We Started the New Year with Sewing Automation, Cutting Room and Pattern-Making Room Investments
Interview:Dilek Hayırlı
Turgay Aşcı, Board Member of Astaş Juki said; “Turkey is playing in the Champions League in the textile sector. We have a great know-how in terms of textiles, fabrics and accessories. We should all appriciate to this value. The year 2024 was difficult, the first quarter of 2025 will be a bit difficult, but I think the markets will revive after that. I believe that Turkish textile manufacturers will do better business with more competitive, compact and efficient machines.”
Astaş Juki, which has been serving the Turkish ready-to-wear sector for more than 40 years with their brands with the world’s most advanced technologies and a wide range of products, held its traditional ‘Technology Days’ between December 17-19. The global launch of the PROCUT R90 Series which has the features of high-ply, high-performance, continuous and endless 9 cm auto-cutter produced by the German Bullmer, was also held at the event at the company’s Technology Center in Güneşli, Istanbul. The machine, offered to visitors for sale for the first time in the world, received great appreciation. Turgay Aşcı stated that they received order confirmations from many different sectors and companies on the first day of the event said; “Technology Days’, which lasted for 3 days and was an important meeting point for the garment sector, attracted great interest from manufacturers in the ready-made clothing, underwear, outerwear, denim, automotive and furniture sectors from all over Turkey, especially from Istanbul, Bursa and Izmir.”
During the event, sewing machines and high-tech machines produced by Astaş for various sectors were exhibited on different floors of the Technology Center. Astaş Juki equipped four floors of the Technology Center with sectoral solutions, let the visitors to discover innovations in different areas. Visitors had the opportunity to both closely see the machines and test them with samples in their hands.
As Tekstil Teknoloji magazine, we also attended the opening of the ‘Technology Days’ and interviewed with Astaş Juki Board Member Turgay Aşcı. He provided information about the traditional Technology Days and evaluated the year 2024, expressed his goals for 2025. The highlights of the interview are as follows…
“Technology Days Brought Morale, Motivation and Revival to the Sector Before the New Year”
We started our interview with Turgay Aşcı by talking about the traditional ‘Technology Days’ organized by Astaş Juki. Aşcı stated that they preferred mid-December in order to provide morale and motivation to the sector before the new year. Aşcı said that people who wanted to see each other for a long time but could not come together due to lack of time, could see each others thanks to Technology Days, and that customers filled the Technology Center from the first hours of the event. Aşcı stated that they hosted customers from the automotive and furniture sectors on the first day of the event and said, “Thanks to the Technology Days, we both bring the sector together and enable our customers to see the latest technologies up close. Our customers come with their samples in their hands and test our machines, and while examining our automation developments, they see how we design our automats. Then they say to us, ‘We want a machine with these features, can you make this? We also produce solutions by working with our R&D department to respond to custom-made machine demands.”
Global Launch of Bullmer PROCUT R90 Automatic Cutting Machine
The most remarkable product of the Technology Days, where the latest technologies in Astaş Juki’s product portfolio were exhibited, was the PROCUT R90 Series, a high-ply, high-performance automatic cutting machine capable of 9 cm high continuous and endless cuts, produced by the German Bullmer. The global launch of PRO CUT R90, which Bullmer previously introduced to their dealers in their factory, was organized at Astaş Technology Days. The new high-end cutting machine sets the standards in the industry, offers the latest technology for precise and efficient cutting. The Bullmer R90, whose cutting height is up to 9 cm, provides an approximately 25% increase in efficiency thanks to its cutting while feeding feature. The Bullmer R90 touch screen control panel combines ergonomic design with stylish elegance and perfectly adapts to the machine structure, increasing both efficiency and operator satisfaction. The oil amount adjusted according to the automatic blade frequency that optimizes the cutting process and extends the service life of the equipments.
“We Received Our First 2025 Orders for Bullmer PROCUT R90 and Some Custom-Made Sewing Automats”
Underlining that the R90 is manufactured in Germany, Turgay Aşcı said: “Machines manufactured in Germany are both more durable and increase the production efficiency of our customers.” Aşcı explained that the Bullmer users who came to our event showed great interest to the R90 and said the following: “Our customers were happy to see the developments in the machine, and the interest in such an advanced technology is very high. We have observed that our customers will modernize their cutting room during these technology days where we bring the sector together. We predict that there will be an high sales demand for cutting room technologies in 2025.”
