Date:23/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/23/stories/2006012300740500.htm

Back Trumac Engg to expand machinery range

G. Gurumurthy

Coimbatore , Jan. 22

BUOYED by surge in demand for textile machinery, the Ahmedabad-based Trumac Engineering Company Pvt Ltd, engaged in manufacturing and marketing of spinning preparatory machinery, is expected to post a turnover of Rs 200 crore for the fiscal 2005-06, clocking an 18 per cent growth over its previous year's Rs170 crore.

Trumac is also set to widen its product range by taking advantage of the bullish market for domestic textile industry which is sharpening investments in plant and machinery.

"We'll be expanding the range of our products as well as our volume as the market is more pointed towards increased competition," said Mr Atul K. Bhagwati, Chairman and Managing Director of Trumac Engineering which is the joint venture of the Mumbai-based ATE group and the German textile machinery major Trutzschler Gmbh and Co.

Trutzschler is in fact the major stakeholder in Trumac and provides the know-how for the company. Trumac has its own production unit in Ahmedabad and it also helps out in direct marketing of Trutzschler's textile machinery shipped from its German plant. This way, Trutzschler's machinery sale this year in India done through Truman is estimated to be at Rs100 crore.

"We are the leading manufacturers in the blow-room/carding/draw equipment and we want to retain that position in the days to come," said Mr Heinrich Trutzschler, Managing Partner of Trutzschler Gmbh. Both Mr Bhagwati and Mr Trutzschler were in the city recently to celebrate the silver jubilee year of Trumac Engineering.Mr Heinrich told Business Line that Trumac is expected to double its earnings from the current Rs 200 crore within the next three years. As part of widening its machinery offering to the Indian market, Trumac is planning to introduce new draw-frame model (No.TD-03) soon and according to Mr Bhagwati, the joint venture company is also planning to come out with one or two new blow-room equipment models. Only recently the company had started producing for the first time card clothing (TCC) products. "Every year, we bring in additional investment of some Rs 8 crore to Trumac to facilitate continuous modernisation and upgradation of production facility, and last year it had been raised to Rs 10 crore with the launch of card clothing equipment production," said Mr Bhagwati.

A strong player in blowroom and carding machinery, Trumac's market share in these segments in India is said to be substantial. The company has sold cumulatively blowroom machinery worth Rs 575 crore and delivered 3,800 carding machines worth Rs 700 crore. It is likely to cross the 4,000 mark in carding machinery sale by this March.

Mr Trutzschler, who refused to divulge the details on the shareholding between Trutzschler and ATE in the Indian venture, however maintained that "Trutzschler is happy with its Indian partner who has helped the former increase its stake inTrumac."