Interview with Mr. P.T.Muralidharan, Head Marketing, Vetal Hitech Machines Pvt. Ltd.
Born from import substitution, proven by Indian conditions and trusted over decades we turned local challenges into world-class optical sensing solutions for detection and sorting
TexMart : Vetal began in 1983 to develop India-made photocell units for carding to reduce foreign exchange outflow what inspired this mission to create indigenous textile inspection solutions?
P.T.Muralidharan : We are a four-decade old company specializing in optical sensor and its applications and it was founded as an import substitution unit as those days as it was very difficult to get any imported items due to high cost and foreign exchange regulations. Our first product was a replacement for Swiss made photocell unit to identify sliver breakage. Our product succeeded over them as it was built considering the Indian conditions and withstood the tough environment and fluctuating electrical power supply.
TM : How did early feedback from textile manufacturers shape your long-term vision of high-precision detection systems for ginning and spinning processes?
PTM : As the quality consciousness of the public increased the demand for impurity free and improved fabrics became a demand. Many spinning mills employed manual labour to sort out these issues. However, we understood it cannot sustain and planned to develop suitable products to overcome this problem.
TM : From an R&D perspective, what initial technical gaps in contamination detection and machine reliability drove the company’s first breakthrough products?
PTM : First we could crack the market with our design expertise to offer affordable machines with very essential features and reduction of labour to improve quality and overcome the monotonous hand sorting activity and reassign the people for better work needs.
Users were very sceptical in accepting Indian electronic products as in those days it was a entirely a new theme so people did not believe it is possible to manufacture similar to that of European or Japanese products in India. Even after proving, it took a long time to convince the end users across India.
TM : Vetal’s cotton contamination cleaning machines such as Rappid Scan and Slant remove impurities from cotton how do these technologies improve yarn quality and mill productivity?
PTM : Rappid scan and Slant uses latest camera and image processing techniques to identify and remove the color and white synthetic impurities. User friendly settings and consistent performance helped in standardization of the yarn. Since it is an automatic and round the clock working machine it eliminated the inconsistency in the labour due to monotonous work and absenteeism.
TM : Your fire, metal and smoke detection systems are used in blowrooms and baling line, what cutting-edge sensors and algorithms make them effective in textile environments?
PTM : Fire and metal detection systems comes in standard with functionally essential features to remove the metal and spark from the operating lines safely to minimise the damage to carding wires and also fire hazard. Few applications demand programmable and adjustable model which is inbuilt for customer choice.
TM : From an R&D standpoint, how do you prototype and validate new detection features to adapt to variations in raw cotton quality and processing conditions?
PTM : Breakthrough in electronic components especially in imagery and illumination propel us to build with them and inhouse testing is carried out for checking the improvements if it can improve scanning the raw cotton for identifying still smaller impurities perfectly.
TM : With installations across India and Southeast Asia, how does customer feedback from different textile clusters influence your product enhancements?
PTM : Every zone has its own quality demands and as the machine is built in with features that customers can choose if it can satisfy them. However some ask for robust construction and working in adverse conditions which we incorporate as a special feature in select models.
TM : As global textile mills emphasize contamination-free fibre and safety, how do you align your innovation pipeline with emerging market demands?
PTM : Contamination controlled yarn is the prime agenda and the industry is hard working on it. In some cases, due to seasonal or waste recycling there is a chance of abnormal contamination quantity. In that case customers add more machines in different stages to improve the overall efficiency.
TM : What new detection or automation features are you exploring, such as AI-assisted vision systems to stay ahead of competitive inspection technologies?
PTM : Development is a continuous activity and as we said the technological advancement in cameras and lenses influence us to utilize the same in the machine building. Also improved processing and data mining techniques are implemented to offer the richness in features and selection freedom.
TM : Vetal operates across key textile segments ginning, spinning and weaving, how has your business strategy adapted to serve these distinct industry needs?
PTM : Most of the products cater to spinning and ginning industry. There is always production and quality demand difference and our multiple model of machines support it. For e.g VELTORS- an industry independent fire,heat and flame sensing can cover high priced weaving and also finishing machines.
