US-China trade row a boon for local sector, say German firms

FRANKFURT: Several German exhibitors at TechTextil 2019, here, believe that Malaysia’s textile industry, seen by many as a “sunset industry”, has the potential to reassert its position in the global markets.

This was shared by a number of German textile importers of home and technical textiles at the just-concluded four-day Techtextil/Texprocess, touted as the world’s largest combined trade fair for technical textiles and textile processing.

“As long as China continues to offer cheaper and low-end textiles, other countries with higher labour and production costs are finding it difficult to compete even though they produce better quality material.

“However, China’s production and labour costs have risen sharply over the years. The trade friction with the United States has led to a migration by some manufacturers out of China to Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and even Ethiopia.

“Malaysia can benefit from this development and assert its position in the global markets, thanks to its better quality (material, despite slightly higher prices,” said Helmut Gottzmann, a German indenting agent.

German companies are also aware of the limitations of the Malaysian textile industry which faces a shortage of skilled workers.

Though the fate of the labourintensive textile industry depends on sufficient well-trained workforce, the global industry seems to be revival mode, including in many high-cost countries, thanks to “smart manufacturing” involving robots and automation.

Sascha Dehl, director of product and innovations at Veit GmbH, a Bavaria-based company which supplies “smart machines” for textile and garment, said his company, which provides various machines for the “ultimate in garment manufacturing” that displace manual work, had attracted garments manufacturers from Asia, Africa and Latin American, as they cut production and labour costs.

He said some of the features of the machines provided maximum protection for workers, shielding them from heat transfer.

“Research and development (R&D) is key to our innovative capability and to our success,” he said, adding that the company’s main R&D centre is in Landsberg but it also maintains a small R&D centre in Hayan, China.

Dietrich Eickhoff, chairman of DA Group of Kaiserslautern that showcased a range of machines with a wide array of applications, said the company served the entire value chain of the textile industry through its innovative machines, technology and digitalisation.

He said the company’s latest product named “Delta” is equipped with the Industry 4.0 features.