Kıray Machinery, the Prestigious Brand of Textile Industry, Continues its Growth
Samet Kıray, Chairman of the Board of Kıray Makina
Founded by Samet Kıray in 2011 under the name of Technical Automation in a small workshop to meet the needs of the textile industry with 20 years of experience and know-how, the company became one of the most prestigious brands in its sector in a short time as of 2020. The name of the firm is revised in 2016 as Kıray Machinery LLC.
Kıray Machinery, which was initially established with a focus to operate in the Thrace Region, has succeeded to become one of the most prestigious brands of our country with the solutions that it has offered and the machines that it has produced, as well as its exports in addition to the domestic market sales.
In January 2020, Kıray Machinery, which increased its production capacity by moving to its new factory and signed successful R&D studies, and brought in new products to Turkey, which are produced completely domestically, will continue to assist its business partners in 2021 in its new production facility, which is approximately 5000 m2, with the same quality but more rapidly.
We conducted an interview with Samet Kıray, Chairman of the Board of the company, in order to listen to the establishment of KIRAY MACHINERY and the achievements of the company.
How would you describe your company in a few sentences? Could you please provide us information about the products in your portfolio?
Kıray Machinery started its activities under the name of Technical Automation in a small workshop in 2011 in order to meet the needs in the textile sector. In 2016, it continued its path under the name of Kıray Machinery. Our company, which increases its production speed and capacity by incorporating new products, continues its manufacturing operations in our new factory building. Presently, the company is a leader in the field in which it functions and became one of the few suppliers of Europe with its innovative products and solutions. We divide the products we produce into two groups. The first is the main machines and the other one is the auxiliary units and equipment. Our company became a solution partner for textile machinery manufacturers and end-users. In the main product category for post-painting, we produce wet section machines such as tube slitting and balloon squeezing.
When we look into auxiliary products, the product range expands. We produce many auxiliary units for stenter and sanforizing machines, as well as for all other finishing machines. These are edge-cutting unit, slatted fabric centering unit, dampening unit, top starching unit, enzyme washing unit, tube cutting basket, fabric centering sensor, and spiral openers. Although these products are generally electromechanical, we can also design and make arrangements according to the requirements of our customers.
You have become one of the most prestigious brands in the textile machinery industry in a short time. What are the features that distinguish you in the industry?
There are some values that do not change in the changing world. At Kıray Machinery, our priority is to adhere to the unchanging values of the changing world such as honesty, keeping promises, and establishing the feel of trust. In addition, I can say that we are very sensitive about high efficiency, quality, and economical products. Our colleagues and myself follow the latest technological developments in this field and attach importance to training with our team.
Our company, which also produces customer-specific products and machines, which we can call boutiques, through our guidance, has become one of the pioneers of the sector. We design by looking out for everyone from the operator who uses our machines to the owners of the company. In general, we design all our products user-friendly and easy to understand in terms of operations and offer them to the service of the textile industry. With the endeavors that will increase our production capacity day by day, we try to meet the high demand in the fastest way, on the date we promised.
In addition to production, we never ignore the importance of providing fast technical support in case of need. I can say that we are one of the most easily reachable companies. Because for us, giving machines is kind of like forming a kinship. It is the beginning of years of responsibility and cooperation. As Kıray Machinery, we continue with our goals to increase the use of national, domestic products in domestic and international markets with our love and dedication for our country. In other words, every product we produce is our gift to our country.
What are the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, which devastated the whole world, on the industry, and what are your plans for the post-pandemic period?
Especially when the industry was very vibrant and in my consideration, the sector was having one of its golden periods, the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak coincided. The textile world became one of the sectors first and most affected. Almost all textile factories had to suspend production temporarily, especially between March and June 2020. When we look at the place of the textile sector in our country, the negative impact of this situation on the country’s economy has been very much. We did not take a break from production during this period. We continued to produce by taking the necessary precautions. Our goal was to get through this troublesome pandemic period with minimal damage. As experts have said, this is not a situation that will lose its effect in a short time. While the world continues to seek a cure on the one hand, we will learn to live with it by taking precautions on the other.
What kind of a future awaits the sector in Turkey and in the world? What are your predictions?
As long as human beings exist, their needs will continue without an end, of course, they will have to produce to meet these needs. The importance of our country in the textile sector was understood much better in this period. I anticipate that a part of the existing market in China will shift to other manufacturers in the world. I think it will be possible for our country to increase domestic production with a beneficial assessment of this period, to take the necessary share from the international markets under the leadership of our exporters, and to turn this situation into an opportunity. Our country has been in a key position on trade routes for years. We are still in the same geography and we can take advantage of this location advantage more in this period.
What would you like to tell about your product development and R&D studies?
As a company, we never thought of a copy product. From the beginning, we have implemented our unique solutions together with a very valuable team. I would like to point out that we are constantly researching to produce what is not produced or to make existing products more efficient. We go down to the field in person, listen to the demands and shortcomings, and plan our work accordingly. With 3 years of R&D studies, the ‘Tube Fabric Slitting Drum’, which is 100 percent domestically produced and automatically operated, was put into service of our country this year. The unit took its name from this land as ‘İZ-1881’.
We were waiting for the ITM 2020 Exhibition for its introduction, but we had to put it into service for reasons you know. In addition, we are in the final stages of another product that we have been working on for a long time. When it is finished, I think it will bring a new breath to the sector.
Recently, sustainable productions are on the agenda of the textile industry. What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you have studies along with this subject?
The creature that harms the world the most is human. We have come to the point of exhausting almost every resource in the world. Water is a different problem for the increasing population of the world and energy is a separate problem. The damage to the environment and the damage to the atmosphere are outrageous. The world’s water reserves, including groundwater in the Ergene basin, are depleted or contaminated. I can provide the simplest example of the Ergene River right next to us. This river did not become like this by itself. Other living things did not do this either. As it is the basic need of human life, water resources are still used effectively in textile, agriculture, and energy production.
Now, some countries and some companies have started to talk about sustainable production and work in this direction. If water resources, a clean environment, and a clean atmosphere sincerely lie at the basis of these works, it is a very positive development. All of the productions we have made for years as a company are sustainable manufactures. We clean our products with filters and rotate the existing water in the machine. We produce units that can process many products in a short time with its fast operating feature and thus save electricity and labor through this feature. Most of the R&D studies that we are still doing are to produce sustainable technologies.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The textile machinery sector is very important for the export volume of our country and it increases every year. I think that the fact that our textile industrialists consider using these machines, which are at the world quality standards, will support domestic production. This should be the case for every citizen who loves his country. Thanks to the domestic textile machinery manufacturers, Turkish textile companies will continue to have the advantage of rapid shifts from foreign machinery manufacturers compared to the previous years, with the support of domestic textile companies to national and domestic machinery manufacturers. Meanwhile, the pandemic period has actually reminded us how valuable domestic production is. Notice that we have managed to produce masks, gloves, and many other medical products at a level that is self-sufficient. Producing countries always easily survive in such situations. We would be happy to see our business partners who want to get to know our products closely at our production facility and the exhibitions we attended, and I thank you for providing me this opportunity.
Interwiev: Z. Seda Demirdelen
