TECHNICAL TEXTILES

By Rachit Modi Arpan Rayate Gaurav Chopra L.D. College of Engineering

TECHNICAL TEXTILES
A Technical textile is a textile product manufactured for nonaesthetic purposes, where function is the primary criterion. It is a large and growing sector and supports a vast array of other industries. Technical textiles include textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles (e.g., implants), geotextiles (reinforcement of embankments), agrotextiles (textiles for crop protection), and protective clothing (e.g., heat and radiation protection for fire fighter clothing, molten metal protection for welders, stab protection and bulletproof vests, and spacesuits). Over all, global growth rates of technical textiles are about 4% per year greater than the growth of home and apparel textiles, which are growing at a rate of 1% per year.

Fields of Technical Textile, Application and Statistical Analysis

AGROTECH
Technical textile products used in agriculture, horticulture (incl. floriculture), fisheries and forestry.

The technical textile products covered under Agrotech are given below:Shade-nets Crop-covers Bird protection nets Mulch-mats Anti-hail nets and Fishing nets

Technical textiles consumption under Agrotech in India is estimated at around Rs 487 Crore. Fishing nets - 90% valued at Rs 442 Crore in 2007-08

Agrotech

BUILDTECH
Buildtech segment comprises of textiles or composite materials used in the construction of permanent and temporary buildings as well as structures. The products covered under Buildtech are given below:Architectural membranes Hoardings & signages Cotton canvas tarpaulins HDPE tarpaulins Awnings & canopies Scaffolding nets Floor & wall coverings Domestic consumption - Rs 1,726 crore HDPE tarpaulins -Rs 650 crore - 40% Utility: Buildtech products offer characteristics such as lightness, strength and creep, degradation by chemicals and pollutants in the air.

Buildtech

Clothtech
Comprises of textile components used for specific functional applications in garments and shoes. Shoe laces Interlinings Zip fasteners Velcro Labels Sewing threads Umbrella cloth ` Consumption - Rs 6,570 crore ` Sewing threads 60% followed by labels with about 19%. ` Interlining - 8% share and elastic narrow fabric tapes - 6%. ` Shoe laces and zip fasteners 5% ` Velcro and umbrella cloth - around 2% Utility: Clothtech Products ensure accurate fit and optimum wear comfort. It imparts stretcheability, shrink resistance

Clothtech

Meditech
Meditech products include textile materials used in hygiene, health and personal care as well as surgical applications. Their use is based on a number of typical basic textile properties like softness and lightness, flexibility, absorption, filtering etc. The technical textile products covered under Meditech are as given below:Baby diapers Incontinence diapers Sanitary napkin Surgical sutures Disposables Surgical dressing Contact lens Artificial implants Advantages: Meditech products will prevent hospital acquired infection, cross-infection, and provide savings in overall healthcare costs due to reduced cross-infections. Improved Meditech products will provide comfort and quicker healing.

Meditech

Mobiltech
Mobiltech segment of technical textiles is used in the construction of automobiles, railways, ships, aircraft and space craft. The Mobiltech products can be broadly classified into two categories Visible components and Concealed components The technical textile products covered under Mobiltech are as given below:Nylon tyre cord Airbags Seat upholstery/fabric Car body covers Helmet Airline disposables Webbings for aircrafts Aircraft upholstery Railways seating fabrics

Nylon tyre cord accounts for over 60% of the total technical textile consumption in the segment followed by seat upholstery / fabric with a share of around 13%. Advantages: It provides good performance and safety, reduce the weight of the car, enhance the comfort and aesthetics and provide advanced insulation, fire retardancy.

Mobiltech

Oekotech
Oekotech or Ecotech segment refers to use of technical textiles in Environmental Engineering. The primary segment in this is Landfill waste management which refers to the use of Geosynthetic products to secure landfills against leakage of municipal or hazardous waste. Other areas include secondary protection in Chemical/Oil Industries, etc. Fishing nets constitute over 90% of the Agrotech technical textiles usage valued at Rs 442 crore in 2007-08 and are expected to grow at 5 % year on year for the next five years. Utility: The landfill is to bury the trash in such a way that it will be isolated from groundwater, will be kept dry and will not be in contact with air.

