At a conference on technical textiles and non-wovens organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Coimbatore on Thursday, Mr. Senthil Kumar, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association said that technical textiles is one of the fastest growing segments in the textile industry and it is expected to attract Rs. 1 lakh crore investments by 2025.

Of the 12 major technical textile items, packtech has the largest share with 42 percent. The next are industrial textiles and home textiles, each accounting for about 10 percent.

The production capacity is currently focused on commodity products and not on innovative ones. It has registered annual compounded growth rate of 11 percent. It has the potential to grow to 20 percent.

However, the industry should make investments in technology, especially in Tamil Nadu, to tap the potential in technical textiles.

The technology mission on technical textiles launched in 2010 with an outlay of Rs. 200 crore was extended till the end of this financial year with an additional outlay of Rs.55.2 crore. Agrotech is a potential area that industries should look at in technical textiles, as per the presentation made by an official of the Regional Office of the Textile Commissioner at the event..

According to Raja M. Shanmugham, president of Tirupur Exporters’ Association, Tirupur aims to touch an annual turnover of Rs. 1 lakh crore by 2020 from the current Rs. 36,000 crore. Industries in Tirupur need to look at different products, including technical textiles, to achieve this.