At the event, Astaş Juki introduced special machines not only for the ready-made clothing sector but also for different industries such as the automotive and furniture sectors. Turgay Aşcı stated that sewing machines developed especially for the automotive sector offer important innovations in details such as diamond stitch in car seat production. Aşcı said that thanks to the camera-controlled systems of these machines, they calculate the accuracy of the stitches, minimize workmanship faulties and help increase efficiency in the sector by accelerating production processes with automation.
“In 2025, We will Focus on Automation Systems and Custom-Made Solutions”
Remined that Astaş Juki will focus on automation and custom-made solutions by strengthening its R&D department in 2025, Aşcı said, “The world is changing, it does not stop. Of course, the competition does not stop either. We see that the machines that we called a great technology 5-10 years ago are inadequate today and we need to improve them.
To give an example; previously, polo placket sewing automats used to cut placket with a knife, but now customers want a machine that cuts the centre of the fabric and the notches at the corners with a laser and makes the topstitching. We will continue to produce solutions by focusing on these requirements.’ he said.
Customers are looking for the answer to the question of how can they do an operation that used to be done by 4-5 people with a single machine now? Aşcı stated that automation, digitalization and sustainability will play a key role in this process. Underlining that the machines will focus on compactness, high efficiency and automation, Turgay Aşcı said; “Our sector is already having difficulty finding operators, so they will at least be able to shift their existing operators to other areas, balance their production lines and increase efficiency in production.”
“In the Textile and Garment Industry, We Aim to Make Production Entirely with Sewing Automations and Robots”
Sharing his predictions for the 2030 projection of the textile and apparel industry Aşcı said that robotic technologies will take more place in the textile industry in the near future. Emphasising that these robots will be integrated into the production processes in the textile and garment industry in a way to support people instead of replacing them, Aşcı said, ‘Robots will be offered to the service of employees in the textile industry and will make production processes more efficient. However, a completely unmanned factory is not yet possible in the textile industry.
Turgay Aşcı stated that the textile sector in Turkey has been facing serious cost increases in recent years. Aşcı said that despite this, many companies operating in the ready-to-wear sector decided to stay in Turkey during this period and make production with more efficient, more automated systems in order to overcome the difficulties.
Aşcı continued his words as follows. ‘There is such a reality. We see that some textile and garment factories are investing in Egypt. We need to protect our factories in Turkey and offer solutions to the sector in order to increase production and efficiency by providing the necessary automation. As Astaş, we are working to provide our customers with ‘Made in Turkiye’ machinery and equipment that will bring real quality and production efficiency to the Turkish textile industry. As we always say, our aim is to provide complete solutions to our manufacturers with the highest quality machines produced with the latest technology. We will overcome this circumstance all together.’
“Turkiye is in the Champions League of the Textile Industry”
It is not that there will be no difficulties in 2025, but there will definitely be customers who will have difficulties. We hear and see them,” said Turgay Aşcı, painting a hopeful picture of the future of the Turkish textile sector, which will be able to overcome the difficulties thanks to its strong infrastructure and advanced know-how. Aşcı continued his words as follows: ‘Turkey is playing in the champions league in the textile sector. We have people who are creative in textiles, fabrics and accessories, whose designs are made by us, who provide service from A to Z, who know the business and have a great know-how. We must not lose this, we must bring our technologies to a level where we can compete with the world. The first quarter of 2025 will be a bit difficult, but I think the markets will revive after that. I believe that Turkish textile manufacturers will do better business with more competitive, compact and efficient machines.
“Garment Tech Istanbul will Make a Great Contribution to the Country’s Exports”
At the end of the interview, Aşcı mentioned Garment Tech Istanbul Exhibition, Turkiye’s only and most comprehensive exhibition that will bring together the garment and ready-to-wear sector in 2025, and stated that Astaş Juki will participate in the exhibition with a 1700 m2 booth. Aşcı explained that they will present their complete solutions from A to Z at the exhibition, from sewing machines to spreading machines, from design systems to cutting machines and packaging machines, and said the following about the contributions of Garment Tech Istanbul Exhibiton to the sector: “At the exhibition, we will make a combination of machines that we produce, that we design together with Juki, and machines produced by Germany’s Bullmer. Customers will come to the fair not only from Turkey but also from many countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Uzbekistan and other Turkic republics. The fair will provide an opportunity for the machines and automats we produce to be more widely known in the international arena, thus making a great contribution to our country’s machinery exports. I believe the exhibition will be very productive.