Artificial Intelligence and automation will play a crucial role in driving the next phase of growth in the textile industry, industry leaders said at the SIMA AiTex Summit held in Coimbatore.
The maiden edition of the summit was organised by the Southern India Mills’ Association immediately after the inauguration of SIMA Texfair 2026, an international exhibition on textile machinery, spares and accessories, held on March 6.
Speakers at the summit highlighted that the textiles and clothing industry has evolved through several phases, from the traditional cottage industry to mechanised and automated production systems, and is now entering the era of Industry 4.0 with the integration of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and advanced data analytics.
AI-driven technologies are increasingly being used in textile manufacturing for real-time defect detection, predictive maintenance of machinery and efficient utilisation of raw materials. These technologies are also helping manufacturers reduce waste, lower environmental impact, analyse fashion trends and develop customised digital design solutions.
In his welcome address, SIMA Chairman Durai Palanisamy said the AiTex Summit was aimed at showcasing successful automation solutions that help textile mills improve productivity, reduce production costs and enhance operational efficiency across the value chain.
He noted that technologies such as AI, enterprise resource planning integration, intelligent data extraction and real-time analytics are transforming traditional manual processes into structured data-driven systems, strengthening quality control, compliance and resource management.
The summit was inaugurated by Ashwin Chandran, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. He stressed the need for the textile sector to adopt AI-based technologies to remain globally competitive, improve productivity and achieve sustainable growth.
The summit featured expert sessions on topics including leveraging data and AI for operational excellence, ERP integration for textile machinery spares management, digital and operational automation in mills, export-import compliance automation, cotton testing through HVI and AFIS data integration, dispatch entry automation and practical case studies on transforming spinning production through data-driven decision-making.
The discussions highlighted the growing importance of adopting digital technologies and artificial intelligence across the textile value chain to build a more efficient, competitive and future-ready industry.
