“We Aim to be One of the Top 3 Companies in the Field of Finishing Machinery”

Interview: Dilek Hayırlı 

 

Tachyon, which started to compete with European manufacturers in a short time with its environmentally friendly products offered to the market under the Pluvia brand, cooperated with a world-renowned ready-to-wear brand. The famous brand started using Tachyon machines as part of a project to reduce carbon emissions. The details of the cooperation and the results of the project will be announced towards the end of 2023.

Tachyon, which set out in 2013 with the aim of producing machines with the lowest water and energy consumption; has achieved great success in a short time with the drum washing and continuous bleaching machines offered to the market under the Pluvia brand. Tachyon, the only domestic manufacturer in the Turkish market in the field of continuous bleaching machines with its efficiency, design and patents, has even surpassed European manufacturers in many points.

We interviewed with Zafer Serttaş, Founding Partner of Tachyon, for our Tekstil Teknoloji Magazine. Sharing their plans for the near future, export targets, collaborations and innovations in their machines with us, Serttaş said, “We aim to be one of the first 3 companies that come to mind when it comes to finishing machines.”

What is Tachyon’s position in the textile machinery market? What are your goals for the Turkish and world textile machinery market in the near future?

As you know; European (German, Italian) manufacturers are the locomotive in the textile machinery sector. As a company; We started out not to do what has been done, but to do better than our European competitors. We have been working with that vision since the first day we started production. I can say we managed it. We have surpassed European brands in many points. We continue on our way with machines with both production efficiency and greener production technology. We add a new product to our portfolio almost every year. We do our own R&D and create original designs. We are the only domestic manufacturer in the Turkish market in the continuous bleaching machine with its efficiency, design and patents. We want to be a well-known brand of Turkey in the world. It may not be easy for us to catch up with our European competitors in terms of size and volume, but we aim to be one of the top 3 companies that come to mind in finishing machinery for a textile company that will invest in a facility.

“We Have Become A Well-Known Brand in the South American Market”

Could you give us information about your export markets and your overseas organization? Which countries do you export to? Which countries do you have agencies in?

Especially during the pandemic period, our export share had increased considerably, but our exports decreased a little due to reasons such as the economic crisis, fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate, and the increase in energy costs. We have been focusing on the American and South American markets for about 4 years, and we have become a well-known brand in these markets. We created our agency network here, and we even sent machines to many of them. Among them; There are countries such as Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico. In Europe; there are countries that are newly added to the list, such as Poland. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are our main markets already. We also added Indonesia to these. We signed an agreement with Thailand during the ITMA 2023 Exhibition. Our negotiations with Sri Lanka and Vietnam are proceeding. In addition, we have agencies and machines in countries such as Russia, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Iran.

Which are the main textile/clothing brands that use your machines in Turkey and around the world? What kind of reactions do you get from your customers?

Our machines are working in many leading companies in the sector both in terms of volume, prestige and brand value. Some of the first things that come to my mind are: Zorlu Tekstil, Gaziantep Sanko, Işıl Tekstil, Özuçel Tekstil, Ezgi Tekstil, İpek, Atınç… In addition, 4 different machines are working in Barış Ticaret. We sold new machines to ATT Concorde and Tekboy companies. Our machines are working in the companies Korkusuz Tekstil, Tan Tekstil, Altınbaşak. Our negotiations with Özdilek company continue.

Where do you procure machine raw materials and spare parts from? What kind of difficulties do you experience with the supply of raw materials?

If there is a component produced with the right criteria in Turkey, we prefer it first. If we cannot find the part we are looking for in Turkey, we try to supply it from Europe. We work with Germany’s leading companies in the pneumatic and electronic groups. Our main criteria when purchasing parts; quality. Cost is our second priority. We do not have the luxury of replacing the parts we use in one machine with cheaper ones while making the other machine. For this reason, we use quality parts by paying 2-3 times more money, no matter how hard the costs are.

What kind of changes have occurred in the demands of finishing machine users in the last period? How do you as Tachyon respond to these demands?

I wish our customers’ demands were for less energy and less water use, but unfortunately, their priority is low cost and easy to use. They don’t want too many operators. Because it is difficult to find qualified human resources anymore. But I believe that there will be less energy and water consumption demands day by day. We discuss all kinds of solutions and alternatives with our customers and make improvements that will benefit them. However, it is not easy to develop tailor-made projects in textile machines. Despite this, our machines are highly modular. They can be combined with each other like Lego. Capacity increase is easy, you can add cabins.

