Being one of the most significant centres of the world textile industry, the market for technical textile in Turkey has begun to grow in the last few years thanks to the development of products with high added value. Manufacturing companies, which started their activities with essential products in the 1970s, now export tons of technical textile raw materials or finished products to the world. Meltblown, Spunbond, Spunlace, Thermobond, Waterlaid technologies are particularly popular in Turkey. Companies producing technical textiles manufacture raw materials or semi-finished products used by all sectors, especially construction, ready-made garments, geotextiles, home textiles, cleaning/cosmetic/hygiene, automotive, packaging, food industries. As the manufacturing companies operating in the Turkish market are new to the technical textiles market, they describe themselves as part of the sector they supply. Satisfied with the global demand for their products, manufacturers make constant technological investments to update their technologies and increase their production capacity. New countries are also beginning to operate in the sector. Intending to start smart textile production in Turkey as well, Turkish textile manufacturers are receiving attention with the R&D and P&D investments they have recently boosted. Products marketed by most of the companies manufacturing finished products under their brand name are also attracting global interest. There are hundreds of companies operating in this field in Turkey. As a result of these developments in Turkey, many foreign companies are either transferring production facilities to Turkey or becoming partners with Turkish companies.

Investments in technical textiles are showing signs of paying off

The Centre for Research and Application of Technical Textiles was created five years ago by the Aegean Association of Textile and Raw Material Exporters. By creating this application centre to raise the share of exports of technical textiles, the union began to see the results of its investments.

The exports of technical textile in Turkey increased by 19% from 899 million USD to 1071 million USD in the period January-July 2018, whereas the exportation of technical textiles from the Aegean region rose by 40% from 45 million USD to 64 million USD.

Metyx Group and Karl Mayer sign an agreement

METYX Group has signed a deal with Karl Mayer – a technology supplier to a German manufacturer of technical textile machinery – for new production facilities to provide an additional 12,000 tons of glass and carbon fibre fabric knitting capacity to its new manufacturing lines. It has both expanded the production capacity of the Manisa plant in Turkey with the manufacturing area and also laid the foundation for overseas manufacturing plants as part of its multinational strategic business growth plan.

Korteks expands its R&D investments every year

The Turkish textile market in Europe and the Middle East, maintaining its leading position in the markets of technical textiles, automotive textiles, and functional products, is one of the most significant drivers for R&D. Within this framework, Korteks considers R&D to be the most crucial element of competition.

Korteks produces high quality, original, innovative, and eco-friendly polyester yarn products for the many textile firms around the world. The Korteks R & D Centre promotes the development of new types of polyester yarns by directing research and development activities within the company and improves the competitiveness of the products on the international markets. Using its yarn testing and analysis methods, polymer material technologies, polyester polymer production, yarn texturing and twisting, coloured threads, and masterbatches, Korteks has raised its R&D budget share each year by increasing its R&D investment to develop the technical textile in Turkey too.

The Sun Group expands with R&D and P&D

With more than 30 years of experience in the textile industry, the Sun Group keeps growing with the strength of its R&D and P&D activities. Sun Group companies include Sun Tekstil, Ekoten Tekstil, Ames Tekstil, TDU, and Jimmy Key – its women’s retail clothing brand. With a turnover of 140 million USD in 2017, Sun Tekstil is pursuing its exports with a growth target of 20% this year.

Yarn made of plastic bottles

With the largest and most integrated and innovative polyester yarn production facility in Europe, Korteks İplik is still working on the production of recycled polyester yarns. One of the projects Korteks is working on is yarns made from plastic bottles. Adding a new one every day to its R&D studies, Korteks carries on its research on self-soluble threads.

Fabric made 100 times finer than hair

Manufactured by Mogul – one of the major hybrid nonwoven manufacturing companies not only in Turkey, but also worldwide – smart microfilament fabrics, that are 100 times thinner than hair, are bringing about important transformations in many areas of life in many industries such as fashion, home textiles, medical supplies, cleaning supplies, packaging and automotive.

Turkey brings the change in protective textiles

With technological advances, textile structures, protecting the human body in unsafe surroundings, are on the rise, among other technical textile products. The newly developed manufacturing method, which places importance on the environment and human health in the global marketplace, is enhancing the recognition of technical textiles. Protective textiles, an essential branch of technical textiles, are gaining consumer appreciation by setting standards in the field of safety and hygiene. Particularly in developing countries, as the rate of industrialization rises, the demand for protective clothing increases as the level of sanctions increases.

Production of anti-ballistic fabric

Kipaş Holding Mensucat succeeded in producing bullet-proof fabrics two years ago, thanks to R&D studies. An exceptional fibre was used in this textile. In addition to the bullet-proof function, it is regarded that the fabric, which is invisible with infrared rays, fireproof and water-resistant, can be used as an alternative to steel jackets, which are disadvantageous because of its weight. After manufacturing a bullet-proof fabric two years ago, a 50% cheaper bullet-proof suit is now being manufactured.

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Today, the Turkish textile and clothing industry is the most internationally oriented industry that can challenge any other country in terms of quality and a wide range of products on the international markets. Turkey has already expanded its cotton production, which will bring it on the way to become more independent of external sources of cotton.

Simultaneously, the country’s government is very concerned about solving the remaining problems in the industry, and consequently, soon, Turkey could be the most powerful competitor for its main rival countries. Although it is not possible to see Turkey as the biggest competitor of China, for smaller needs of demanding countries, Turkey can be the best option thanks to its location and ease of transporting to European countries not only with the help of textile industry but also expanding contribution of technical textile in Turkey.

