CARY, N.C. — January 19, 2007 — More than 150 people representing Indian nonwoven and textile industry, academicians, government and research organizations participated in the inaugural Nonwovens Training Course in Mumbai, India, January 4-5, 2007. The training course, the first of its kind in that country, was organized by INDA.

A full house was on hand at an opening ceremony to welcome INDA President Rory Holmes, INDA Director of Administration Lori Reynolds, Mallyah Marimuthu, Representative of INDA, India and the training course tutor, Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar of Texas Tech University, USA.

The participants for this first-ever event organized by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, included government officials, textile companies and research facilities from all corners of India.

“Our objective was to help companies be aware of nonwovens and technical textiles and to encourage companies to begin converting operations in India,” says Holmes, who spent two weeks traveling throughout India to meet with media, government officials and textile companies to promote INDA and the nonwovens and technical textiles industry.

INDA has applied to the Indian government to establish an official INDA branch in India, Holmes reports. “There is a real interest in INDA membership as this country experiences an increasing need for the benefits that nonwovens and technical textiles bring,” he adds. “Our goal is to educate the Indian market about these products and to interest foreign companies in becoming involved in this emerging market.”

According to Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Nonwoven and Advanced Materials Laboratory, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA and the co-chairperson of the INDA-India Committee, “INDA was warmly welcomed in India by all segments of the textile industry and the Indian industry is looking forward to establishing a win-win relationship with INDA.” He also added, “INDA is an important resource in India and is working to establish business relationships between Indian companies and the rest of the world. Rory Holmes has a wealth of expertise and was helpful to many companies during his visit and he made a strong, positive impact on the people he met.”

Based on the success of the inaugural Nonwovens Training Course, INDA is now organizing a full technical and marketing conference in Mumbai in October, 2007.

INDA’s representative office in India is located at 6th Cross, 7th Main, Indiranagar, HAL II Stage, Bangalore-560038. Phone: 91-80-2525-6674, Fax: 91-80-2525-5605. E-mail: mmallyah@inda.org  

For more information on INDA-India, visit: www.inda.org; or email mmalyah@inda.org; s.ramkumar@ttu.edu