“We Are Preparing for ITM 2026 with the Same Excitement and Enthusiasm as Always”

Interview: Tuğba Karademir

Standing out with its energy efficiency, serial production capability, and sustainable solutions in textile finishing machinery, EFFE Endüstri continues to maintain stability in production and exports despite global uncertainties. At ITM 2026, the company is preparing to deliver strong messages to the industry with technologies developed around standardization, speed, and efficiency.

Global economic fluctuations, the changing geography of ready-to-wear production, and increasing cost pressures are making efficiency- and automation-oriented solutions more important than ever in the textile finishing sector. In this transformation process, EFFE Endüstri, which has established a strong position in the sector with the machines and automation solutions it has been developing since 2008, draws attention with its R&D-focused approach, serial production advantage, and export performance. In our interview, Celal İri, Chairman of the Board of EFFE Endüstri, shares the company’s development journey, its evaluation of 2025, preparations for ITM 2026, and its long-term vision.

As EFFE, you have been developing machinery and automation solutions for the textile finishing sector since 2008. What changes have occurred in the company’s vision and mission from the first day until today?

At a time when the concepts of sustainability/continuity were not yet trends worldwide, we determined our roadmap with the philosophy of “Continuously Satisfied Customers.” This philosophy clearly expressed what kind of mission we undertook while defining our company’s vision. I can say that we are still at the same point today. The third, fourth, and fifth machine sales made to many companies show that we are on the right track.

“Solutions Developed in Our Accredited R&D Center Add Direct Value to Our Products”

Your product portfolio includes stenter machines, knitted and woven sanforizing machines, relaxation dryers, steaming machines (loop steamers), drying cabins for digital printing machines, and infeed/outfeed units. Which of these machines are EFFE’s “flagship / most preferred” machines, and what technical features determine this preference?

Our process, which began with the design and production of equipment required by the textile finishing sector, has gained significant momentum over the years with the increasing knowledge and experience of our team. Solutions developed in our accredited R&D center—where current technologies are closely followed, and application-oriented studies are carried out—add direct value to our products.

Within our product portfolio, stenter machines as well as knitted and woven sanforizing machines stand out as EFFE’s most preferred and “flagship” solutions. In these machines, technical features such as measurable and replicable energy savings, maintenance-free heat recovery units that can be activated upon request, user-friendly automation systems, and the ability to monitor machine operation and production data instantly and on a shift basis play a decisive role. If desired, this data can also be integrated into the company’s main servers.

In addition, ease of maintenance, high production efficiency, commissioning processes completed in a short time following the signing of the sales contract, and our fast, dynamic, and active after-sales service structure are among the prominent factors influencing customers’ preference for EFFE machines.

“In 2025, We Achieved More Sales in Export Markets Than in the Domestic Market”

How was 2025 for you? Especially in the recent period, what trends and changes have you observed in international orders, exports, fair participations, product deliveries, and customer demands?

It is well known that 2025 has generally been a difficult year in both domestic and international textile markets. We believe that the dynamics of location changes in the ready-to-wear sector, for well-known reasons, and the corresponding contraction in sectoral demand, will not be long-lasting. The fact that in 2025 we achieved more sales in countries where textile production is carried out than in the domestic market makes us particularly proud.

Based on this, we carefully examine and evaluate the feedback from our sales and marketing groups. We closely monitor the activity in the technical textiles sector and continue our work intensively on machine concepts that are or may be needed in this field.

“The Biggest Problem in International Collaborations Is Visa Processes”

EFFE serves as an OEM solution partner for many manufacturers and machine producers, both in Turkiye and worldwide. What common challenges and success stories have you encountered during these collaborations? Especially in terms of demands and expectations in foreign markets, what kind of experience have you had?

In international collaborations, when a common language is established in technical and commercial matters, the challenges we face are primarily visa issues. In addition, exchange rate fluctuations and regulations arising from countries’ economic policies pose difficulties for our exports.

We cannot send assembly technicians to commission machines that we jointly produce with a partner company in the EU region or machines that we sell to the EU region. Embassies approve visas after a very long interview process. This results in our inability to fulfill our commitments and leads to penalty situations. Regarding this issue, we request that the relevant ministries create visa quotas/allocations through TEMSAD, of which we are a member.

You have continued your production at your new facility in VOSB / Ergene, Tekirdağ, since 2022. What contributions has this new investment made to EFFE in terms of production capacity, product diversity, and customer services?

The structure of the facility, being suitable for manufacturing and assembly, makes our work easier. In addition, being close to our customers and potential customers in the Thrace region, creating synergy regarding machine concepts required by new trends, and being able to carry out pilot applications, accelerates our work.

“We Hope 2026 Will Be a Much More Successful Year with the Impact of ITM.”

How are you preparing for ITM 2026? What new machines, modernization solutions, or technological innovations do you plan to showcase at the exhibition? What message do you aim to deliver to global visitors with the EFFE brand in 2026?

We are preparing for ITM 2026 with great excitement and enthusiasm, just as we do for every ITM. In our 21 x 21 meter booth area, we plan to exhibit our Pasha4 model Stenter Machine, Hybet model Relaxation Dryer, and Loops model Steaming Machine. With these three main machines, we will have the opportunity to present our technology- and efficiency-oriented solutions to visitors up close.

In addition to our main machines, we will also present throughout the exhibition our accessories, units, and equipment—whose pioneering work and designs have been carried out entirely by EFFE—which are used in EFFE machines and have been preferred for many years by machine manufacturers both domestically and internationally.

On the occasion of ITM 2026, we aim to show global visitors, under the EFFE brand, that in the face of global crises, we are focusing more strongly in the short and long term on standardizing production, developing solutions that support serial production, and systems that enable faster order management.

You shared information about international exhibitions attended and order shipments at the end of 2025. What will EFFE’s exhibition and promotion strategy be for 2026? Are there any new product launches or market targets?

At ITM 2026, as in previous ITM and ITMA exhibitions, our primary goal is to welcome both new visitors and those we have had the opportunity to meet and communicate with over the years, together with our experienced sales and marketing team, with the same care and sincerity as always.

In this process, rather than expanding our market segments, we aim to share more deeply with all existing and potential customers the areas in which we have specialized, the technical details where we create differentiation, and the added value we provide within the product groups we launched in previous years.

What is EFFE’s long-term vision? Where do you aim to position yourself in the textile machinery sector in 5–10 years? What is the position you envision in terms of brand and technology in both the Turkish and global markets?

Despite the challenges we face due to current conditions and the changing geography of the ready-to-wear sector, these circumstances have required us to make greater efforts to increase our overseas sales. Although 2025 was a year in which many countries experienced economic contraction, it was a year in which EFFE successfully achieved its targeted machine production and exports.

During this challenging period, we focused on effectively managing all stages from order to shipment. With the advantage provided by our serial production capability, we offered our customers the opportunity to supply machines from stock or with very short delivery times. This approach contributed to achieving a business volume above our expectations, and we are moving toward completing 2025 with a strong performance.

In the long term, we believe that these difficult periods will be left behind. We hope that 2026, together with the synergy created by the ITM 2026 Exhibition, will be a much more successful and productive year for EFFE.