Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur knits its way out of crises with coronavirus help

Amid the coronavirus gloom, the multi-crore knitwear industry in Tiruppur has found a new way to survive. The city has now turned into a major centre for manufacturing protective medical gear like face masks, gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE).

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Several state governments, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, NGOs and other agencies like Rotary Club that are involved in the efforts to contain COVID-19 have placed huge orders for protective medical gear as around 125 companies have upped their shutters to do their bit in times of crisis.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases

Fabric masks, which can be washed and re-used, gloves and PPE for doctors, paramedics and sanitary workers are some of the products that are manufactured by exporters here, in what is seen as a blessing in disguise.

Utilizing the opportunity

The industry, which was suffering due to a slew of factors including tough competition from countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam in apparel export, feels manufacturing of technical apparel could be a viable option to survive in the future. Tiruppur alone accounts for 46 per cent of India’s exports in the sector and the exporters face loss to the tune of crores of rupees due to Covid-19 outbreak in key apparel markets like the US and EU.

“We have got an order for making 20 lakh fabric masks which are reusable from Seva Bharti. We will be supplying 3 lakh masks to be sent to Meghalaya and other north-eastern states on Monday. We hope to complete the order by the end of April,” K G Ganeshan, Partner, Swell Knit, told DH.

Ganeshan says the fabric masks being manufactured by his firm is different from surgical masks and can be reused any number of times. “We designed a few two-layer masks and all of them were approved by a leading textile testing lab. These masks are designed for the general public who can wash and reuse them,” he added.

Fabric masks are being recommended by doctors for the general public as they feel surgical masks are only for those providing medical care.

This is the first time that exporters’ in Tiruppur are manufacturing PPEs and medical gear, but the factories say they get their designs approved by testing labs and are doing it a very low-cost price without “looking at any profit.”

Another manufacturer, who wished to remain anonymous, told DH that apart from producing fabric masks, his factory also manufactures PPEs for paramedics and sanitary workers. “We cannot produce PPEs for doctors as the material used for it is not available easily in the market now. However, we produce PPEs for paramedics and other support staff with the material available with us,” he said.

The district administration has also imposed strict restrictions on the manufacturing units that are allowed to operate during the lockdown period. “We follow social distancing by providing a gap between machines and ask labourers to maintain personal hygiene by washing their hands regularly. Also, they are asked to wear masks while working,” Ganeshan added.

Loyal Textile Mills Ltd, which has manufacturing units across the state, produces 4,000 PPE kits and 1 lakh surgical masks a day. “We have been supplying protective medical gear to hospitals, rotary clubs and several pharmacies across the country. We follow the standards prescribed and we ensure that every rule is complied with,” D. Manohar – General Manager (Technical Textiles), told DH.

Medical gear as an option for the future

Exporters feel manufacturing medical gear and getting into the technical textile sector would be beneficial for the industry in the future, as it faces a lot of domestic and global challenges.

What began as a “service” in the first few days of lockdown is likely to transform into a big opportunity for manufacturers who don’t hesitate to adopt new methods to survive in the ever-changing industry.

“This could be a new business model for the future. Even in the crisis, we have found a positive factor that could help manufacturers in the long run. We think this is the first step towards moving to Technical Textile Arena (TTA) and we are happy that the seed has been sown in Tiruppur,” Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA), told DH.

He said switching to TTA would be a major boost to the knitwear cluster in Tiruppur, which is facing tough competition from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Cambodia due to cheaper price and free market access that these countries possess.

Another manufacturer said some 30 to 40 per cent of manufacturers would get into producing medical gear along with their existing business model even after COVID-19 is contained. “This crisis has shown us another opportunity. And producing medical gear would also throw up export opportunities and if it is profitable, most would switch to that,” he said.