With a rich 35 years old history of serving the apparel manufacturing industry with new and evolving technology, IIGM has intelligently kept in tune with the market trends and consumers’ demands to emerge as one of the largest supplier in India for apparel & home textile machinery and garment technology in the last decade. Helmed by industry stalwarts like P.K. Khanna, and Pavan Kapoor, the company today has a strong second line in command that is geared to take on the vision and mission of the company forward. Turning back the pages of history, the evolution of IIGM is an interesting case study of how a company positioned itself as partners to the industry… StitchWorld takes a closer look at what makes this company a leader today…
Founded in 1979, when the garment industry was practically being born, IIGM has evolved from its humble beginning alongside the industry to become a comprehensive technology and service provider for apparel, home textiles and footwear. The apparel technology they provide, but is not restricted to, includes: automated cutting, industrial sewing, finishing machines, washing and garment treatment equipment, productivity enhancing equipment, and textile processing equipment. Covering such a broad spectrum of all things apparel and apparel related, rightly earns them the title of being a ‘Total Apparel Solution Provider’.
A portfolio of 40 world leaders in solutions for the home textiles and apparel technology, spread across many continents work in synergy with the dedicated and highly trained team of IIGM, consisting of 500 people spread across 15 state-of-the-art offices across India to service over 10,000 highly satisfied customers. Over the years, IIGM has fostered a number of associate companies in the field of electrical systems, accessories, technical textiles, apparel and special apparels. These strong partnerships have bolstered the hold it has in the market, making it a credible and trustworthy company that thousands of consumers have come to rely upon, time and again.
Going above and beyond the definition of being a technology provider, IIGM offers several value added services with an objective to address consumers’ needs, while still keeping the cost reasonable. Beside the 200 immaculately trained engineers constantly supporting the customers, IIGM is more than adequately equipped with a projects and services team that comprises of the internationally trained engineers who are well dispersed across the country and capable of providing turnkey solutions.
With this well-integrated network having vast amounts of experience, both in the domestic and the overseas markets, IIGM has the capability to offer solutions in all aspects of manufacturing including electrification, infrastructure, cutting room, sewing areas, finishing, storage and transport systems, material handling and training.
Recognising the importance of keeping engineers updated, IIGM conducts regular training programs for service engineers and sales staff: both in-house, as well as the ones placed at IIGM’s principal facilities abroad. It has received tremendous support from international partners, from training to customer support. Taking the importance of training a step further, IIGM has established Apparel Engineering Centres at Bangalore, New Delhi and Tirupur to provide technical training to the industry at large. The courses offered vary from sewing machine technical training to productivity training using folders, attachments and Unit Production Systems (UPS), such as ETON. The AEC is one of IIGM’s key knowledge based asset, a tool which they use to create value for the clients and the new entrants in the apparel industry.
Another area that IIGM gives special attention and invests in is IT solutions that make work processes more efficient and productive. Research & Development is an area that IIGM firmly believes in investing their time and energy into. A significant part of the retained earnings of IIGM is spent on developing some of the most modern facilities to impart training in the areas of CAD/CAM, SAP, industrial sewing machines and productivity equipment. IIGM’s applications support in CAD and CAM is well recognized and appreciated in the market.
IIGM additionally has moved onto an ERP platform with a sound procedure and documentation system in place, under the CRM Module (Customer Relationship Management) so as to keep a track of the individual machine history, services provided, and response times. This system is dedicated to reducing the customers operating costs, through regular preventative maintenance and minimizing the breakdown time. IIGM strives hard to achieve a minimal response time, pre-installation planning, on time installation, expertise consultation, technical support and conducting training programs.
Supporting this wide range of services is a strong logistics base that encompasses the length and width of India. With time, IIGM has developed customs bonded warehouse with ex-stock in all locations, empowering the industry with more easily accessible apparel technology solutions. IIGM also has the unique distinction of having a spare parts department that maintains an inventory of over 1,00,000 genuine spares for all its Principles and Associates.
The global partner portfolio at IIGM reads like a who’s who of global leaders in different segments, like Gerber Technology, Barudan Limited, Juki Singapore, Eastman C.R.A. Co. Ltd., Tonello, EAE Electrik and Yamato, Japan.
Ably strengthening the hands of P.K. Khanna, Chairman and Pavan Kapoor, Managing Director, is the next generation of young and dynamic leaders like Arjun Kapoor, Director overseeing the Electrical Division, Raghav Sharma Director for North India and Kartik Kapoor who heads the New Product areas. In line with a youthful India, the environment at IIGM today is bursting with infectious energy of youth promising to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation, investments in training and information technology.
