‘‘We will not Lose Our R&D Focus In 2021’’
We conducted a special interview with Cüneyt İşman, the founding partner of PRO-SMH and also the Director of Sales, Marketing, and Finance, for the “Turkish Textile Machinery Industry” exclusive that we covered in this month’s issue of Textile Technology magazine. Please enjoy the following interview.
How do you describe the pandemic period that started in 2020 for the PRO-SMH Company? What were its reflections on your company?
It would be more accurate to describe the period by dividing it into two titles as our ongoing work and our work in the R&D phase. Although there were some disruptions in our work, we did not experience problems that we could not overcome in general. We had to postpone some of our projects that we were in the planning phase and had to be implemented so far. While the innovation studies in our R&D center were continuing, we slowed down some of our projects due to the traveling difficulties of the academicians, which we received international consultancy support from universities in different countries. In addition, international exhibitions, which were postponed or canceled, and travel restrictions caused delays in our international transactions. Considering the general situation, we can say that we manage this devastating and troublesome period in a healthy way with minimum damage and without loss of power.
Did you have any new investments and studies that you performed in 2020?
The restrictions caused by the coronavirus have given us unexpected difficulties. However, we have successfully completed our main projects in 2020. On the one hand, this marked the end of development and testing for the newly developed PS-WY sizing/slashing machine. We are proud to announce that the first such production system was successfully commissioned at Esgin Tekstil in Bursa in the first half of 2020 and this unit has set new standards in terms of efficiency and reliability in the sector since then. Another success in 2020 was the establishment of a pilot facility for wet equipment in our R&D center in Izmit. The system is equipped with washing and impregnation compartments based on ultrasonic technology.
The enormous potential of savings in water, chemicals, and auxiliaries, which is already proven by individual tests, has since been confirmed in numerous tests with customer products under practical conditions. Following the primary approach that initially focused on woven fabrics, the range of applications has now been successfully extended to include knitted fabrics.
Could you elaborate on how your productions are in demand domestically and internationally? Which countries do you perform the most exports?
We started to reap the fruits of our innovative work on R&D and innovation. While our sales to countries in various geographies of the world such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco, Vietnam, Colombia, and Mexico continue, we proceed to carry out projects in European countries such as France, Germany, Macedonia, and Greece. Considering the importance the European Union attaches to strict occupational safety, environmental protection, energy efficiency, strict audits on companies, and distinguished competitors operating in Europe, we see the benefits of being open to development, granting importance to alternative ideas, allocating resources, and time.
What are your expectations for 2021? Do you have new projects; can you please provide brief information about them?
Through the successful use of vaccines, we sincerely hope that our lives will reach a certain degree of normality in 2021. That is why we hope that the second half of the year will be characterized by a large number of trade exhibition appearances and be able to re-present ourselves and our products to a global expert audience. The new development, presentation, and disclosure of the improvements that we achieved require intensive sharing with our customers and interested parties. Unfortunately, this is not possible even with the most modern remote communication tools. Regardless, we will not lose our R&D focus in 2021. As a young, innovation-focused company, PRO-SMH invests a high percentage of its sales in R&D to provide its customers with solutions that guarantee real competitive advantages. The main target of our company in 2021 will be to expand the application spectrum of ultrasonic technology. Another focus and promising approach will be the use of plasma technology in the equipment field.
Do you have any works related to the ITM 2021 Exhibition, which is planned to be organized in June? Will you have any productions to introduce? What are your expectations from the exhibition?
As a company of Turkish origin, ITM is of course very important for PRO-SMH. In particular, the positive development of this exhibition is not attracting only domestic customers, it is also becoming more and more important in the international arena. Uncertainty as to whether this will actually happen is difficult in terms of production planning, as we have planned our presence at ITM with a large number of booths, as in the past. Otherwise, we can of course use detailed plans for 2020 for our 2021 outlook. Thus, only manageable adjustments are required.
