HMSU’s Roller Covering Business Is Growing At More Than A 100% YOY Basis; We Expect That Trend To Continue

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HMSU’s Roller Covering Business Is Growing At More Than A 100% YOY Basis; We Expect That Trend To Continue

How did HMSU’s journey begin in India?

In the year 2013, two of Europe's renowned roller rubber covering companies, namely, Belgium-based Hannecard as well as Germany-based Mitex came together with Kolkata-based Unimark to form HMSU. Hannecard and Mitex together have more than 50 sites under operation across the globe, supplying innovative and quality products for over 60 years. The combined learning and innovation experience of both these companies is more than a century old. With such in-depth knowhow and experience, these three companies have decided to set up a manufacturing facility in India, which led to HMSU's birth. The aim is to supply the Indian market with best quality of rubber compounds. Many of our customers in India have been using our products made in Europe or any other continent directly or through OEM, fitted on their machines. By setting up a plant in India, we are supporting the Indian government's 'Make In India' initiative. We offer top line products which were being imported directly or indirectly, until recently.

What made you think of India as a manufacturing base?

India is now the world's fastest growing large economy. This will drive substantial increase in manufacturing activities and consumption growth. This will push factories to improve their throughput as well as, quality, besides simultaneously reducing cost and rejections. In order to achieve all this, factories will require reliable and top quality of machines as well as spares. We feel that this is where we will be able to contribute. We have experienced this cycle in many countries where producers look for quality spares to improve their plant efficiencies. We expect a continuous demand for good quality and technologically advanced rollers in India. Therefore, we should be ready to fill this gap.

Please tell us about your facility as well as business plans...

We have started with manufacturing and sales of rollers in steel, textile, printing and packaging as well as film production sectors. Our plant is capable of producing rollers of upto 12-metre length and one-metre diameter, making HMSU one of the rare facilities in the country with such a capability. We have an in-house laboratory with strong R&D support from our European facility. We have our own mixing set up where we can make compounds with recipes provided from Germany and Belgium. The factory is state-of-the-art, spacious and equipped with the latest machinery. The design of the factory has been done keeping in mind future requirements of Indian customers. Our organisational building activity is complete and people have gained sufficient experience to have smooth operations.

How has been your experience with the Indian textile industry so far?

I would rate it as fantastic. We have been welcomed with open arms. In the initial three years of operations, we have been able to start regular business with many original equipment makers (OEMs), some of whom are Indian as well as some multinationals. On the end customer front, we have already become regular supplier of many large and reputed business houses and providing them with roller coverings for various applications and processes. Our roller covering business is growing at more than 100% on a YOY basis and we feel that given the size of Indian market and success of our products, this trend will continue in future as well.

What are various types of products you offer to textile customers from your Indian plant?

We have a variety of products to offer to textile industry customers. For example, we have launched Filtex -XP for sizing applications. This comes with special fillers which allow a proper balance of squeezing and passing of the size along with the fabric. This product has been very successful in India. We also offer Indicom range of products to our customers with denim dying machines. This is a proven product which is working very well. Another very versatile product Resistex-XP, which is CSM based, is working well in textile processing mills. This is also a preferred rubber compound for many of our OEM customers across the globe. Ebonite roller is another product we offer. In short, we supply rubber rollers for almost all applications in textile industry. We shall shortly start making spreader rollers in India as well. As the market expands, we shall continue to bring more such products from our global portfolio to Indian customers.

How do European R&D centres support HMSU operations?

European R&D centres help HMSU in many ways like trials of new applications, offering new rubber compounds, suggesting alternate materials, helping to source global and local raw materials, testing newly produced rubber compounds, establishing the process. They train people and ensure that whatever is produced by HMSU is of Mitex and Hannecard’s European standard. A lot of hand holding is done by the R&D centres to ensure that HMSU moves in the right direction at correct speed.

What are your plans for the future?

Our operations are well settled now and the team is really doing fantastic work in making and marketing quality rollers in Indian market. Now, we have to expand by reaching out to more customers and establish ourselves as the best quality player in the roller business in the Indian market, across all sectors.

We shall keep on investing in new equipment, technology, people, infrastructure, as well as bring new products not only to the textile market but also to other sectors.