A year and a half after being set up in January 2008, BLBA member, Picanol India is now well established with three branches offering a comprehensive range of services to the Indian textile industry. “I am very happy that we have managed to build such a solid organization and get up to full speed in the space of a year,” says Mr. P. Kasiviswanathan, Head of Indian Operations.

The head office is located in Delhi, with two other branches in Mumbai and Coimbatore respectively. In addition there is a residential service engineer covering Gujarat, with three people available around the clock stationed in….

From October 31st 2009 onwards, ALL foreign nationals, including the ones working on projects or contracts, will require employment visas to work in India. We advise BLBA members who are affected by these new guidelines to contact their company’s senior tax professionals. Read the Economic Times article by Karishma Julka, senior tax professional with Ernst & Young, India, for some more background information: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5163647.cms?prtpage=1.

Today BLBA received a message from Eurochambers announcing the postponement of the European Business Delegation to India, 5-6 November 2009:
“Regretfully, we must inform you that the strategic decision was taken to postpone the EBTC European Business Delegation to early 2010 so as to achieve the highest return and visibility. We apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to remain in contact with us on the matter.” Anita Ryczan, Eurochambers International Affairs. BLBA will keep you informed about the new dates.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the expansion of the Belgian Business Association into the Belgian-Luxembourg Business Association. During the AGM of September 29th, members unanimously approved the resolution put in front of them to expand the BBA into the BLBA. On behalf of the executive committee of the BLBA, we would like to thank all members for their support and look forward to working with them under the umbrella of the BLBA. The new BLBA logo was created by BLBA member company Crystal Hues Limited Limited, an advertising and translation company. We would like to thank Crystal Hues’ president, Mr. Sudheen, and his team for their support. Formalities to finalize the merger will take some more time, but we expect to have everything finalized by the beginning of 2010. We will keep you updated.

BBA member Picanol will be present with an INFOBOOTH during Techtextil in Mumbai, from 10 to 12 October 2009. Certainly for weavers who want to get the most out of technical fabrics. Techtextil Mumbai is a good opportunity to discover what Picanol has to offer specifically for this niche market.
Technical Fabrics are gaining momentum in India for a couple of reasons. The first one because the markets for technical fabrics are related to the economy and India ’s economy is growing at a high pace. Another reason is that imported fabrics are quite pricy. This while most raw materials and skills are present in India. India has a large experience with weaving-technology and thus people are looking what else is needed to enter into this field of application. Traditionally, Technical Fabrics yield higher margins, but as a producer, you need advise in order to find out if this is a potential field of application for your company.