Source: https://www.etextilemagazine.com

Turkey is one of the most significant textiles and clothing producing countries in the world and the 6th most significant supplier in the world and the 3rd largest supplier to the EU. Turkey’s textile industry is of great importance in the European and North American textile trade. The modern industrial facilities in Turkey demonstrate the considerable growth of the textile industry in recent years.

The Turkish textile and ready-to-wear industry currently employ more than one million people. The textile industry and its supporting sub-sectors now employ a total of 1.67 million people, and this number will increase in the coming years due to additional investments and increased exports.

As Turkey’s trade minister said, Turkey exported some $17.7 billion worth of ready-to-wear products in 2019. Turkish manufacturers are now seeking to seize the window of opportunity created by coronavirus-affected China, which is expected to suffer from production delays of five-six months in 2020.

According to the Istanbul Garment Exporters Association (İHKİB), the sector had a 10.1% share of the country’s total exports of $14.8 billion in January 2020, reaching an export figure of $1.5 billion, up 5.8% in the same month last year. Nearly 73.4% of exports went to EU countries, with Germany and Spain as the primary recipients.

Turkey is one of the production centres that is taking the most advantage of the coronavirus epidemic, as it presents itself as an alternative production hub to the Chinese market.

In January, the country’s fashion exports recorded an annual increase of 5.8% according to the latest data from the Istanbul Garment Exporters Association (Ihkib). In the first month of the year, Europe was Turkey’s primary customer.

Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom were the largest importers of Turkish fashion products during the period, recording an increase in exports of 4.7%, 8.7%, and 3.9%, respectively. The Netherlands, France, USA, Denmark, Iraq, and Poland are also among the leading importers of Turkish textiles.

In the meantime, Mustafa Gultepe, President of the Ihkib, said that the coronavirus would positively affect the Turkish industry since the major fashion operators moved their products into the country before the outbreak of the outbreak. Nevertheless, it also affects the decrease in the production of raw materials in China which has been hit by the coronavirus.

The main advantages of the Turkish textile and clothing industry are:

Turkey has several advantages in textile production as well as the supply of raw materials based on the following points:

– In logistics terms, the country has a very strategic position since it is the gateway to the European countries’ markets.

– The county is a source of raw materials used for manufacturing. Turkey ranks 7th in world cotton manufacturing.

– Thanks to its flexible trade policies with a highly skilled labour force, the country has a highly developed industry capable of producing quality goods.

– The country has a customs union agreement with the EU and free trade agreements with other countries.

– Turkey is also known to attach importance and priority to the working conditions of its workforce.

– Turkey continues to invest in the use of advanced technologies to develop its industry.

–  Turkish companies have skilled and educated human resources.

– The design capacity of Turkish manufacturers is strengthening.

– Accumulation of technical know-how is perfectly well in the textile industry in Turkey.

Sources: https://www.textiletoday.com  https://www.dailysabah.com  

Construction of the car factory for electric car production  would start in May 2020 in Bursa

The Managing Director of the TOGG Group, consisting of the companies Kök, BMC, Zorlu, Turkcell and Anadolu Group, stated that construction of the Turkish electric vehicle plant would start in May 2020 in the province from Bursa to start electric car production. The objective is to start mass production in 2022 with an annual capacity of 175,000 units and produce one million electric vehicles a year by 2032. He also indicated that the company was in discussion with the German engineering company EDAG as a technology partner for integration vehicles.

Turkey will have 4 hybrid vehicle production plants by the end of 2020

The first production of hybrid vehicles in Turkey dates back to 2016 with Toyota’s C-HR in Sakarya in the Marmara region. Oyak Renault will produce hybrid engines in Bursa beginning from 2020. Ford Otosan manufactures The PHEV Transit Custom PHEV Plug-in Hybrid Electric Utility Vehicles (PHEVs) in its facilities from Gölcük to Kocaeli. Finally, Hyundai Assan plans to start production of a new model of hybrid vehicles (i20) in the last quarter of 2020, followed by the hybrid engine of the B-SUV model in 2021.

Will there be more than one million electric vehicles in Turkey by 2030?

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources predicts that by 2030, more than one million electric vehicles will be in use in Turkey and that sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will reach 55% of total sales of vehicles. The ministry announced that it is evaluating the impact of the deployment of one million load points on the network of the country’s electricity distribution system before starting the electric car production in Turkey.

Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/

The production centre for the Turkish defence industry was founded in the capital city of Turkey. Ankara Aerospace Industrial zone will be completed in 2022 and it will be the capital of high technology production and export.

160 companies will be able to operate in the centre established in an area of 7 million square meters. Over 20 thousand people will be employed at the centre, which will be completed in 2022.

The President of Defense Industries Ismail Demir stated that “This place will be the heart of Ankara and Turkey’s aerospace industries. In terms of manufacturing technology, the area will be a centre of excellence. Some companies have already begun their activities.”

All links of the chain related to Turkish aviation and space technologies will be gathered at this centre. The centre, which will be the base of the defence industry, is of great interest for the leading companies of the world, as well as the Turkish companies, have taken action to have a place in the centre.

“The centre will have a significant place in the world, and it will be appealing for global companies as well. The environment of the centre will create an atmosphere for scientific and technological inventions and will open new gates for the Turkish companies to open up to the world,” he noted.

Source: https://www.tccb.gov.tr/

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