Softening of Covid-19 measures in India and restart of production for bioRe® Sustainable Textiles
The national lockdown in India was extended until 31 May with local easing. Textile production at Remei’s production partners in Tirupur is slowly restarting at a greatly reduced level.
The curve associated with the number of new infections per day is still rising in India, and it is uncertain when this curve will flatten out again. We therefore assume that the lockdown in India, which was imposed until 31 May, will be extended and that production will continue to take place at low capacity. It is likely to take some time before all the gears in Indian industry mesh again and the situation returns to normal.
What is the situation of Remei’s production partners in concrete terms?
Remei production partner Wellknit Industries has resumed operations with a capacity of 30-35% and production partner Century Apparels Pvt. Ltd is producing again with 300 employees and a capacity of 50%. The resumption at Remei’s production partner Kaytee Corporation Pvt. Ltd in Tirupur was relatively smooth.
What are the biggest challenges in resuming production?
The problem remains the limited public transport system, which severely restricts mobility and makes it difficult or impossible for workers to travel to the production sites. Another major challenge for companies is the handling of the various textile manufacturing processes required to produce the finished textiles, which are carried out in locally separated production units within the supply chain. The efficient and smooth flow of goods is currently still hampered by the existing traffic restrictions.
What protective measures and support are there for employees?
“Even though production is now starting up again, ensuring the health and safety of all our workers and employees is our top priority. We have renovated the entire factory and office and installed additional sanitary stations in all areas, as well as making the wearing of masks compulsory. As we are only working at 50% capacity, we are able to maintain social distancing measures in both the factory and the office. We have asked our office staff to come to the factory only every other day or to work from home. We have also hired a medical team to check the temperature of each employee, but so far we have not had any cases of Covid-19 symptoms,” said Aditya Udani, Kaytee Corporation Pvt. Ltd, Tirupur, India, May 2020
Protective measures at Kaytee Corporation Pvt. Ltd, May 2020.
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“Our safety measures include measuring fevers, hand hygiene, wearing protective masks, and rearranging the seating of our employees, who are now more than 6 feet apart,” says M.S. Nair, Owner, Wellknit Industries, Tirupur, India.
“We on our side continue to provide three meals for local workers. We are continuing this for the month of May,” says Lilam Reuben, owner, Century Apparels Pvt. Ltd. Tirupur, India.
Are Remei production partners affected by cancellations of other customers?
“Yes, we are strongly affected by the cancellation of orders from other customers. These affect our cash flow considerably. Many cancellations concern ranges for which we already had dyed fabrics, accessories and trimmings in house. We are therefore very grateful to Remei AG for their reliability, even during the crisis,” says Aditya Udani, Kaytee Corporation Pvt. Ltd, Tirupur, India.
There will only be one joint way out of this crisis
We are aware that during and after the lockdown, production in India can only be carried out with reduced capacities for an uncertain period of time and that there will be shifts. To this end, we are continuing to maintain a dialogue and early planning with our production and B2B trading partners and are monitoring the respective development of the situation.
