Schlafhorst Drives Indian Denim Output Higher With Its Model Autocoro 9

Spinning

Schlafhorst Drives Indian Denim Output Higher With Its Model Autocoro 9

The Indian denim market is booming. In the last five years, turnover has risen by 15 % to a volume of USD 4.5 billion. Experts anticipate that the USD 8 billion mark will be reached by 2023. The development of denim yarn production in India has been correspondingly dynamic, with the Autocoro 9 being one of the motors behind this growth.

With a market share of over 90 %, the Autocoro plays a major role in the growth and value added in the Indian textile industry. Developed by Schlafhorst, this innovation has revolutionised rotor spinning mills in India and set entirely new standards in productivity and efficiency thanks to the individual spinning position drive.

Sudarshan Jeans Pvt Ltd. is one of the biggest denim manufacturers in India and is also the largest India-based customer for the Autocoro 8 and Autocoro 9 made by the German textile machinery manufacturer Schlafhorst. No Indian company operates more Autocoro rotor spinning machines from the latest Autocoro generation than the market leader from Kolhapur in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Sudarshan has already enjoyed many years of highly successful production with the Autocoro 8. The outstanding extra advantages provided by the new Autocoro 9, which was exhibited at ITMA 2015 in Milan, immediately convinced Sudarshan to invest in this model.

13 Autocoro 8 and 9 machines with a total of 6,528 spinning positions are now in operation at two plants around the clock, producing cotton yarns with counts between Ne 4.5 and Ne 20 that are predominantly intended for downstream processing within the company. The annual production of Sudarshan Jeans has risen to more than 70 million metres of denim and terry cloth, of which 80 % is exported around the world by the company.

The family company, which was founded in 2003 and has a rich tradition, pursues a philosophy of 'value for money'. With unrivalled dedication and excellence on all levels of the textile value creation chain, Sudarshan Jeans offers its customers the best possible value for their money.

“Our market is characterised by intense competition. The new Autocoro 9 ensures that we are even better placed to implement our company philosophy of 'value for money' while also attaining maximum productivity and efficiency in operation,” says Sudarshan Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director of the company.

A decisive reason why the new Autocoro has the edge when it comes to productivity is its individual spinning position drive, which breaks through the system-related limits associated with conventional drives. Whether in terms of productivity, efficiency, flexibility or energy consumption, the new Autocoro once again sets records and therefore establishes a new benchmark in open-end rotor spinning technology. These advantages have also revolutionised the production of denim yarns at Sudarshan Jeans.

“With its innovative individual spinning position drive and superlative efficiency, the new Autocoro technology has raised our productivity to new record highs,” notes Director Gautam Bansal. “Operating with minimum infrastructure and the lowest levels of energy consumption, we are now more productive than ever,” he added.

The individual spinning position drive enables higher rotor speeds while consuming less energy per kilogram of yarn than conventional rotor spinning technology featuring belt drives. “At these rotor speeds, we are therefore able to make full use of the raw material within the limits of textile technology in order to increase productivity. The new Autocoro always guarantees top quality and maximum energy efficiency,” says General Manager Shankar Khot.

The Indian textile industry has already made consistent use of the innovative Autocoro 8 technology over recent years in order to achieve above-average growth and profitable margins. It is therefore no surprise that one of the first Autocoro 9 machines was supplied to an Indian company. It was the Indian quality spinning mill T.C. Spinners, based in Chandigarh in the district of Mohali, which ordered the Autocoro 9 – the latest Autocoro generation – at ITMA 2015 in Milan.

T.C. Spinners was founded in 2006 and primarily produces weaving and knitting yarns that are made from 100 % cotton and feature counts from Ne 10 to Ne 40, as well as polyester yarns. The family-run company employs a total of 350 staff and boasts a total production capacity of around 50,000 spinning positions.

The new flagship of the German textile machinery manufacturer Schlafhorst entered operation in 2016. The Autocoro 9, which delivers a further significant boost to production with its 720 spinning positions, has been well and truly put through its paces by T.C. Spinners in the course of everyday operations since then – and it has been an uninterrupted success.

The Autocoro 9 sets new records in energy consumption, productivity, efficiency, ease of operation and quality. The energy consumption is up to 25 % lower, with spinning costs falling by as much as 19 %. This makes it even more efficient to perform high-speed production at the technological spinning limit of the material. It even helps reduce personnel requirements, thanks to a 60 % reduction in maintenance input. All of this opens up new opportunities in the fiercely competitive market for denim yarns.

T.C. Spinners is particularly impressed by the efficiency of the new Autocoro 9. “With the super-long Autocoro 9, we are continuously able to achieve over 95 % efficiency – even for medium-fine yarns,” says Managing Director Dhuruv Satia. “This has exceeded all our expectations,” he added.

This sensational result is made possible by the individual spinning position technology. Unlike with central drives, this can be used to perfectly tailor the automation to the machine length. T.C. Spinners, which operates an especially long Autocoro 9 with 720 spinning positions, knows how to make particularly efficient use of these advantages.