Amid rumours of textile mills closing down and labourers being retrenched in Ahmedabad and Surat, the textile entrepreneurs in Gujarat have realised one thing: innovation is the only key to survival, particularly during economic slowdown.

Two of the largest textile research associations — MANTRA and

ATIR A — are now speeding up the process of transferring new technologies to entrepreneurs in Surat and Ahmedabad in order to provide them with the much-needed support to innovate.

The Ahmedabad Textile Industries Research Association (ATIRA) is in the process of transferring technology in geo and medical textiles, while the Man-Made Textile Research Association (MANTRA) in Surat is about to have its own service centre. The centre will provide consultation to entrepreneurs willing to diversify.

“We will open up a service centre for those willing to diversify into technical textiles, especially coating and lamination of textile,” said Dinesh Zaveri, a textile entrepreneur.

Coating and laminating are important techniques for adding value to textiles. The best examples of coated and laminated fabrics are the roof of the Millennium Dome in London and the LaVerne College’s sports stadium in California.

The service centre in Surat is expected to become the one-stop shop for traders, who want to adopt new technology and diversify. The institute has got a lab machine from Singapore costing Rs 4 crore for this. "The sampling is almost complete. For commercial use, we will bring machines from Italy and Switzerland,” Zaveri added.

ATIRA is also sampling fire resistant and anti-microbial coating of textiles. Dr Mohammed S Rahman, a senior scientist at ATIRA, said: “We are speeding up our research work in the technical textile area. This is an area where the country is still lagging behind.”

The institute is in the process of sampling high-visibility warning clothes– a fabric having special glow and finish, making it visible in fog and rain. The global meltdown has not only caused job losses, but has also seen the closure of some textile mills. Earlier, the retail boom had buoyed the entrepreneurs, and a lot of them had diversified into the apparel industry. Now, they feel that technical textile is the right area to venture into.