Surat, an emerging city in the State of Gujarat, is known as the textile city of Gujarat. And, the epithet is perfectly suited to the city. The textile industry is one of the oldest and the most widespread industries in Surat. A major part of the city’s population is associated with the textile industry. The textile industry in Surat is mainly engaged in the activities of yarn production, weaving, processing, printting as well as embroidery. Surat is well known for production and trading of synthetic textile products.
The textile production of Surat has been growing continuously for last 10 years; one of the main reasons behind the growth is the ability to adapt to changes and the latest trend. It is also necessary to update the technology used at the industry as well as the infrastructure. The current supply and demand factors provide very conducive and favourable business and market environment for the technological investment. In such scenario, there is a big need to the industry to upgrade itself with the latest technological developments taking place worldwide.
That is why for providing these technologies under one roof, and promoting the ‘Brand SURAT’, Surat Embroidery Association (SEA) and The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI) jointly organised the SITME 2023 – Surat International Textile & Machinery Expo from 04 -06 March, 2023 at Surat International Exhibition and Convention Centre (SIECC)located in Sarsana.
The show was inaugurated with traditional lap lighting ceremony by the Darshana Jardosh, Union Minister of State for Textiles and Railways Minister of State. Surat Municipal Commissioner Shaliniben Agarwal (I. A. S. S.) was a special guest at the ceremony. Darshanaben Jardosh and Shaliniben Agarwal addressed industrialists and guided the direction of textile machinery being manufactured in Surat aimed at making the country self-sufficient. Chamber of Commerce President Himanshu Bodawala gave a welcome speech. Sandeep Duggal, President of Surat Embroidery Association, Vice President of the Chamber Ramesh Vaghasia, Vijay Mewala, Chairman of SITME exhibition were also present during the inauguration ceremony.
Other dignitaries former Chamber President Ashish Gujarati, Honorable Minister Bhavesh Taylor, Honorable Treasurer Bhavesh Gadhiya, Exhibition Convener Bijal Jariwala, Vice President of Surat Embroidery Association Rajesh Gupta and Dilip Lathiya were also present at the ceremony. Chairman Paresh Parekh and Jigna Pathak of Chamber’s SBC committee conducted the entire ceremony.
In this edition, more than 60 exhibitors from Surat had participated in SITME and over 30000 buyers visited from Surat and nearby regions. The exhibition was spread over 125,000 square feet of exhibition space and provide live demonstrations ofnew technologies from China, Korea, Japan, and other countries. The show covered all segments of garment and textile making machinery like Sewing, CAD CAM, Cutting, Embroidery, Digital Printing, Inks, Spare Parts & Accessories etc.
The show was visited by Garment Manufacturers, Embroidery Job Workers, Digital Printing Job Workers, Fabric Manufacturers, Product Development Executives, Technical Managers, Distributors, Dealers and Retailers. It was an ideal business opportunity for the textile manufacturers, job workers, and entrepreneurs to source new technologies and upgrade their factories to become globally competitive. Today, SITME is considered to be one of the biggest expo in Surat for embroidery and digital printing technologies.
The exhibition was jointly organized by SGCCI and Surat Embroidery Association (SEA) with a view to promote and accelerate modernization in the textile sector. SITME provided an ideal platform for the industry people who are planning to upgrade their factories. The show provided a huge showcase of latest technologies in embroidery, digital printing and weaving along with accessories. At this show, manufacturers and dealers of textile machinery showcased their wide range of innovative product and services.
According to Himanshu Bodawala, President, SGCCI. “Textile Industry of Surat specifically machinery segment is one of the major contributor to the state and national economy both as part of its contribution in the GDP as well as employment. With a view to encouraging the continued contribution of this industry The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI) and Surat Embroidery Association (SEA) jointly organized SITME 2023 (Surat International Textile & Machinery Expo) Scheduled from 4th to 6th March 2023 at Surat International Exhibition & Convention Center (SIECC), Sarsana, Surat”.
SITME 2023 has created its own brand and is instrumental in projecting the Incredible Textile Technology of the world to industry in Surat, reaffirming the higher potential for India’s share in the overseas market. The exhibition gave firsthand experience of latest technological innovations and developments to help Textile Machinery Market of India to reach newer heights.
We are totally astounded by the large flow of buyers at SITME-2023, which was more than 25000, resulted in buyers visiting not just from Surat, but from all over the India. We would like to thank all exhibitors and buyers for making SITME-2023 a grand success. From the analysis of important inquires generated from the exhibitors, a strong possibility of capital investment of more than Rs. 650 crores in textile machinery is being expressed in the next six months.
