Hefa Group will Bring an Important Energy Source to the Region with Its SPP Project in Şanlıurfa
Interview: Özge Çağıl Sütcü
Murat Şahinler, CEO of Hefa Group, gave information about the SPP project in Şanlıurfa: “We will bring an important renewable energy source to the region. With the completion of the project, we will contribute significantly to the energy need in the region and support sustainability.”
Hefa Group has 68 years of artificial leather and textile experience and exports its products to more than eighty countries. As Tekstil Teknoloji magazine, we interviewed Murat Şahinler, CEO of Hefa Group. Şahinler talked about the Solar Power Plant (SPP) they started to install in Şanlıurfa, the green factory strategies they have integrated in many areas of their facilities and the activities they carry out to increase their brand awareness.
The highlights of the interview are as follows:
The founding story of Hefa Group began in 1955 with the production of bags in Istanbul’s Mercan district. In 1974, we stepped into the industrial sector and started production by establishing the first artificial leather factory. In 1989, we increased our production capacity by incorporating Fayteks. In 1992, we reinforced our production power by launching the Hefa artificial leather factory. In 2013, we stepped into the textile and dyeing sector by establishing a new factory in Velimeşe Organized Industrial Zone. Currently, we continue our trade and production activities under the roof of Hefa Group with Hefa and Fayteks brands. We have two production facilities with 35.000 m2 closed area and a 4.000 m2 store.
“Attending International Trade Exhibitions is Among Our Important Export Strategies”
Our export strategy focuses on a wide geography. Our main export markets include the USA, the UK, Azerbaijan, Italy, Poland, Greece, Spain, Russia, Thailand, Colombia, Germany, Israel, Libya and Tunisia. We export a variety of products to customers in these regions, mainly fabrics and artificial leather products.
We implement various strategies to expand and strengthen our export markets. These strategies include conducting active market research to analyze the demands and trends in target markets, establishing new business contacts by participating in international trade exhibitions, and strengthening access to the local market by cooperating with local agents or distributors. We also strive to increase our competitive advantage by continuously developing and improving our product range.
“Our Products are Produced in Accordance with Customer Needs and Quality Standards”
The use areas and portfolio of our company are quite wide and the products we produce are used in various fields such as upholstery, clothing, shoes, bags, belts, lining and bedding fabrics.
Our upholstery products are durable and aesthetically designed for use in the furniture and automotive sectors. Our clothing and shoe products offer high quality and various color and pattern options in line with the trends in the fashion industry. Our bag and belt products are preferred by bag and belt manufacturers with their durable and stylish designs. Our lining fabrics are soft, comfortable and durable for use in the inner linings of clothes and bags, while our mattress fabrics are produced to offer a comfortable and hygienic sleep experience.
“We Focus on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty”
We organize advertising and marketing activities in various channels such as social media posts and print ads to promote our products and brand. By participating in sectoral exhibitons, B2B meetings and events organized both in Turkey and abroad, we promote our brand and products and have the opportunity to communicate directly with potential customers. In addition, we frequently visit our customers to strengthen our ties with them.
We also aim to increase the visibility of our brand by providing various sponsorships. We strengthen our online presence by promoting our brand and products with regularly updated content on our website and social media platforms. Prioritizing customer satisfaction, we are in constant communication with customer relations management and feedback. We increase our brand awareness by focusing on customer satisfaction and loyalty. By carrying out these activities together, we aim to increase our brand awareness in Turkey and abroad.
“We Integrate “Green Factory” Transformation in Many Areas of Our Facility”
Our priorities in the product development process include understanding customer requirements, following market trends and adapting to technological innovations. Our focal points include keeping quality standards high, ensuring that our products are competitive and acting in accordance with the principles of environmental sustainability in order not to compromise our environmental stance. We also make sure that our products are satisfying in terms of functionality, ergonomics, usability and aesthetics.
As a company, we take care to proceed within the framework of sustainability, which is our focus in all processes. For the last 6 months, we have been struggling to make very serious changes in our production facilities. We are trying to integrate the “Green Factory” transformation in different areas of the facility, such as maximizing energy savings, focusing on chemical sustainability, maximizing filtration systems for flue gas emissions, and our efforts will soon yield fruitful results in terms of sustainability.
“We will Support Environmental Sustainability Thaks Our SPP Installation”
During the SPP installation process, we encountered various technical and administrative challenges, especially in land preparation. In particular, the project’s progress was affected by the time-consuming infrastructure works, the supply of technical equipment and the disruptions in logistics processes. However, we are overcoming these challenges by working with determination. We are still working on our SPP project.
As a result, we will bring an important renewable energy source to the region with the SPP project we will realize in Şanlıurfa. With the completion of the project, we will make a significant contribution to the energy demand in the region and thus support environmental sustainability.
In the future, we aim to continue contributing to environmentally friendly and sustainable energy production with similar projects. With such projects, we aim to have a positive impact not only on the region but also on the country as a whole and the environment.
“We will Intensify Our R&D Projects”
New sustainability and R&D studies have an important place in Hefa Group’s agenda. In 2024, we plan to continue our work in this area. In this context, we aim to develop and implement new projects in sustainability areas such as energy efficiency, waste management, investment in renewable energy sources and reducing environmental impact.
We also plan to intensify our R&D efforts. We aim to improve our industrial processes and reduce our environmental impact by developing innovative products and technologies.
“We Provide Students with Sector Experience and Internship Opportunities”
There is a shortage of qualified personnel in the sector and we are affected by this situation, albeit at a low level. The lack of qualified personnel is an important challenge we face in the labor market and can affect our business processes. We take various measures to deal with this situation.
First of all, we aim to increase the skill and knowledge levels of our existing employees by organizing personnel training and development programs. We also collaborate with universities to create internship programs and cooperation projects to train graduates with the qualifications required by the sector.
Our University-Industry collaborations also play an important role in this framework. By carrying out joint projects with universities, we provide students with industry experience, internship and job opportunities. Thus, we aim to produce long-term solutions to overcome the lack of qualified personnel in the sector.
