virtually heralded a new era of a backyard managed unit with the owner entrepreneur or his family members themselves working on the machines or supervising the activity effectively at a very low overhead cost. The shortage for operators therefore when the embroidery industry experience an exponential growth unprecedented by any standards was never experienced.

This has been subsequently followed by capital intensive comparatively high technology schiffley machines costing in the range of around Rs.1.00 crore. There are, it is said around 300 such machines installed at Surat some of them later date imported as second-hand virtually at throw away price reinforcing the low capital cost advantage. The environment to the credit of ancillary and auxiliary sector has been further made conducive and the supporting infrastructure at Surat has simultaneously so very well developed that today Surat has earned a reputation for being a major embroidery centre catering to the traditional sari and dress sector mainly.

The indicators are all positive so far. However, one can not expect the same margins and the rate of growth for an endless period. When I spoke to Mahendra Kajiwala the technocrat entrepreneur and former President of the Textile Club, as well as The Southern Chamebr of Commerce and Industry, Surat in his forthright honest analysis he said that the payback period which once upon a time was less than two years has already gone up to around five years. Currently the industry is facing some kind of a stagnation or I would say speed breaker recession. This is not something peculiar happening to this sector. Remember sometimes around mid 80's in the last century when texturising was just making its appearance on the scene the job work charges ruled around Rs.32 per kg and the pay back period for the texturising machine was hardly eight to ten months! The texturising has since then gone through the sinusoidal trajectory curve with fluctuating fortunes and yet not only the fittest survived but units like Valson have emerged as leading processors of the yarn making their initial modest beginning a grand success.

The current state of affairs therefore in the embroidery sector only points towards a future where the vision and innovation would make all the difference. Currently the Surat embroidery industry as well as the developments at the other centres like Delhi, Bombay and Kolkata seem to be concentrated on the in country market in general and Asian market to some extent. Time is fast becoming ripe for this sector to invite the fashion designers from Europe and US markets and induce them to guide regarding the production which is more acceptable to these hitherto unploughed markets. I also feel it is a challenge for institutions like NIFT and NID who may like to direct a portion of their research effort to this sector which is high employment oriented and most willing to learn. On the part of the industry, the will do it well to go to these institutes and invite them to help this sector with novel product ideas. We have already entered the era of smart textiles and technical textiles. Wearable electronics is a reality in the world market. There are technologies which perhaps can be adopted to mingle with this sector lifting it above the present domain of sari and dress materials mainly. Innovation, quality and cost effectiveness are going to be the buzz words in the years to come for any sector and therefore it could not have been a different situation for the embroidery industry. Since China is the major supplier of the machinery it should be a good idea to collaborate with them for new product development because they would rarely find a market as large as well as receptive as India. The current recession hopefully is a passing phase and I would to a great extent agree with Kajiwala who feels that with the advent of Diwali and Puja festivals the markets would revive. In India these markets also depend upon the mercy of rain gods. Fortunately the forecast for the monsoon this time is quite optimistic! However let me once again repeat that these all may provide a reprive for the time being. The sector has become competitive with a pay back period going from less than two year to around five years. For any other industrial sector five years is yet a short period but not for a sector which is linked with fashion industry. Here the changes are as unpredictable and sometimes even nasty as weather. The sector therefore would do well to read the current situation as a warning signal and get on with the exercise to regain the value addition touching again the payback period of less than two years.

Ultimately business is profit. The fortunes of this sector would ultimately depend upon how best it regains its profitability and is able to retain that advantage for a longer period through continuous innovations and trajectory corrections. I have seen Surat grow over last three and a half decades and I have no doubt in my mind that entrepreneurs like Kajiwala who make the industry throb have a tremendous capability to bounce back. They have done it in past so many times. They will do it in the years to come. I would like to conclude on this optimistic note.