According to Sandeep Duggal, President, Surat Embroidery Association (SEA), “This Association was formed in 2009, and since then this association is working in the service of the embroidery industry. We have organised the show smoothly with SGCCI’s support. The industry need to upgrade their plants for survival in embroidery segment as the technologies are getting updated in every six months and adopt to new technology like digital printing. This edition had very good visitor response; people have given a lot of support to this exhibition. I am very grateful to everyone, who has appreciated our work and we will always continue to do such work for the industry”.
Exhibitors’ Comments…
Sandip Duggal, IML Group
We are 100% digital printing solution company. We have displayed two machines here one Sublimation Machine and Direct Fabric Printing Machine. The range of Digital Printing Machines that we displayed here are all sold under our brand name BLUE JADE. Nearly 80 percent of components in these machines are Japanese brands and they are assembled and packaged in China.
The USP of our machine is that right from day one, the same machine is up-gradable to meet our customer’s increasing production requirements. For instance, we have a machine with KYOCERA head with 4 or 8 head options. A customer with a present requirement can go in for a 4 head version but at a later time, when he needs to ramp -up production, all he needs to do is order another 4 heads for which rows are already provisioned in the same machine. Soon, these machines will have options upto 16 heads making them even more up-gradable in stages. What is more; the KYOCERA head in these machines carry a warranty of 18 months and even the Inks are supplied with our own brand nameBlue jade, ensuring consistent supply of quality consumable with our assurance of quality.
As regarding the trend is concerned, my personal opinion that polyester is now becoming much more wearable, affordable as compared to expensive cotton and the demand for sublimation is directly linked to this fact.
The response from this 3rd edition of SITME is overwhelming to say the least. The huge success can be attributed to tireless efforts of both SGCC and SEA, the warm response from visitors and above everything else the wait of almost 3 years made it even more worthy for both exhibitors and prospective customers.
Dilip Lathiya, Sinsim Liberty
As garmenting, especially overall garment fabric segment is growing in Surat, we launched and displayed here a 6 sequence and 10 sequence embroidery machine to cater the present and future demand. Other machine on display is a double bead, double cording for all hand work related work. We also launcheda high-end range of embroidery machine called NXE which is almost comparable in performance to Japanese brands and USP of this machine is speed, productivity and high stitch quality. The advantage SINSIM Liberty offers to its customers is timely delivery, stable quality backed with unmatched after sales service. Having loyalty with the same principle company for more than 18 years, LIBERTY enjoys a trust like no other in this business as we ensure stock of spares even for older machines, thus giving our customers a higher resale value whenever they need to upgrade.
As for the current trends, embroidery is going to stay and latest machines with added features and more design options will always find a willing customer. Surat already has a name in sarees, lehengas, dresses, but now Surat will also make its name in garments.
The success of SITME can be gauged from the fact that in just 2 days, the show saw huge footfall of nearly 20,000 quality visitors with many of them having booked and placed confirmed orders for their specific requirements. SGCC and SEA have really collaborated well to plan and execute a highly successful 3rd edition of SITME 2023.
Sanjay Jha, Unix Stitchmachine
Our main display this time is for the 6 Sequence, Double Bead High Speed Machine wherein the same device is capable of running sequins, beads, pearl and cut dana. We also displayed our latest Hot Spangle Machine capable of application on various fabrics. It was believed that Hot Spangle is meant for T-shirts only but we have upgraded our machine and shown application on Sarees, Duppattas and other Dress Materials and samples are there for customers to see the finishing quality.
We also specially displayed a sampling embroidery machines range this time and the purpose was to convince our customers towards our single head machine fitted with same device capable of running multiple application similar to our bigger machine. The purpose of sampling machine is also to make our customer understand that sampling can simultaneously be developed without the need to halt production of multi-head machine. Our motto is to ultimately ensure high productivity and faster ROI and that is what makes our customers happy.
As per current trends, garmenting especially t-shirts manufacturing is fast adding up to the existing segments in Surat and many known brands have set up their regional offices here and that holds a great assurance of more business for all the stakeholders.
The response from SITME is very good and both SEA and SGCC have professionally managed to organize a show at par with international standards.
Chirag Dawar, Yuemei Alliance Machine
In this exhibition we have launched Rafale and Bhramastra model of embroidery machine. We are the only one giving such technology to the industry which competes with Europe.
We named it Rafale as our Pricipal Yuemei has made this machine with European technology. Basically, it gives the results of the European machine. It has European electronics and computer system, on which we give you the 15 years guarantee. You can do even the smallest of stitches with this machine, which till date does not happen in Chinese machines.
