TIRUPUR, which has produced a crop of freedom fighters including Tirupur' Kumaran, is now on the world map, thanks to the incredible growth of the knitwear industry. The first garment unit was set up here in 1925. Since then, the Banian Town, as it is known, has crossed several milestones.
The industry was dormant until the 1930s, but 34 new units were established in the town in 1942. By 1961, the number of garment and allied units had grown to 230. The focus was on the domestic market until the 1970s.
It was basic T-shirts that were produced here initially. As exports gained momentum, the focus shifted to other knitwear items.
Real expansion began in the 1980s following the visit of Verona, a garment importer from Italy, to Tirupur in 1978. Realising Tirupur's potential to cater to the needs of the buyers, he brought European business to the town.
Close on the heels of the arrival of the European retail chain C&A in 1981, others, including the world's largest retailers Walmart, Switcher, Diesel, ARMY, FILA, Reebok and Whale entered.
Today, the Tirupur cluster has 6,250 factories, including 2,500 garment making units, 1,500 knitting units, 700 dyeing and bleaching units, 500 fabricating units, 300 compacting and calendaring units and 250 embroidery units, apart from 500 ancillary units.
The value of exports was Rs.15 crore in 1985. In 1990, exports crossed the Rs.300-crore mark and in the next three years touched Rs.1,000 crore. Exports were at Rs.11,000 crore in 2006-2007, but it slumped to Rs.9,950 crore in 2007-08 because of the economic slowdown. It picked up steam in 2008-09 to record Rs.11,250 crore. Last year, the total value of exports stood at Rs.11,500 crore. The Tirupur Exporters' Association has set Rs.25,000 crore as the export target for 2012.
Among the significant achievements of the industry are the setting up of the Tirupur Exporters' Knitwear Industrial Complex, an inland container depot, the TEA Public School, the NIFT-TEA Knitwear Fashion Institute and the India Knit Fair.
The Netaji Apparel Park at New Tirupur, the first of its kind in the country, established under the Apparel Parks for Export scheme in 2003, is considered to be the pride of the exporters.
S. DorairajCOMMents
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