Turkey is Europe’s Production Base for Textile
ITM 2024, which brought together the leading brands of textile technologies in Istanbul, also hosted the presidents of textile machinery associations. Korea Textile Machinery Association (KOTMA) Chairman Jong Kyu Son emphasized that Turkey is a production base of Europe in textile.
Son said, “Every time we came to Turkey, we were able to learn that our customers have new textile machinery demands. At the same time, we were able to determine what kind of products are needed. Because Turkey is like a production base of Europe in textile. Here we can learn the demands in the world market.”
“ITM is One of the Most Important Exhibitions Worldwide”
KOTMA President Son pointed out that he tries to attend the textile machinery exhibition every year. Son said, “ITM Exhibitions offer very important opportunities. It brings together the most customers and manufacturers between continents. I have been attending ITM exhibitions for the last 30 years. ITM exhibition is like a friend for me both personally and as a company president and an association president. Every time I attend, I feel like I am meeting with a friend. I hope ITM will continue for the next 30 years and I will participate in it.”
“The Machine that Comes to the Turkish Market Becomes Famous”
According to KOTMA President Son, the Turkish market closely follows the changes in the world in terms of textile machinery technologies. Stating that he has been taking part in ITM since its first years, Son said, “If I need to give an example; we produced a twisting machine called Spandex. It did not attract attention in the Korean market. However, when we introduced this product in Turkey, a customer in Turkey wanted to buy it immediately, and it has now become a famous machine in the market.” A machine that does not care about the environment is no longer accepted by the customer KOTMA President Son underlined the importance of the environment for textile machinery.
“A Machine that does not Consider the Environment is No Longer Accepted by the Customer”
As KOTMA, we want to contribute to the environment by recycling waste water and waste heat and trying to produce machines that operate with low electrical power.” KOTMA President Son also emphasizes the importance of the Turkish textile machinery market for Korean textile machinery manufacturers. Son said, “The most important market for us as a textile machinery market is primarily the Korean market. Apart from Korea, China comes first. Then come countries such as India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan. Asian countries are still important for us. Finally, countries in South East Asia such as Vietnam and Indonesia can also be considered as an important market for us. However, to be honest, the most important market for Korean textile machinery manufacturers is the Turkish market. Because the fastest growing market is the Turkish market.”