The Bhramastra model is a combination of all the device in a single machine by which you can do multiple works on the fabric. Like you can do 2 types of hand work, you can run 8 types of sequins with different sizes and also you can do leaser cutting. We also launched India’s largest longest embroidery machine, this is a 44.5 ft machine with 11 m frame.
This time we had the highest number of visitors to this exhibition. We are very happy with this exhibition; we have gotten more positive responses than our expectations. The arrangements made by the organisers have been very good. We are very happy with the outcome of the exhibition. All potential customers are coming and are happy to see our new technology. We look forward to doing it again. This time, the exhibition is on a different level. Since the last two years, we have seen only upward growth. Due to the introduction of new technology, there has been a lot of improvement in the industry. There is a very good growth in garments and lehengas here.
Rajesh Gupta, Om Satya Exim
We displayed here Twin Sequins / Twin Head i.e. in a Single Needle. Sequence, beads, pearls, pipe and all handwork is possible and this is probably the latest technology so far in this exhibition. We also displayed 6 sequins machine, Chenille Embroidery machine, chain stitch with a mix of sequin work, flat and chain facility and sampling machines with an attractively priced which ensures excellent finishing quality, enabling customers to get their sample passed quickly. We displayed the widest range of machines this time and are proud to be associated with No. 1 global brand like Yuemei- China. The brand is renowned for their strength in R&D, focus on quality/ innovation and above all a customer-oriented approach. We at OM SATYA are committed towards providing high quality sales and service support to all our customers.
Being a great value addition, the trend in embroidery is never ending and consumers, especially in the ladies garment segment will always demand variety and latest trends in fashion. The response from SITME has exceeded our expectations and credit must be given to the organizers for putting up a great show.
Nitin Soni, Dolphin
We displayed 2 types of machines in embroidery i.e. a regular 23X400 Machine that runs on 1200 RPM and the other one is a 60X400 Sampling Machine in which can run Heavy Denier thread with Boring device. In fact, Heavy Denier is exclusive to us as no other machine in Surat is provided with this feature.
We are also offering Air Jet machine which is made out of pure Air Jet body, while cheaper Air Jet machines sold in Surat are made of water jet body, resulting in higher electricity consumption and compressor issues. Our machine’s components are all from Japan and assembled in China.
The future of this industry will be determined by parameters mainly being efficiency, higher production capability and machines that are low on maintenance. Looking at the current trends, embroidery segment is stable and jacquard is little down but the future is Air Jet for many advantages it offers.
We are really pleased with the response from SITME 2023 as there were quality customers visiting the show and most of them were impressed with our machines.
Piyush Khurana, KTL Plus
This time we have displayed a 7- year-old machine in Circular Knitting because we wanted to show that seven-year-old machine is still working with same speed and productivity. It’s a sign of a good machine and I think that’s the plus point we have. We have been selling Wellknit machines for 7 years.
Even in the embroidery segment there are not major technology developments. So, we decided that it would be better to show our 7-yearold and 5-year-old machines, which are still running with same speed and productivity. We displayed 4-8 sequin and Beads devices on these machine. Basically wanted to show the performance of our old machines.
And coming to the digital printing section, we have displayed 8-head Epson sublimation printer and apart from this we are also launching very soon sublimation & direct printers with Kyocera head and Ricoh gen 6- head digital textile printers. Ricoh gen is a much stronger head and I think that’s the future.
The textile industry of Surat is very bright. I also see a lot of the garment industry and the knitting industry coming here. Surat’s future is going to be bright as more product segments are added.
We are always part of this exhibition as its organized by our association and in this edition visitor quality and response was very good right from day one. The organisers have made great efforts.
Hardik Dave, Stitchmax Solutions
We have mainly introduced two things in this exhibition that the industry has needed for a long time, namely, the privacy of the design. In the embroidery industry, designs are stolen in every company. Now your designs are protected and can’t be opened by others.
You can eliminate the use of pen drives by transferring design files wirelessly. You can send the design directly through WiFi on the machine; for that, we have launched a device.
We given this software name “Design over the air,” and its short name is Dot. This device is attached to the machine. So you can transfer the design directly anywhere, even while sitting at home or office. If someone detaches or copies this device to any other machine, then this device also gets erased automatically. This features are not available in any software worldwide.
The market of embroidery is looking very good in the future particular the fancy embroidery. New devices are coming, so there is a lot of scope ahead in this industry. We have also prepared software for Jacquard designing. Govt. is also supporting this industry a lot. If the industry is localized, then automatically the dependency will end.