Oekotech

Geotech
Geotech segment comprises of technical textile products used in Geotechnical applications pertaining to soil, rock, earth etc. The principal functions performed by Geotextiles are confinement /separation, reinforcement, filtration and drainage, and protection. Application areas include Civil, Marine and Environmental Engineering Other specialized Geotech products comprise. Geogrids (synthetic filaments and tapes etc formed into a very open, grid like configuration having large apertures) Geonets (extruded ribs set in net like fashion with small apertures), Geomembranes (impermeable fabric as barrier) Geocomposites (products using two or more Geotextiles e.g. Pre-fabricated Drains-PVD)

Geotech

Hometech
Hometech segment of technical textiles comprises of the textile components used in the domestic environment. They are made of both natural and synthetic fibres. The technical textile products covered under Hometech are as given below:Fiberfil Stuff toys Mattress and pillow components Filter cloth for vacuum cleaners Carpet backing cloth (Jute & Synthetic) Nonwoven wipes Mosquito nets Fiberfil and pillow and mattress together constitute over 50% of the usage under the Hometech segment stuffed toys with a share of 13% and carpet backing cloth with around 9% share. The HVAC and vacuum filter fabrics and non woven wipes segments constitute less than 1% of the total Hometech segment consumption.

Hometech

Indutech
Indutech includes technical textile products used in the manufacturing sector. The technical textile products covered under Indutech are given below:Conveyor belts (TT component) Bolting cloth Drive belts (TT component) AGM glass battery separators Cigarette filter rods Coated abrasives (TT component) Decatising cloth Ropes & cordages Printed circuit boards (TT componenT) Composites (technical textiles component) Computer printer ribbon Paper making fabrics Filteration Products

Indutech is expected to increase from around Rs 2,326 crore in 2007-08 to around Rs 4,090 crore by 2012-13 growing at a CAGR of around 12%. Utility: With advanced Indutech products like Nonwoven nano fibre filtration media is now filling the micro-filtration performance gap that had existed in the past, offering benefits such as enhanced air quality, reduced energy cost, and longer service life.

Indutech

Packtech

Packtech includes several flexible packaging materials used for industrial, agricultural, consumer and other goods. The technical textile products covered under Packtech are as given below:Polyolefin woven sacks Wrapping fabric Jute hessian and sacks Soft luggage products Lenobag

Tea-bags

Woven sacks account for around 50% of consumption under Packtech followed by Jute hessian and sacks with around 30% share. Advantages: It provides Innovative packing solutions such as oxygen scavenging, packaging for foodstuffs and anti-static packaging for computer equipment. With the advantage of moisture proof quality they are used for packing moisture sensitive goods.

Packtech

Protech

Protech is an ensemble of textile products and related material used in the manufacture of various protective clothing for personnel working in hazardous environment.

The technical textile products covered under Protech are as given below:Bullet-proof jackets Fire retardant apparels Radiation protection textile Chemical protection clothing Industrial gloves High altitude clothing Indian Defence Forces with a total strength of around 1.5 million individuals comprising the army, navy and air force, is one of the largest consumers of protective textiles. Advantages: Protective Textiles are used for protection from harmful chemical environment, extreme temperature environments, ballistic etc.

Protech

Sportech
Sportech segment comprises of technical textile products used in sports and leisure The technical textile products covered under Sportech are as given below:Sports composites Artificial turf Parachute fabrics Sail cloth Ballooning fabrics Sleeping bags Sport shoes Tents Swimwear

The technical textiles usage in the Sportech segment is valued at Rs 2,632 crore in 2007-08. Domestic consumption of sports footwear components is valued at Rs 2,250 crore, accounting for around 85% of the total segment consumption. It is expected to grow at around 11% y-o-y over the next five years. Sport composites include inflatable balls (footballs, volleyball, basketballs, etc), cricket protective equipments and boxing equipments.

Sportech

INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL TEXTILES

The trend in the various sectors in the textile industry in many industrialized countries indicate that the use of conventional textiles has reached a static level and its manufacture has become highly competitive, often unviable and many companies are switching over to valueadded technical textiles with capability to meet functional demands for precision applications. As use of technical textiles is dictated by need, its pricing normally offers good margins. There is a steady growth of both consumption and production of technical textiles throughout the world.

Latest study on World Market Forecasts for 2010 of technical textiles and industrial nonwovens by David Rigby Associates (DRA) indicates that :

In the year 2000, the World market for technical textiles was estimated to have a volume of 16.7 mn. tonnes with a value of US$ 92.88 billion. Average annual world-wide growth in volume terms is expected to be 3.60 percent for the period between 2000 to 2010. It is forecast that the global consumption of technical textiles will amount to 23.77 mn. tonnes by the year 2010 and a value of US$ 127 billion. In the year 2000, the total textile fibre consumed in the World was 62.2 mn. tonnes, out of which consumption of technical textiles was 16.7 mn. tonnes. USA & western Europe accounted for 23 percent and 22 percent respectively, followed by China with 13 percent and Japan with 7 percent. Remaining 35 percent was consumed by other countries.

