After a three-year hiatus owing to the epidemic, DTG makes a surprising comeback in Bangladesh

 

The largest textile and apparel industry event in Bangladesh, Dhaka International Textile and Garment Machinery Exhibition (DTG), returned after a three-year absence. DTG 2023, which took place concurrently with DitaTex (Dhaka International Textile and Apparel Accessories Exhibition) and DYECHEM (Dhaka International Dyeing and Chemical Industry Exhibition) from February 15–18, 2023, at the ICCB, attracted 1200 international companies from 35 countries and regions, occupying 1600 booths over 25,000 square metres of space.

Opening Exercise 

Several notable guests attended the opening ceremony, including Judy Wang, President of Yorkers Trade & Marketing Service Co., Ltd., Md. Jashim Uddin, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Mohammad Ali Khokon, President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), and Salman F. Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to Prime Minister.

Md. Jashim Uddin said during the occasion that Bangladesh aims to export goods worth $300 billion by 2041. Inventive and environmentally friendly clothing will aid in achieving the goal.

Judy Wang was overjoyed to see Bangladesh's economic and infrastructure development are still positive despite facing the pandemic, and Mohammad Ali Khokon, President of the BTMA, thanked Bangladesh's Government for taking measures for importing liquefied natural gas to deal with the energy crisis.

The tourists were fascinated by the technological extravaganza

During the four days, key companies which participated included the likes of Truetzschler; Saurer; Itema; Picanol; Staubli; Karl Mayer; STOLL; Mayer & Cie; Pai Lung; Santoni; Groz-Beckert; Cixing; ACME; Fong's Monforts; H&H; WFX; IMA Spa; Vibemac; Mimaki; Colorjet; FK Group; Navis Tubetex; and Terrot among many others.

Over 37,060 people attended the four-day event, according to the organisers, and the majority of them gave great appreciation to the exhibition's size and quality as well as the products it included. The expo also included a number of innovation workshops that vividly illustrated market prospects and provided crucial information and analysis for the whole RMG supply chain. It also demonstrated that the Bangladesh textile and apparel market is prepared to accept more lucrative commercial prospects and beneficial foreign investment in the post-epidemic age.

First time in four years when exhibitors revealed the newest inventions in Bangladesh

In DTG 2023, technology companies from all over the world displayed a variety of technologies and cutting-edge machinery for the spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, and garment manufacturing parts of the textile and apparel industry chains. The event was organised for the first time following the last edition in 2019, thus the exhibitors were bound to be excited.

The worldwide textile industry has relied largely on tubular finishing for years, but Navis Tubetex, a prominent supplier of high-tech finishing equipment based in the US, had great expectations for the open width market this time around. The Bangladeshi market did not let Navis down. Navis Tubetex used DTG 2023 as a platform to promote its products in order to entice textile manufacturers to Bangladesh because it is thought that the fabric manufacturing industry is leaving China and moving to nations like Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.

"Up until recently, this market relied on 100% cotton or cotton-polyester blends, but the trend is quickly shifting to synthetics, cotton-lycra, spandex, and viscose materials. Gary L. Morris, Sales Director (Asia-Pacific Region), Navis TubeTex said to Team Resources (AR), "We are constantly monitoring market trends and expansions and we are making adjustments accordingly in those areas to cater to technology requirements of the factories and mills." He added, "We are promoting our Consultex spray system during DTG 2023 that has many applications in the country."

In Dhaka, there were various knitting-related innovations on show, including both circular and flat knitting. Businesses including Stoll, Santoni, Terrot, and Cixing were happy with the number of visitors and their feedback.

A service and sales unit is Stoll Bangladesh. We've merged technology and people so that operating our intelligent machines doesn't require extensive training. Our devices can be operated by even a non-skilled individual with some training, according to Michael Handel, Vice President (Sales and Service), Business Unit Stoll, Karl Mayer Stoll.

According to Ping Zhen, Area Sales Manager for Terrot, DTG 2023 is a venue for the company to present cutting-edge technology that merges knitting and spinning into a single process. "This is a distinct idea, and no one else in the market has yet created something so innovative. Although the costs may first seem exorbitant, textile companies can realise a return on investment (ROI) in less than four years provided equipment are used in accordance with industry standards. This system can process any type of material, including recycled materials, said Zhen.

"Textile industry gross margins are very thin! These margins frequently only allow for 3–4%. Integrated into circular knitting machines is our system. A collection of cameras, lights, and sensors that are installed in the current knitting division setup make up the Smartex Core. With the help of our real-time dashboard, mills can intuitively manage machines even from a distance thanks to the advanced artificial intelligence vision, according to Gilberto Lureiro, co-founder of Smartex, a Portuguese company that develops AI-based solutions to cut waste at the beginning of the textile manufacturing process. Gilberto was resolute when he stated, "We're aiming to converse with those textile factories that have a clear and progressive mindset."

"The show has a good visitation of garment manufacturers as well as textile manufacturers," Ramesh Anand, VP (Sales), WFX, said to Team AR. Our goal is to gain visibility in this dynamic sector. We are keeping an eye on investments in knits and wovens across all product categories. The good news is that there are many factories in Bangladesh that are open to technological investment. This year, we want to add at least five Bangladeshi factories to our clientele.

"IMA FAR EAST LTD, our local subsidiary in Bangladesh, has been actively selling our most recent product innovations in the spreading, cutting, and unloading equipment areas. Along with targeting Dhaka and Chittagong, IMA is focusing on the recently emerging and potential garment manufacturing clusters in Bangladesh. When it comes to boosting production, cutting down on fabric waste, and accelerating time to market, our technology is unrivalled. Bangladesh is THE market for us, according to IMA s.p.a. President Mirella Sardini.

"Buyers are continuously innovating their product baskets thanks to changing consumer demand," stated Sabbir Ahmed, Country Head, H&H Asia Group Ltd. We currently hold a market share of about 40% in Bangladesh for bonding technology, but this is expected to increase significantly as a result of our competitive advantage over other companies operating there.