SITME has been very good for us, within 2 days more than 18000 people have visited the show. We are very happy with the response of the exhibition. Many new exhibitors have also participated this SITME.
Deepak Choudhary, Aura Technologies
This year we showcased the longest machine at this exhibition with unique functions of glass beads, pipe and pearl with 2 Size Sequin. These machines were successfully working with special attachment with over 900 rpm during the whole show. We have installed the same machine at its testing center for open comparison for all interesting clients.
Several visitors visited all 3 days to check and compare with their previous choice for working performance. The live performance of the machine was very well appreciated by the visitors and many have confirmed the order for AURA LEO 4.0 SERIES. All this was possible with our more then 8 years continuous study and professional experience.
The industry is showing sign of revival after few months of lull in the market. The embroidery machine with handwork application will grow in future as garment manufacturing is growing in Surat. Coming year should be good for embroidery industry. The visitor response was very good from day one. We actually closed many deal and got advance. For us it was one of the best exhibitions in Surat.
Anil Chopra (Bunty), KTL Textile Machine
We have displayed Heat Transfer Machine with 12000 metre production capacity that too, without using butter paper. It may be called an innovation from China which ensures same fabric softness otherwise achieved with Butter Paper application. By eliminating the use of Butter Paper, customers can save a cost of Rs. 2.50 per metre. The technology became possible through a new Teflon coating in the drum and can rightly be termed as an innovation for the Indian market.
In the Digital Sublimation Printing segment, our machines have more stability and weight than other brands and production is also higher ranging between 4500 to 5000 metre in comparison to 3500 to 4000 metre presently achieved by other machines in the market. As on date, we were offering 8 head machine but we have launched a 15 head machine, which is capable of ramping up the production to 8500 metre. In addition to Sublimation, we also have a direct fabric-printing machine, which is under extensive test and trial and will be launched very soon.
The response from SITME is very good with a few confirmed orders and call for meetings with prospective customers from printing and dyeing mills who are now focused on technology that will reduce cost while addressing the issues of emission and pollution.
Ashok Sharma, Maatri Global Tradelink
We displayed here Ultra HighSpeed Multi Head Embroidery Machine with 1500 RPM. Our High speed embroidery machines are developed with advanced controlling system, reliable machine body and reasonable driving structure with high speed and low noise. In this machine Individual heads are provided inside with separate pressure feet, there are motors inside each head specifically for controlling the speed. This machine is already running successfully in the Surat market.
We also do circular knitting. Although the main market for knitting is Silvassa and Mumbai, but there are a lot of knitting machines here in Surat, we think that in the coming time knitting will increase in Surat also. We hope that the coming year will be very good for us and for Surat textile industry. The market is positive and will be good in the future. The embroidery segment was slow last year due to jacquard trend but will pickup this year. Now multi sequins embroidery are in trend.
We have received a very good response and we are very happy with this exhibition; the organisers have also made very good arrangements.
Dhiraj Patil, Gama Saistar
We have displayed here embroidery machine with khatli and beads device. Earlier this was done by hand; now all the work is done by direct device. Its main benefit is high production. This machine gives the proper finish. There has been a very good response to the Beads Embroidery Machine. Apart from this, we display Multi-Head Machines like 8-sequence machine, where 8 colours can run separately in sequins.
The textile industry always needs something new. Our company is the first to bring latest development in embroidery machines. We always try and develop new applications and features in the embroidery machines for the future industry. Our main USP is our service support.
In the coming time, garment, lehengas and lace are going to be in great demand. Already garment is growing a lot in Surat. Right now in Surat, sequins are in trend but after some time, beads will be in trend for next 5-7 years. There are still more scopes for value addition in the embroidery segment in Surat.
Hitesh Kakadiya, ZHK Embroidery Machine
We displayed a 9 Color Machine with sequins and a 6 Sequins Machine. We are authorized dealer of Damei since 2008, Damei has a stronghold in the embroidery machine segment and we have very good presence in the market as we keep introducing new machines with latest technology. We also supply attachments such as beading, sequins and double beading. The USP of our machine is reliability and superior quality of Damei brand and after sales service is almost negligible despite the fact that we have a team of 25 engineers to ensure our customers face no issues.
Currently the trend in Surat is for sequence i.e. from 2 and 4 sequence as well as 6 and 12 sequence. We feel the demand will continue and beading will also catch up in due course of time. We make sure to fulfill our customer’s requirement.
The response from SITME is excellentand the efforts of both Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Surat Embroidery Association is commendable for organizing a highly successful exhibition.
