Business

A Strong Commitment To R&D And Our Customers Has Made LRT A Global Market Leader

Lakshmi Ring Travellers (Coimbatore) Private Limited (LRT), pioneers in the field of ring travellers manufacturing in India, started operation in 1974. Today LRT has three manufacturing units - in Hosur, Anamalai and Coimbatore, in India. In an exclusive interview with Reena Mital, J.M. Balaji, Head, Marketing, LRT, underlines the importance of R&D and serious commitment to the industry, which has helped the company keep pace with the technological demands of the textile industry. What’s new from LRT at India ITME 2022? We have been eagerly awaiting this show. We continuously develop new products which we show our customers at various events, and meets. However, the pandemic put a lot of restrictions on meetings with our customers. So, this show is even more important this time. As you can see, there are a host of new products here. What are your views on Make In India? This is a great initiative by the government of India. As we know, India has a current account deficit, and import substitution is an important way to save forex. We at LRT are proud to say that in ring travellers, we are global market leaders, with a 40% market share. In India, we have a 75% market share. And over 6000 customers globally. We have met the demand for superior quality ring travellers in the country, which companies would have otherwise imported. We are successfully exporting our products to over 45 countries. Which particular product from LRT has really made a mark in the market? LRT’s C-shaped traveller Express Plus is our flagship product which has performed wonders in the market. Express Plus accounts for almost 20% of our sales. And I can proudly state that this Indian product is the best that is available in the world. This is a unique product for the synthetic textile manufacturers, for whom slow speed time is a real pain point. For synthetics, when a traveller has to be changed, it has to run at a slow speed for a particular period of time. Express Plus has cut the slow speed to half. So productivity has improved significantly. Also the life of the product has increased manifold because of less friction. So, we’ve made a huge impact with this product in markets which are predominantly oriented towards synthetics – Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc. How did you achieve this success in your products and technology? It’s a combination of continuous R&D of processes, raw material, our rich experience of over 40 years in the spinning industry, and customer centric approach. In the spinning industry, we are well versed with the various materials that are used, the challenges that spinners face, the challenges posed by the materials used in the components. So, R&D is easy for us, compared to other companies situated in other parts of the world. For LRT, R&D is the cornerstone of success. Your message to the Indian textile engineering industry. The industry must focus on R&D, invest in this very important aspect of this business. According to me, R&D is the stumbling block for the Indian textile engineering industry. The textile engineering industry is set to grow by leaps and bounds in India, as India is becoming the major supplier of textiles and apparel to the world. Technological developments have to catch up to support the growth of the textile industry.