The history of fabric production in India is as old as the Indian civilisation
itself. Textile machinery manufacture falls to a much later age - the age of
industrialisation. Initially India's Textile Mill Industry depended almost
exclusively on imported machines.
The foundation for manufacture of complete textile machinery was laid only in
the decade 1940 – 1950 and a few units were set up at the instance of the
Government during this period. But the actual progress in manufacturing textile
machinery commenced in the subsequent decade. Thereafter the industry grew
rapidly with Government’s active encouragement and statutory protection both in
the form of a tariff wall and import ban of items manufactured indigenously.
This gave a stimulus to indigenous production of textile machinery as well as
components and accessories mainly with technical arrangements with reputed
foreign machine builders in Europe, U.K., U.S.A and Japan.
As the industry grew, a pressing need for setting up of a representative
organisation at the national level was felt. It is at the instance of the
Government of India the idea of setting up of an Association for textile
machinery was conceived. Thus on May 2, 1958 the Textile Machinery
Manufacturers' Association was born at Calcutta with a membership of just 9
manufacturers of textile machinery, with its headquarters in the office of the
then Engineering Association of India. Subsequently the Association's
headquarters were shifted to Mumbai in February 1960.
Founders :
The following firms were founders of the Association :
• Textile Machinery Corporation Ltd., Calcutta
• Machinery Manufacturers Corporation Ltd., Calcutta
• Calico Industrial Engineers Ltd., Mumbai
• Vasant Industrial and Engineering Works, Mumbai
• National Machinery Manufacturers Ltd., Thane (Maharashtra)
• Textool Co.Ltd., Coimbatore
• Central India Machinery Manufacturing Co.Ltd., Gwalior (M.P.)
• Cooper Engineering Ltd., Satara Road, (S.C Rly.)
• Star Textile Engineering Works Ltd., Mumbai