Workwear, protective wear, corporate wear, and sustainable or green wear are frequently discussed concerns. Mukesh Vijaywargi, Area Director of Klopman International, discuss his high-quality technical fabrics products that address these trends in the context of contemporary lifestyle changes and industrial choices, with the editor of Textile South Asia
Textile South Asia – Please tell us a brief description of the company
Mukesh Vijaywargi – Klopman is Europe’s leading manufacturer of polyester/cotton clothing fabrics for workwear, protective wear, and casual apparel.
It was in 1967 when Klopman introduced the concept of 65% polyester 35% cotton workwear fabrics to Europe. Since then, the company has grown to become Europe’s leading supplier in the production of special textiles for the workwear market. With two production plants: one in Italy with the headquarters and one in Indonesia to best serve markets outside Europe more efficiently.
Textile South Asia – Currently what is the product range offered under Klopman International?
Mukesh Vijaywargi – The Klopman range of products are –
- Work wears fabrics – developed to meet the everyday needs of every kind of worker which includes polyester/cotton, cotton rich, stretch and Tencel fabrics.
- Protective wears fabrics – specially designed for use in functional PPE garments to protect the worker’s body from injuries during occupational activities such as inherent Flame-Retardant fabrics and compliant to international standards.
- Corporate wears fabrics – from denim to outdoor fabrics, from apparel to casual work fashion fabrics And
- The new green wears fabric range which includes all fabrics made with sustainable raw materials, like recycled polyester, organic cotton, Better Cotton, Fairtrade cotton certified cotton, or Tencel zero.
Textile South Asia – What type of products do you serve to the Indian market?
Mukesh Vijaywargi – Klopman produces high-quality technical fabrics suitable for different applications: from healthcare to the Oil&Gas industry, from hospitality to the manufacturing sector, and many more. All our fabrics are compliant to the most stringent requirements and international standards.
Textile South Asia – How is your machine differs to others?
Mukesh Vijaywargi – More than the machine it is our expertise and discipline that makes us unique. Klopman produces over 40 million meters of fabric in the heart of Italy. The quality of our fabrics and customer service has made our fortune through the years despite the competition.
European production is a guarantee for our customers as we comply to the highest quality, sustainability, and society standards. Our fabrics are long-lasting, made of high-quality raw materials, produced with Reach-compliant chemicals, without the use of any toxic substances and in a safe environment for our employees.
And more than the machine is our long expertise in the textile sector of over 50 years and the high-quality standards (just to give some numbers we have more than 4.000 machine quality control stitches) that really makes the difference for our fabrics.
Textile South Asia – How was your company’s performance in FY21-22?
Mukesh Vijaywargi – We have achieved this year some very important goals this year, both economically and strategically. The company has made a series of investments in its plant for the optimization of the core operations in the production area to maximise energy efficiency and resource recycling and recovery.
A new independent power cogeneration station has already been installed, we are also setting up over 50 of our new looms of the latest generation, a new warping and sizing live to efficiently serve the new looms, two new finishing lines to satisfy new market trends and to ensure resource-saving and will also be shortly installed a new sanfor line for fabrics dimensional stability control.
Significant investments will lead to a major efficiency improvement of the entire weaving area and a consequent energy saving, compared to the previous looms, of about 40%.
Textile South Asia – How is the textile market at present (in India as well as globally)?
Mukesh Vijaywargi – The textile and uniform markets are two different segments: we are in the uniform segment which is doing well-because people need to wear uniforms for work…and as the segment matures in Asia-the demand for sustainable, fit-for-purpose fabrics is increasing.
Textile South Asia – What are the future growth and expansion plans for Klopman International?
Mukesh Vijaywargi – We want to grow in the emerging markets of Asia/Africa – bring best practices to consumers here and in their uniform usage.
Textile South Asia – Outlook for 2023?
Mukesh Vijaywargi – A good uniform never goes out of fashion – so we see a good year ahead with an increased focus on sustainability.
