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 Ahmedabad. Sales in Gujarat are handled from Delhi. The total strength of Picanol India is 30 people, all of them very experienced. Hence it is a small but highly efficient organization. Each office is staffed by sales and service people catering to the respective region and also ready to move all over India if need be to deal with any service calls. Picanol India additionally supplies GTP accessories such as heddles,droppers, reeds etc. for all types of weaving machine.

Having a dedicated organization to serve the Indian market offers many advantages for customers in terms of speed and quality of service. Offers for spare parts are made the same day from the Delhi office for all customers in India. Also, offers for the machines are issued from India now, thus ensuring greater responsiveness to market demand.

The head office has a full electronic repair station. Electronic prints sent for repair are taken based on priority so that no machines are idle due to prints. The basic approach of the Picanol India team is to act as a solution provider for customers,not just selling machines. Customers for their part are appreciative of Picanol being present

permanently in India. Indeed, this initiative by Picanol indicates its intention to stay in India for ever! In today’s uncertain climate, customers are reassured by having a local partner they can rely on.

In the meantime, market penetration has improved dramatically as the Picanol India team is dedicated solely to Picanol products. India became a top market for Picanol in 2008, thanks to the unwavering faith shown by Indian weavers despite the difficult economic climate. Technological evaluation of Picanol’s latest OMNIplus 800 and OptiMax airjet and rapier machines has shown beyond doubt that they are versatile and flexible to meet the ever-changing demand. Faced with an uncertain future in which we must expect the unexpected, this flexibility and responsiveness are all-important. In 2008 Picanol took orders from India for about 700 machines in spite of the recession that started in the middle of 2008 and continued into 2009. The Picanol India team continued its efforts with major groups in getting orders in 2009 as well. P.Kasiviswanathan emphasizes: “The major positive point is that Picanol’s market share has improved dramatically in India, both in airjet and in rapier looms. This shows continued acceptance of our brand name in the Indian textile industry, and I am very happy with the team effort delivered by my Picanol India members within such a short span of time.”

Excerpt from Picanol News, September 2009, see below.