SIMA Texfair 2026 Drives Innovation, Strengthens Industry Connections, and Accelerates Textile Growth
March 23, 2026 | By Textile Sphere India
The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), Coimbatore organized Texfair 2026, 15th of its kind. The largest Expo for Textile Machinery, Accessories, Spares and other supporting services during March 6-9 at CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore.
Texfair 2026 once again reinforced the importance of technological innovation and collaboration in strengthening India’s textile industry. The four-day Exhibition brought together Manufacturers, Suppliers and Industry experts from across India and abroad to showcase the latest developments in Textile Machinery, Accessories and Spares. The event featured over 240 exhibitors and 258 stalls, with participants from Coimbatore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, etc., including several exhibitors from Countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Italy, China, Egypt, etc.
At the inaugural function of Texfair 2026 held on 6th March 2026, SIMA Chairman Durai Palanisamy delivered the welcome address. The function was inaugurated by Chief Guest P. R. Venketrama Raja, Chairman, Ramco Group, and presided over by Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).
The Guests of Honour included Suresh Babuji, IEDS, Head of Office, MSME Development and Facilitation Office; Shaleen Toshniwal, Chairman, Man-Made and Technical Textile Export Promotion Council (MATEXIL); K. R. Kanagarajan, President, ITMAA; Omprakash Mantry, President, ITAMMA; and Prashant Mangukia, Chairman, TMMA.
The inaugural function also featured the keynote address by Prashant Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, Wazir Advisors. Chairman of Ramco Group, P R Venketrama Raja in his inaugural address, said the four-day event is important as it showcases technologies that are available to bring down costs. In the last few years, the textile mills have been facing demand volatility, margin pressure and a constant need for investments. In the coming decade, the mills should focus on speed & responsiveness, quality & consistency, sustainable production, operation efficiency & productivity.
The Indian textile and apparel sector is targeting $350 Billion business size by 2030 and this needs sustained investments in advanced machinery, digitization, automation and smart manufacturing systems said Ashwin Chandran, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. Sustainability is a defining trend, it is essential for long term business and involves costs. Businesses should look at it as long term investment he added.
Shri Shaleen Toshniwal, Chairman, Manmade and Technical Textile Export Promotion Council, said that 70% of global textile business is in the manmade fibre sector as it gives comfort to the users and performance. Technical textiles that use MMF also have multiple applications. The technical textile industry in India is expected to grow to $50 Billion by 2030. The textile industry should focus on modernization, innovation and sustainability, he said.
Joint Managing Director of Wazir Advisors, Prashant Agarwal spoke on the benefits of the India’s Free Trade Agreements with the UK and the European Union. He concretely said that the buyers in these Countries are looking at alternatives to China and the Indian companies should offer scale and automation.
S Suresh Babuji, IEDS, Director of MSME Development and Facilitation Office, informed that the Central Government is setting up a tool Centre in Coimbatore on 14 acres, will be operational in two years and that it would promote the MSMEs in the engineering sector.
Summing up the needs of the industry in the current scenario, SIMA Chairman stated that the Central Government should remove the import duty on cotton and reinstate the Remission of Duties and Taxes. SIMA Deputy Chairman, Shri S Krishnakumar briefed about SIMA Texfair 2026. Presidents of ITMAA, ITAMMA and TMMA offered felicitations. Vice-Chairman K Sivaraj delivered vote of thanks.
Coinciding with Texfair 2026, SIMA organized the SIMA AiTex Summit in the afternoon of 6th March 2026 at the CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are rapidly transforming textile manufacturing by improving productivity, enabling the production of high-value products with consistent quality, reducing manual intervention & waste and facilitating predictive maintenance.
SIMA Chairman Durai Palanisamy inaugurated the summit and stated that by leveraging AI, ERP integration, intelligent data extraction and real-time analytics, traditional manual and experience-driven processes can be transformed into structured, data-driven systems.
He further emphasized that the summit highlighted the need for widespread adoption of AI and digital technologies in the textile industry to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen global competitiveness and build a resilient and future-ready manufacturing ecosystem.
The expert sessions at the summit covered several key topics, including Leveraging Data and AI Technology for Overall Excellence, LMW e-Spares ERP Integration and Tracker, centralised ERP-integrated tool that captures forex exposures and maps them against hedge contracts to provide real-time visibility and improved financial risk management. Other sessions focused on Digital and Operational Automation in Textile Mills with EXIM Automation and Trade Compliance, Cotton Testing through HVI and AFIS Data Integration, Dispatch Entry Automation, and practical success stories on transforming spinning production from data to decision-making.
Mathan Mohan C. S., Head – Spare Parts and Components at Lakshmi Machine Works Limited, presented another important operational improvement. He explained the challenges earlier faced by customers while generating spare part quotations through the company’s portal. The previous process required manual login and item selection, which made it time-consuming and prone to human errors.
By integrating the LMW API directly with the customer’s ERP system, the quotation retrieval and sales order creation processes have now been fully automated. This integration significantly enhances efficiency, reduces manual intervention and enables faster procurement of critical spare parts.
The session concluded with a strong message – the future of spinning mills lies in the integration of AI, automation and data analytics. By adopting these technologies, mills can achieve greater operational transparency, improved productivity, and stronger financial and process control, paving the way for a more efficient and digitally empowered textile industry.
The organisers thanked all exhibitors for showcasing their products and services, Top Management of the Industry and CEOs of mills for visiting & deputing their technical personnel and also the visitors from various textile clusters across the country for making the Expo yet another success event.
Apart from machinery displays, the fair served as an important networking platform where Manufacturers, Suppliers and Buyers exchanged ideas and explored new business opportunities. With a footfall of around one lakh visitors, the exhibition facilitated knowledge sharing and strengthened collaboration within the textile ecosystem.
#TAGS The Southern India Mills’ Association, SIMA, Textile Machinery, CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore, Lakshmi Machine Works Limited, Textile Mills, SIMA AiTex Summit, Durai Palanisamy,