The
development of Tiruppur, one has heard so much of knit wear boom
in the press over
the past few years. However,
none
of the explanations
in the press have been able to explain why and how this little town
in Tamil Nadu has come to be the centre of India's local banian and
export
cotton knitwear industry. The industry works through a web of small
to mid-sized units, with fabrication here, processing elsewhere and
stitching
somewhere else. These networks of firms operate through jobworking,
contracting and sourcing arrangements. The business families set up "sister concern" rather
than large fully integrated factories. Despite of some of its difficulties,
the business culture in Tiruppur is appreciating.
The
historical research on Tirupur leads us back to the "thottams" or
well irrigated farms around the town, as most of the industrialists of
today have come from modest agricultural backgrounds. Though countless
interviews about their lives and work, it has been realised that it was
these modest farmers who have innovated in the organisation of the industry.
There are many ways in which these ex-farmers came to the industry, worked
in knitware firms and got to know the production close at hand and entered
as small owners, often in family partnerships. As the industry grew from
the old interlock banians to fine banians with an all-India market in
the 1970s, the first generation of ex-farmer industrialists created "sister" units,
often managed by their relatives, expanding the industries in dispersed
units throughout the city. The uniqueness of Tirupur's work culture has
made it difficult for the big Indian textile giants to enter and capture
a large market share, as the rules and norms governing manufacturing
and jobworking are often informal and personalised.
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