Polteks Enters Into US Market with the Double Calender

Polteks Chairman of the Board Ali Karen

We interviewed with Polteks Chairman of the Board Ali Karen for our Tekstil Teknoloji  magazine. Karen talked about the advantages of the newly developed machines for the users, export markets, trends in the finishing machinery sector and the problems experienced by the sector.

We know that you have focused on R&D studies and produced 3 new machines during the pandemic process. Have you received the big deal attention with these 3 machines in the market?

During the pandemic process, we launched the Double Calender, Nippol Calender and Sanfor Calender (for knitted fabrics) machines to the market. All of 3 machines get attention from customers. We have entered  into US market with the double calender. We received an order from a company that produces a special fabric. Nippol Roller Calenders have been  working both at domestic and abroad.

Could you talk about the advantages these machines provide to consumers?

Actually, Double Calender is a combination of 2 calenders in one machine.In this way, it is possible to calender the fabrics, which are particularly bright on both sides, in a single process. Also, the results can be obtained in a single process for very bright fabrics. Production speeds can be increased in fabrics that are calendered with low production speeds.

We have added this type to our production range the Nippol Roller and Swimming roller calender machines.which is an alternative to  Calender machines. With this machine and system generation, we were able to offer our customers an option for the new machines.By adding this system to the classical calender machines we have previous sold machines,we had the chance to advance technology of those machines for both old calender machines  and old  calender machines that are not our production. And also, , we have prevented the chronic oil leakage with the development we have made in the Nippol system that problems encountred by rival companies in similar systems.

We keep working on Sanfor Calender. The first prototype is in its final stages. We aim for reach the values of touch and non shrinkage with less chemical use, by making a machine that is different from the Sanfor that currently produced and used in the market.

What do you pay attention to in order to maintain your competitive capacity and quality while investing in machinery and technology in your production facility?

Especially in recent years, we have made a transition from universal machines to CNC machines.We are a company that produces both machinery and rollers. These two issues often support each other.We have accelerated our investments especially in roller production in recent years, and we have taken serious steps to produce faster, higher quality and free of problems rollers. As a result, we are making roller-based machines.

“Our target is to increase our exports to 70-75%”

How much of your production do you export? Which are the countries/regions you export to? In this direction, what can you say about your sales network and structuring in the world?

Our target is to increase our exports to 70-75%. We have established export networks from North America to South Asia, and we aim to serve the whole world market with our own factories in Romania and Uzbekistan.

What will be the innovations and trends, especially in the finishing machinery sector, in the future? What kind of roadmap do you follow as Polteks in order to keep pace with these innovations?

In our opinion, regarding the finishing machines in the future of the most important issue will be the touch, and it will be extremely important that this touch be made using less chemicals. We keep continue our working  in this direction. The main purpose of use of the machines we produce is to obtain a touch. Especially thanks to our Rubber Blanket Calender machine, we have succeeded in giving the desired touch to many fabrics that cannot be produced with a soft touch without using chemicals in any other machine.

Primarily, we make our developments on our laboratory machines.We analyze customer expectations. We have been doing sample studies by making the changes I predict in our laboratory machines about how we can meet these expectations.And finally, by producing a prototype machine, we create an opportunity for the end user to produce the final product.

“We are experiencing a shortage of raw materials and qualified personnel”

The main problem is the lack of raw materials and qualified personnel especially in the textile machinery sector in Turkey. What other problems do you see in the industry? Is polteks company affected by these problems?What are your solutions against them?

The biggest problem thatwe have experienced is lately delays in the supply of raw materials and materials in the roller and machinery manufacturing sector. We have been experiencing a supply shortage ,especially in some raw materials used in roller coatings and technological products used in machine production. We keep fighting these problems by including alternative products in the system.

We have also experience difficulty with  the problem of qualified personnel. The turnover rate is increasing in our company, as in many companies. In our opinion, there are two main solutions ; First of all, we think that the employees we expect to be qualified should be included in the system at an earlier age, and vocational high schools have started to work on this. Currently, many vocational high school students are involved in production in our company and gain experience. Of course, this is a study where we can see its positive effects in the long term, not the short term. Secondly, we think that providing trainings and workshops for the personnel on both their technical and personal development will contribute to an increase in the sense of belonging, decrease in  turnover, more effective teamwork and more concentrated work of the employees, and we continue to work in this direction.

How is the year 2022 for your company? Have you reached your targeted rates in terms of production and export? Do you have any new product, investment and employment studies?

In 2022, we had to slow down our investments as we could not reach the Financing. In terms of exports, we entered new markets such as US. We aim to increase our sales with our newly developed machines.