In Asia, the annual growth rate is projected to be 4.23 percent during the period 20002010 as against 2.60 percent in North America and 2.14 percent in Western Europe. Technical textiles account for over 50 percent of the total textile activity in certain industrialized countries A view is gaining ground that technical textile industry in the developed world is maturing in some significant ways and growth of technical textiles in developed economies is expected to be moderate. In contrast, China, India and other countries in Asia, America and Eastern Europe are expected to experience healthy growth in the near future.

Source: DRA, Gherzi analysis and research

Segment-wise market size of technical textiles

Volume 000 tonnes Value US$ mn. Year Technical Textile Sectors Volume CARG (%) 2000 Value Volume 2005 Value Volume 2010 Value Volume Value Mobiltech Indutech Sporttech Buildtech Hometech Clothtech Meditech Agrotech Protech Packtech Geotech Total Source: DRA. 2479 2205 989 1648 2186 1238 1543 1381 238 2552 255 16714 25629 13405 13897 5872 6750 6070 5391 5541 5193 4393 740 92881 2828 2624 1153 2033 2499 1413 1928 1615 279 2990 319 19681 26861 16687 16052 7296 7622 7014 6670 6568 5873 5329 927 106899 3338 3257 1382 2591 2853 1656 2380 1958 340 3606 413 23774 29282 21528 19062 9325 8778 8306 8238 8079 6857 6630 1203 127288 3.02 3.98 3.40 4.63 2.70 2.95 4.43 3.55 3.63 3.52 4.94 3.59 1.34 4.85 3.21 4.73 2.66 3.19 4.33 3.84 2.82 4.20 4.98 3.20

Value US$ mn. Year Technical Textile Sectors Value Mobiltech Indutech Sporttech Buildtech Hometech Clothtech Meditech Agrotech Protech Packtech Geotech Total Source: DRA. 25629 13405 13897 5872 6750 6070 5391 5541 5193 4393 740 92881 2000 % to Total 27.59 14.43 14.96 6.32 7.27 6.54 5.80 5.97 5.59 4.73 0.80 100.00 Value 26861 16687 16052 7296 7622 7014 6670 6568 5873 5329 927 106899 2005 % to Total 25.13 15.61 15.02 6.83 7.13 6.56 6.24 6.14 5.49 4.99 0.87 100.00 Value 29282 21528 19062 9325 8778 8306 8238 8079 6857 6630 1203 127288 2010 % to Total 23.00 16.91 14.98 7.33 6.90 6.53 6.47 6.35 5.39 5.21 0.95 100.00

The Technical Textiles field is expected to grow at around 3.60 percent in volume terms and 3.20 percent in value terms Differential growth rates in volume and value terms indicate pressure on margin and/or production of low value items.

Region-wise technical textile consumption:

Region USA Western Europe China Japan Rest of the World
Source: DRA.

Technical Textiles consumption (%) 23 22 13 7 35

Fibre consumption in technical textiles

Volume 000 tonnes

Year Fibre Type 2000 Natural Man-made / Inorganic Total

Source: DRA.

CARG (%) 2005 3839 15843 19682 2010 4447 19327 23774 2.54 3.85 3.59 3462 13252 16714

The share of Man Made/Inorganic fibre in the total fibre/yarn consumption is expected to increase from 79% in 2000 to 81% in 2010.

Product-wise consumption of technical textiles

Year Final Textile product 2000 Volume Unspun fibres Yarn type products Fabrics Total
Source: DRA.

2005 % to Volume Total 23.96 4774 9.39 66.65 100.00 1776 13133 19683

2010 % to Volume Total 24.25 5763 9.02 66.73 100.00 2079 15932 23774 % to Total 24.24 8.74 67.02 100.00

4004 1570 11140 16714

The maximum consumption is in the form of fabric at 67 % followed by unspun fibre at 24 % and yarn at 9 %. The global end-use of technical textiles is predominantly in fabric form and that too in woven fabric form.

Source: The Freedonia Group, IMaCS analysis, Gherzi analysis

Source: Inda, Edana, Gherzi estimates

Global end-use consumption of non-woven fabrics

Technical Textile Sector Meditech Buildtech Clothtech Indutech Hometech Mobiletech Geotech Others
Source: DRA.

Consumption (%) 33 15 14 12 12 6 3 5

Conclusion
India although being contributing a very small portion of the World Market, is rapidly growing and new innovations and developments are taken into accounts to promote the Market of Technical Textile in India and bring it on an upper hand when considered worldwide. Also, India contributes in the same amount in almost all the fields of the Technical Textiles India is looking forward for a healthy and grown Market ahead.