The 7th edition of annual OGTC Conference concluded on 1st October 2011 with an impressive participation from International and National Industry Experts and good participation from Industry and Academia.
The conference covered all aspects of the apparel industry, including the problems of small-scale enterprises in the developing world, the barriers which are hindering the growth of this industry, the strength and weakness of the manufacturers in different regions, globalization issues, resource and manpower scarcity, quality of the product, adopting new techniques to improve productivity, managing global supply chain and finally changing apparel industry trends with ever-changing fashions.
The conference provided an environment for academics, researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas and recent developments in the field of apparel manufacturing. The conference as expected fostered networking, collaboration and joint effort among the conference participants to advance the theory and practice as well as identified major trends in apparel manufacturing.
The Convention provided a great opportunity for international trade fraternity to know the dual strengths that India can offer, not only as a great supplier base, but also as a fashion destination for international brand.
In terms of statistics over 300 delegates from industry, Academic Institutes, research associations and professionals consultants attended 12 oral presentations on day 1 and 8 workshops covering Manufacturing, Marketing, HR, CSR, and Environment on Day 2. All sessions including the workshops were chaired by eminent industrialists of the apparel industry namely Mr.Hari Kapoor,Mr. Praveen Nayyar ,Mr.HKL Magu, Mr. Vinod Kapoor, each one sharing his outlook on current situation and own vision for the future.
In an impressive ceremony OGTC Path Breaker Award for 2011 was conferred on Mr. Manfred Haebig Director giz who lead diverse projects in the field of corporate social responsibility, responsible competitiveness of enterprises through access to financial and non-financial services for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
At the ceremony OGTC president Mr. Uppal Said “The only way to make competition irrelevant is to build a strong brand India, where buyers cannot ignore our strengths and service levels.” OGTC Director General Mr. R C Kesar emphasised that today’s buyer is looking something beyond quality, service and cost and that may be responsible competitiveness. He also highlighted OGTC initiatives and importance of Cluster approach to development. Mr. Manfred in his acceptance speech said the award basically would be a recognition of entire GIZ India team He complimented OGTC for being a cohesive and forward looking group.he also expressed his happiness for associating with OGTC as knowledge partner
The galaxy of international speakers included Mr. Paul Collyer,Mr. Roger Thomas.Mr. Keerthi Abe,Mr. Yoram Burg,Ms. Sandra McNabb. Ms Rosey Hurst and Mr. James Hoerig . All of them are well known names in the industry who have hands on experience working with the Indian Apparel Industry.
The renowned speakers from India were Mr. Rajesh Bheda , Mr. Arvind Sinha ,Mr. Gunish Jain,Ms. Archana Gandhi. Mr. Vishal Mehta . Mr.Bimal Arora ,Ms Priyanka ,Mr.Amit Gugnani, Mr. Payam Shogi, Ms.Pooja Makhija, Mr. Edward Menzes , Ms. Manjiri Paranjape ,Ms.Aparna Khendelwal , Mr.Sandeep Roy and Mr..Sivaram Prasad .Indian speakers were very candid and gave practical tips on improving work cultures and systems.
Mr. Gunish Jain emphasized the change management through interesting and easy to adopt approach and provided simple and effective management tips .
Mr., Lal Sudhakaran AVP, Manufacturing at Madura Clothing created a ripple in the audience with his inspiring talk and video outlining the ‘people’ movement at Madura which has taken the company to new heights. Calling the workers as champions of the company hoe emphasized the importance of ‘inclusive growth’ to achieve targets. “Madura’s vision is to be a global benchmark in the apparel industry for which it is important that the employees stay connected, not only to their jobs, but also the company’s philosophy and vision,” he said
Like every year OGTC organized the poster competition. The poster presentation were from all over the country and were exhibited for viewing by the participants and 3 best poster presentations were given cash awards.
There was an impressive fashion show by post graduate students of Lady Irwin College Department of Fabric and Science. The fashion show started with the release of conference souvenir by Shri H K L Magu MD M/s Jyoti Apparel and Chairman IAM under AEPC.
The novelty about this fashion show is that it provides a platform for the post graduate students to show creativity and designing skills.
It is special of significance and admiration that entire effort is by students and faculty of college and the show would match any professional fashion show.
Summing up the conference Mr. PMS Uppal President OGTC in his concluding remark said that OGTC annual conference has become an important event in the Calendar of Apparel industry. It provides unique platform not only to members of OGTC but to the entire Apparel Industry of the country.
Mr. M K Mehra Director OGTC thanked all learned speakers and session Chairman for their active participation, he also thanked Textile Commissioner ministry of Textile and MSME development Institute for supporting the conference and to sponsors AEPC, LeadTec and Optitex.
He announced that the next Conference the 8th International Conference on Apparel & Home Textiles will be held on 21st and 22nd September 2012 with the theme ‘The New Excellence’ at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.