“Alliance” Move for the €100 Billion EU Technical Textiles Market
During the visit of Murat Şahinler and the board members of TETSİAD to İhsan İpeker, the future of the sector and the necessary strategic steps were discussed. The meeting emphasized that Türkiye’s global manufacturing strength must be supported through sustainable production, digital transformation, and technical textiles. It was also stated that transformation is essential for gaining a stronger position in the European Union’s $100 billion technical textiles market.
The Turkish Home Textile Industrialists and Businesspeople Association (TETSİAD), the umbrella organization of Türkiye’s home textile industry, paid a visit to İhsan İpeker, Chairman of the Board of the Uludağ Textile Exporters’ Association (UTİB). During the meeting attended by Murat Şahinler and the accompanying delegation, topics such as projects to strengthen the sector’s global competitiveness and digitalization initiatives were discussed.
İhsan İpeker: We Must Focus on Value-Added Production
Speaking about the future vision of the textile industry, İhsan İpeker stated that value-added production, technical textiles, and digital transformation are of critical importance for achieving a stronger position in global competition.
Highlighting the strong manufacturing experience of the Turkish textile industry, İpeker said:
“We must strengthen our sector’s existing know-how with technical textiles, functional products, sustainable manufacturing, and digitalization in order to build a more competitive structure.”
Murat Şahinler: We Are Building the Future with Young TETSİAD
Murat Şahinler emphasized that the key to securing the sector’s future lies in involving younger generations in production processes at an earlier stage. He stated that the organization places great importance on the “Young TETSİAD” and “Young TETSİAD Academy” projects in the new period.
“We should not wait until after graduation to prepare young people for the industry; they must grow within the business itself. Through the Young TETSİAD structure, which is also supported by our Ministry, we are combining the sector’s experience with the energy and digital vision of the new generation,” Şahinler said.
A $100 Billion Opportunity in Technical Textiles
The meeting also stressed that transformation toward technical textiles is inevitable in order to increase the sector’s added value. Participants emphasized that Türkiye should secure a larger share of Europe’s $100 billion textile production market.
The meeting included consultations on a wide range of topics, from education initiatives to trade fair organizations, and it was decided that the sector’s current challenges would be documented and presented to the relevant ministries.
