COIMBATORE: The last two years have witnessed a number of textile units in the region going in for additional facilities - backward or forward integration. An indication to this is the number of new textile processing units that have come up at the SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre, Perundurai, during the last two years.

Apart from the 14 units already operating at the centre, at least 10 more have started functioning during the last two years. Twenty five more are in the pipeline. Most of these are medium-scale units with Rs. 10 crore to Rs. 40 crore investment each and are started by the existing textile units located in Coimbatore, Erode and Tirupur, says C. Thangavel, Deputy Manager at the SIPCOT.

Some of them have even established weaving and printing units at the centre apart from the processing facilities. The SIPCOT provides basic amenities such as roads, streetlights, drainage and water supply.

While allotting land, the units are asked to set up effluent treatment and reverse osmosis facilities too. Most of them are export houses or integrated textile units that have gone in for the processing facility at the SIPCOT. Mr. Thangavel expects another 30 to 40 units to come up at the SIPCOT in another couple of years, thanks to the growth in the textile sector.

The units are now functioning round-the-clock. Capacity of the common effluent treatment plant for 14 of these units is 40 lakh litres a day. Though the other units have their own effluent treatment facilities, the Central and State Governments should take more initiative for common treatment plants for the benefit of the units coming up at the SIPCOT, says R. Navaneethan, Chief Executive of Unifront Textiles Processors Limited, located at the centre.

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