“The Daily Profit of a Facility Washing 10 Tons of Fabric with Our Machine is 20-25 Thousand TL”

What are the difficulties encountered in the finishing processes? What kind of advantages do Tachyon machines provide to the customer in this regard?

Machines are produce once and then used for years. But in this process, yarn structure, fabric types in knitting and weaving change every year. As a company, we have identified a difficulty in dyeing and finishing processes of both woven fabrics and knitted fabrics. The mixing of too many elastane fabrics into the weaving and the fabrics turning into fantasy caused the washing processes of the new generation fabrics not to be done well with the existing conventional machine parks. We have found a definitive solution to this problem with the Pluvia Maxime Drum Washing machine for woven fabrics. With this machine, we can wash even the most delicate fabric types, from silk to tencel fabric, from voile to poplin, from bistrech to emboy lycra, without breakage, and we guarantee high quality. Until today, no one of our customers who used our machine said, “I couldn’t wash this fabric”. Our machine found a great response in the industry. Overseas sales are also going very well.

There is a habit in the dyeing finishing industry; businesses want to do and finish every job on the dyeing machine. However, the task of dyeing machines ends with the dyeing step. Washing processes need to be done in the washing machine, especially for dark colored fabrics. When done in this way, 60-70% water savings are achieved. We changed this habit with the Pluvia Maxime Drum Washing Machine. Companies save at least 20 liters of water in 1kg of fabric with our machine. For example; the daily profit of an enterprise that washes 10 tons of fabric with our machine is between 20 thousand and 25 thousand TL.

Another problem in dyeing finishing facilities is the lack of space. We made an important innovation in the continuous bleaching machine, which has a critical importance in bleaching the fabric to become the final product. Our continuous bleaching line, which we call Pura Bleaching, takes up 50% less space than conventional continuous bleaching lines. In addition, there is the possibility of bleaching in all kinds of volumes. This machine provides low consumption and high quality like other Pluvia products.

We could use a green branding phrase for Tachyon. Because you pay attention to your machines being environmentally friendly and reducing energy and water consumption. In this context, what were the latest improvements you made to your machines?

When the fabrics are washed before entering the stenter cabinets, the oils inside are removed by washing, so the stenter machine does not get dirty and its environmental impact is reduced. We detected this 6 years ago and developed our Pluvia Maxime J-Box open width washing machine, which can be used in front of the stenter or independently. The cost of this machine, which serves many different needs, was a bit high. We made it more compact and economical and exhibited it at the ITMA 2023 Fair in Milan in June. It was attracted attention. We will continue to improve our products.

As Tachyon, what do you offer your customers about after-sales services? What kind of feedback do you get from your customers at this point?

We visit the customers to whom we sell machines at certain intervals. Our customers; “Of course there are problems with the machines, but the company stands behind its products until the end. We never feel alone” and they express their satisfaction with our after-sales support. This is very important to us. Moreover; we make the software of all our machines ourselves, we do not get outside support. Since we are not connected to anywhere in terms of automation, we can solve the problems of our customers by connecting remotely 24/7.

The Turkish and world textile industry is in fluctuation due to exchange rate fluctuations and inflation. How do economic difficulties affect your company? What measures do you take to combat them?

In general, all machinery manufacturers were affected by the sectoral recession, of course we were also affected. Since the summer of 2022, the sales volumes of textile machinery manufacturers have been decreasing. Due to reasons such as costing, high energy prices, and foreign exchange lagging behind the exporter, the cost calculation of the textile manufacturer could not meet kept. For this reason, we hear news that some world-famous ready-to-wear brands have shifted their production to countries such as Egypt and India. Even if the textile industry in Turkey is standing still, declining, and textile enterprises are annoyed, in fact, textiles do not end in the world, they change poles. Production is shifting to other countries. It is said that 2023 and the first half of 2024 will be stagnant in Turkey as well as in the rest of the world. I hope not, but we do not expect a rapid rise in an instant. What kind of precautions do we take as a company? We are trying to protect our sales volume by trying to reach every place where there is textile. I can say that our strategy of being recognizable in the world makes us feel safe even in difficult times and allows us to stand upright.

“We are Waiting for the Right Time to Start the Construction of the New Facility”

Does Tachyon has investment plans in the near future?

We bought our land for the construction of a new factory and had our project drawn. We want to start and finish the construction immediately, so we will follow the economic indicators. We will act at the right time. In addition, a world-famous ready-made clothing brand started to use our machines as part of a project to reduce carbon emissions. This is a very important achievement for us. We will announce the results of the project and the details of our cooperation towards the end of 2023.