What are the challenges faced for automation in weaving for the Indian Textile Industry?
The nature of the weaving industry is changing. Around the early 80s, the focus moved from composite mills to decentralised units and new clusters such as Bhiwandi, Surat, Ichalkaranji, Erode, etc began to develop. Because the resultant units are smaller, the focus on having a trained workforce, established work practices, data collection and utilisation has diminished. It is only very recently that the trend has started to reverse and decentralised units are successfully adopting a mill-like approach to their business. The focus of the global majors is higher machine speeds and wider widths. Today’s machines can offer weft insertion rates of more than 2,000 to 2,500 metres per minute and widths of up to 3.8 metres. Most of the machines from the Indian manufacturers offer weft insertion rates of around 350 to 650 metres per minute and widths up to 2.3 metres. In order to ensure that they are able to compete with established brands, machinery manufacturers need to offer machines with hi
