TMMA (India) Calls for Greater Technology Competitiveness as Textile Machinery Imports Surge

September 21, 2026 | By Textile Sphere India

The Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (India) TMMA(India) underscored the need for stronger technological competitiveness, innovation, and domestic manufacturing during its 66th Annual General Meeting and R&D & Export Awards Ceremony, held on 18 September 2026 in Mumbai.

Addressing the gathering, Prashant Mangukia, Chairman, TMMA(India), highlighted the significant opportunities emerging from shifting global supply chains, geopolitical developments, and the growing China+1 sourcing strategy. However, he stressed that Indian textile machinery manufacturers must strengthen their competitiveness in technology, quality, productivity, delivery, and reliability to capitalize on these opportunities.

Mangukia noted that domestic demand for textile machinery reached approximately ₹323.97 billion in FY2025–26. Despite this growth, Indian manufacturers accounted for less than 25% of the market by value, while imports surged to around ₹269.99 billion, particularly in the weaving and knitting machinery segments.

“The problem is not the size of the market. The opportunity is already here. The challenge is our ability to compete,” he remarked.

He identified five key priorities for the industry: strengthening domestic manufacturing, accelerating technology adoption and modernization, ensuring quality and a level playing field, expanding exports, and increasing investments in R&D, innovation, and skill development. He emphasized that the industry must transition from being merely cost-competitive to becoming technology-competitive, enabling Indian-made machinery to gain wider acceptance in global markets.

Modernisation and Automation in Focus

Durai Palanisamy, Executive Director, Pallava Textiles, the Chief Guest at the event, highlighted the growing importance of modernization, automation, and digitalization in textile manufacturing. He pointed out that labour availability has become a major industry challenge, making practical and cost-effective automation solutions increasingly essential.

Palanisamy also stressed the importance of integrating machine-generated data across different stages of textile production. With textile mills operating equipment from multiple suppliers, he called for interoperable systems capable of consolidating data onto common platforms and transforming it into actionable insights for better operational decision-making.

He further advocated stronger collaboration between textile machinery manufacturers and textile mills through shop-floor testing and joint technology development. Such partnerships, he said, would help resolve operational challenges before commercial deployment, strengthen customer confidence, and accelerate the development of globally competitive machinery.

TMMA(I) Export Excellence Awards 2025–26

The AGM also recognized outstanding export performance through the TMMA(India) Export Excellence Awards 2025–26.

Apex Award

• Rieter India Pvt. Ltd., Pune

Segment Export Awards

• Machinery Sector: Kirloskar Toyota Textile Machinery Pvt. Ltd.
• Parts & Accessories Sector: Lakshmi Card Clothing Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore
• Textile Testing, Monitoring & Controlling Instruments Sector: Premier Evolvics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore

Special Export Awards

• Spinning Machinery: Truetzschler India Private Limited, Ahmedabad
• Synthetic Machinery: Bhagat Textile Engineers, Surat
• Processing Machinery: Colorjet India Limited, Noida
• Parts & Accessories: Sieger Spintech Equipments Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore
• Small Scale Sector – Machinery: Menzel Engineering India Private Limited, Palghar
• Small Scale Sector – Parts & Accessories: Inspiron Engineering India Private Limited, Ahmedabad 

The association also honoured companies for indigenous innovation and technology development.