Nikunj Savsani, Tirupati International
We displayed 8 Head High Speed Sublimation Digital Printing Machine featuring negative pressure system. In addition we displayed high speed Heat Transfer machine with actual production capacity of 450-500 metre. The USP of our machine is stability, sharpness and softness retention of fabrics. These machines incorporating latest EPSON head imported by us from China. Our core business however, is sublimation Paper manufacturing and presently lower gsm papers in 30 to 45 GSM are in great demand in the market and quite popular with our customers.
As far as future trend is concerned, we can look forward to a revolution maybe 6 months down the line where sublimation would become possible on cotton as well resulting in huge cost saving as direct printing on cotton has always been costly proposition. Digital is going to be the way forward and those entering this segment are going to reap the rewards for a long time to come.
The response from SITME is very good and particularly visitors are keen to upgrade to latest technologies on display here. Overall, we are glad that to participate in this exhibition.
Amit Dobariya, Sarjan International
Our focus has always been on Position digital Printing since the year 2017. This time we have displayed an upgraded machine as a part of our constant process of offering machines with advanced technology and it was also on test for sometime before being introduced here. We are currently dealing with two brands for position embroidery printing i.e. SDF (with EPSON heads) & ATEXCO (with SPECTRA, STAR and KYOCERA heads). KYOCERA heads are popular with customers having higher production capacity.
The current trend in this event is more towards Jacquard, Embroidery, Weaving etc. but our focus remains on first two categories only at all events that we are participating. We keep innovating in our domain i.e. Position Printing while exploring other printing technologies to add to our portfolio. The advantage of Surat market over China in garments lies in the fact that we offer more designs in MOQ while China’s MOQ is higher with lesser design options.
As far as response from SITME is concerned, its quite encouraging despite the fact that market is yet to bounce back and we hope it will happen soon given the enthusiasm from the visitors at the show.
Rushiraj Mulani, Smart Color Technologies
This time we displayed 15 Head Sublimation Machine with a production capability of 9000 Sqm. Generally, customers are facing a lot of problem in digital printing and we have finally found a permanent solution to all these issues with our latest machine. The main issues are lining when the production runs and color missing is a major concern in printing. The machine on display here can be called fully industrial machine because we are giving this machine with EPSON head that works on negative pressure and permanently fixes the problem of missing color in printing. In Sublimation; 2, 3 & 8 head usually have Pinch Roller and the lifting of paper results in missing colors. To fix this, we have incorporated Pressure Roller technology and customers can also use paper as low as 30 GSM which again is an advanced technology. With our vast experience and expertise, we redesigned and modified the machine and it was assembled in China as per our specifications.
Last year, we also launched a DTF machine as a one stop solution for all type of fabrics including knitted fabrics and lycra etc. We have already sold 15 of these machines as garmenting is growing in Surat and the response from SITME is also very good with interested buyers from pan India having visited our stall.
Chandrabhan Gosavi, Bapu Traders
This time we have displayed a new machine in this exhibition for attaching Hook & eye. This machine is 100 percent made in India. This machine will give you perfect finishing. Apart from this we provide all kind of garment making machines from cutting to finishing. We display here the Richpeace Cad/Cam software, all the Cutting Machine range, Juki Sewing Needles, Juki Overlock Machines, Computerized Juki Button Hole Machines. Apart from this we have a new brand of Juki – JIN, which is becoming very popular in India and its machines are also shown here.
We have also started sewing thread and accessories. We are entering in this segment because customers want to get all the goods from one place. Bapu Traders is today on four pillars 1st, ethics; 2nd, quality; 3rd, services; and 4th, commitment. Bapu Traders is successful today because of these 4 pillars. Whatever Bapu Traders is today, it is only because of our customers.
The visitor response in this exhibition was very good. Many of our existing and new customers came here. In the coming time, there will be a lot of growth in garment manufacturing in Surat.
Janak Sutariya, Silver Samurai
We have displayed Elastic Tape Machines for narrow width weaving from China which is quite popular with our customers. For the first in India, we introduced a 20 frame machine as prior to this, only 12 or 16 frame machines were available in the market. The advantage with 20 frame is that it can double up the production capacity. Besides elastic, the machine can be used for making laces and zippers.
We also displayed a Fusing machine which is used for fixing Swarovski crystals and stones on sarees and high-end garments.
Within our products portfolio, we are seeing huge demand for Air Jet weaving machines and we always have ready customers for our stock.
The response from this edition of SITME 2023 is overwhelming. There was huge visitor turn out from day one and we were able to convert a lot of customers and many are in the pipeline as well.
As you know Surat is a biggest manufacturer of polyester fabric. There is always up and down in the market but now the market is showing positive signs for the future of our industry.