TM : What key operational lessons from early installations in textile mills have shaped your service, support and product roadmap?
PTM : COVID made us to rethink the deployment of engineers for small repair needs. We developed a Remote Diagnostics and Support feature in our products to advise the customers immediately and guide them to recover the operation quickly. It is now a major Success and the delay is eliminated to maximum level.
TM : With rising expectations for uptime and precision, how do you balance business growth with continued investments in R&D and product quality assurance?
PTM : Business needs are always volatile It switches between Luxury and economy. There is always a market for low end models also which demand lower production capacity and moderate efficiency. We have models for both segments.
TM : How has automation and digital inspection technology evolved in the Indian textile sector over the last decade, particularly in contamination detection?
PTM : Automation has taken inroads in textile manufacturing or products are redefined to match the requirements due to the change. Digital transformation is involved in every aspect of design which enable us to keep pace with the market development.
TM : What role do high-resolution cameras and image processing play in improving textile inspection accuracy in spinning and carding lines?
PTM : We are quite strong in sensor selection and camera design for various applications and also in creating lighting conditions for optimum scanning to identify fault in the process and also in the end product. For specialised fabric forming only high resolution cameras can offer expected solutions and we adopt them on customer demand.
TM : From an R&D perspective, what technological gaps still exist in online textile quality monitoring, and how can innovation address them?
PTM : Already high-end lab equipment are available to assess the quality in different stages of the process. Cost is deterrent the key in developing an end to end online quality monitoring system and customer patronage is also key. Production monitoring and Energy monitoring units solve the issue to an extent indirectly.
TM : With India’s emphasis on quality cotton yarn production, how do you see inspection and detection technologies evolving across textile processes?
PTM : Price volatility is an important parameter determining the yarn production and movements. There is always a scope of inspection of the process material in every stage.
TM : What role will smart, data-driven inspection systems play in future textile mills to ensure contamination-free fibre and higher productivity?
PTM : Conatmination can be tackled in every stage of the cotton yarn process. But high input cost and varying touch points make it difficult. Moreover the data capture and processing it for better decision making will drive the design changes.
TM : How is Vetal positioning itself technologically and strategically to support the next generation of automated textile factories?
PTM : We already have a sensor unit for each machine in the chain to identify the presence and absence of process material. Intralogistics is already widely adopted in spinning factories for handling and transfer . We can bring the safety to the investment made by deploying suitable fire, thermal and smoke sensor to extend cover and also suppress automatically if fire accidents happen.
TM : In textile production environments with fire and spark risks, how do your safety systems support worker protection and mill safety?
PTM : Fire risk is a hidden element in any high speed and inflammable raw material processes. The extent of adopting proper detection and suppression system depends upon the capex, budget spend and the time importance attached to it.
TM : What initiatives does Vetal undertake to train mill operators and technicians on best practices in machine inspection and safety system usage?
PTM : During installation and commissioning we offer training to the customer technicians and also support from remote for improvement.
TM : From a sustainability perspective, how do accurate contamination cleaning and detection systems help reduce waste and improve resource utilization?
PTM : Rappid scan contamination cleaning a machine labelled as the “Heart of a blowroom “. Optimum settings can reduce the good fibre waste to the maximum extent . This indirectly helps to reduce the electrical and pneumatic energy consumption loads.
TM : Vetal has been a supplier of high-precision textile inspection machines for decades, are there industry recognitions or certifications that reflect your contributions?
PTM : Although we are getting recognised at times, the customer acknowledgement on the performance is the biggest reward.
TM : What recent product launches, system upgrades or client success stories have marked a significant milestone in the company’s evolution?
PTM : Products are churned out without any time barriers with incremental technical improvement and major technological change periodically. VELTORS a area independent and industry independent product to identify the fire, flame and heat anomalies is a novel one with 3 – in – 1 feature.
Targeted suppression with water jet/mist,CO2 and DCP is lean, economical and eco-friendly and is the advantage of VECOS and VEDOS.