The Nonwoven and Advanced Materials Lab at TIEHH focuses on research and development
of materials to help improve human health and the environment.
Texas Tech researchers predict a yearly growth of 13.3 percent for India’s nonwoven
and technical textile industry, which is more than twice the annual 5 to 6 percent
expected growth patterns in the United States and Europe.
The study, conducted at the Nonwoven and Advanced Materials Laboratory at
The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, was led by Seshadri Ramkumar, an assistant professor and expert of nonwoven fabric
technology, and by Appachi Arunachalam, a visiting scholar from India. The study measured
growth opportunities of the nonwoven and technical textile industry in India.
Their findings, based on World Bank Statistics of gross domestic product growth data,
show the growth and potential of India’s technical textile industry and the consumption
of nonwoven technical textiles from 2007-2050. By 2012, they predict India’s technical
textile industry will be worth 12-15 billion dollars, which will be 10 percent of
the global value. The researcher's findings are contained in a report titled
India Rising: Opportunities in Nonwovens and Technical Textiles.
This study has been published in leading international textile magazines such as
Nonwovens Industry and Textile World Asia. It coincides with the effort of the Government
of India to create a National Technological Mission to spearhead the development
of the country's technical textile industry.
“In this era of globalization, such a study will be useful for the U.S. textile industries
to seek joint ventures and collaboration with the emerging market,” said Ramkumar.
“By 2035, the growth rate of the nonwoven and technical textile industry will be
exponential. However, with the new government initiatives in India, such as the Technology
Upgradation Fund Scheme and Special Economic Zones, the growth rate will be much
faster.”
Already, Ramkumar said India has initiated steps toward the establishment of four
centers of excellence: medical textiles, geotextiles, agrotextiles and protective
textiles. This offers business opportunities for U.S. and European textile industries
to expand and seek new markets. Players such as North Carolina-based Glen Raven and
Finland-based Ahlstrom are seizing this new opportunity.
For the past four years, researchers at the advanced materials laboratory have worked
to bridge the nonwoven and technical textile industry of developed economies like
the U.S. and the emerging economy of India.
Texas Tech will organize the fifth annual
ATNT 2008 Conference on Advances in Textiles, Machinery Nonwoven and Technical Textiles, which runs July 14-16 in Coimbatore, India. The conference fosters relationships
between the textile industry of developed economies and India.
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