Spinning mills of Bangladesh are playing a vital role in the export-oriented garments industry and the local market as well. As the raw material of these mills are directly imported, the industry needs to be much more efficient to become competitive.
After covid 19 pandemic, the price of cotton went extremely high which was never seen before. The Garments manufacturer faced severe challenges to meet the price of different brands due to the high price of cotton and yarn as well. In Bangladesh, there are more than 400 spinning mills. Many of them have already invested a huge amount to expand their capacities as they have observed a growth in the export volume of the garments industry. The textile and apparel industry has seen a 34.87% growth so far in the last year in terms of volume. Though the real growth in terms of order quantity is much less. On the other hand, due to Ukraine-Russia Crisis, the future market situation is very much unpredictable.
Analyzing the above points spinning mills of Bangladesh need to be much more innovative and efficient to maintain a sustainable business for themselves and the whole textiles and garments industry as well. There are some areas where spinning mills can work and take initiatives to reach a global standard to become competitive:
Wastage reduction and management
In different steps of the spinning operation of cotton yarn, a huge amount of waste is produced. For carded yarn, 15-16 percent waste is created in different steps. For combed yarn around 32% waste is created. However, droppings of different steps are being used in the rotor spinning segment. If the spinning mills can take initiatives to reduce the waste in different steps maintaining the required quality then huge savings and improvement can be done which will directly hit the profit.
Besides raw material, spinning mills should also look into the wastage of energy and work for progress and reuse.
Good teamwork, proper data analysis, management involvement and correct decision to reach a desired goal in the waste management area can be a very good improvement segment.
Raw materials management
60-70 % cost of the yarn is involved only with the fiber or cotton. Bangladesh needs to import all the amount of cotton from different cotton-producing countries. Different certifications are needed for different brands.
Based on the different parameters cotton is blended in the blow room to achieve the required quality for the customer. Analyzing the recent scenario, we can observe that the price of the cotton market is very unstable. Spinning mills should have proper data analysis systems which include different countries’ cotton parameters, quantity, the future market forecast for different brands, required certifications, etc. So that the decision for raw materials management becomes very much efficient and perfect to be the most competitive.
Spare parts management
In spinning mills different machines are used in the blow room, carding, draw frame, simplex, ring, and Autoconer segment. From one point of view, these machines are very much costly and spare parts are very frequently needed to keep the production smooth and also to get the longest lifetime of the same. So, spare parts play a strong role in the spinning mill. Proper maintenance of the machines, use of 5s, and lean and different global inventory system for the spare parts management can make the whole system more effective and profit-focused. Spinning mills should also take initiative in this area.
Workers management for higher efficiency
The worker efficiency of the Bangladesh spinning mills is much less than the competitive countries like India, Vietnam, China, etc. One Bangladeshi worker can handle around 2000 spindles. On the other hand workers from the above-mentioned countries can handle around 6000 spindles. So there is a huge scope for improvement. Proper training, management involvement, change in mindset, and usage of available low-cost automation can play a big role to bring significant improvement in this area. To stay competitive in terms of production cost worker efficiency can play a major role, and spinning mills should consider this point.
Product diversification
Jute, the golden fiber of Bangladesh is a cellulosic fiber. In recent times we have seen some significant and business-oriented innovations in producing Jute – Cotton blended yarn and fabric. Already we are going to have bulk orders from different world-famous brands.
Different spinning mills are also working with Banana- Cotton blended yarn/fabric, pineapple- a cotton blended fabric which is a good sign from the product diversification point of view. Also, they should work more on synthetic fiber and yarn.
All the spinning mills should have a quality R&D team to create new product ranges to stay competitive in the Global market.
