Providing a wide range of services in relation to the nonwoven production as the umbrella organisation of European producers, Edana organised its first event in Asia with the Eurasia Symposium held in Istanbul. Having taken place in Ataköy Sheraton Hotel on 10-11 May 2012, this organisation gathered leading nonwoven manufacturers of the global market. Turkish firms did not pay the expected attention to the organisation which was dominated by the European firms.
While Turkish firms did not show the expected participation except big nonwoven manufacturers of Turkey such as Mogul and Hassan Group, manufacturers expressed their suspicions concerning the continuity of such organisations. Our editors participating in the symposium argued that Turkish firms did not show the expected interest due to participation fees and promotion problems based on the interviews made with manufacturers.
EDANA, which is accepted as the umbrella organisation of European nonwoven manufacturers, shines out with its activities and events. The company organizes the Eurasia Symposium, which was held in Baveno, Milan last year, in Istanbul this year. EDANA, which – after its establishment in 1971 - turned out to be an industrial foundation that follows the developments taking place in the field of nonwovens in Europe and across the world, attaches great importance to the developing countries and the Middle East to expand its activity scope with its 220 members. The company aims at raising awareness by moving its events to this region. EDANA addressed and discussed the issues of quality education and business relationships at the Eurasia Symposium.
Delivering a speech on behalf of İTKİB in the symposium, Ahmet Şişman emphasized the importance of Turkish textile sector. Underlining that İTKİB provides a constant support to the textile firms, he added: “Textile clothing industry is one of the leading and important sectors on the way to industrialisation in Turkey as in many other countries. Traditionally, textile industry has an important place in the development of Turkey. Since the first years of the Republic, it initiated the establishment of other industries. It contributed to the integration of Turkey into the global industry. Besides these, it has a feature, such as providing employment opportunities to the people from all parts of the society.”
Technical Textile Sales Tend to Increase in Turkey
Expressing that textile production is an extremely important field for Turkey, Şişman continued by saying: “In Turkey, 6.3 % of GNP, 14.3 % of the industrial production, 25.5 % of the manufacturing workforce and 17.3 % of total export revenue are met by textile and clothing industries. Following the food sector, it constitutes the second biggest industry with its significant share in the manufacturing sector. While the export volume of the Turkish textile and clothing industry was 800 million dollars at the early 80s, it reached about 24 billion dollars in 2011. It turned out to be a fashion-shaping industry in 30 years. Turkish textile and ready-made clothing industries have the potential of meeting all kinds of demands of both national and international clients owing to its horizontal integration and competitive structure. The products exported at most among the textile products are the woven fabrics by 33 %. In the clothing sector, the biggest share is held by knitted ready-wear garments by 53 %. Export of non-woven fabric which is one of the most important technical textile product groups amounted to 227 million dollars in 2011.”.
Increasing Interest in the Turkish Market
Beside the executives of EDANA, leading figures of many firms also delivered speeches at the symposium. Speakers evaluated the economic, demographic, political and social dynamics of Turkey at their speeches. While the topics of the first day included the status of nonwoven production in Turkey, investment climate in Turkey, Turkish economy and and its long-term perspectives, modern wet wipes production lines and the new machinery trends in the production of disposable wet wipes, the sustainability of the preservatives used in the production of wet wipes, formaldehyde-free binders for nonwoven applications, latest advances in drylaid nonwovens, the performance of calcium carbonate in spunbond polypropylene, Turkish market: Disposable hygiene products, women’s role in the Turkish business world and the importance for the hygiene industry, the factors in single-use surgical drapes and gowns and the regulatory harmonisation in EU and the other regions. As for the second day of the symposium, the topics included nonwoven sorbents for removal of oil wastes from the environment, cross-laminated oriented nonwovens, nonwovens in automotive applications, wipes, the use and application of nonwovens in packaging, the new generation of 3D design and the innovation management etc.
Academy Focuses on Sustainability in 2012
Themes of 2012 of Nonwoven Research Academy which aims at promoting fundamental understanding and knowledge concerning the technique and technology of nonwoven fabrics as well as production processes are listed as such: Sustainability (concepts, measurements, environmental evaluations), Biomaterials, Nonwoven and polymer fibre technology developments, Modelling and testing, Nanotechnology, Advances in absorption technologies. The general panorama of the academy includes sector representatives by 46 %, research center representatives by 25 %, students by 25 % and employees by 5 %.
Organisations will Continue Throughout 2012
The next stop of EDANA which will organize two more events in Europe in 2012 will be Barcelona, following İstanbul. In the event that will be held in Spain, all actors in the Absorbent Hygiene Products supply chain will catch the chance of receiving various trainings and establishing business connections in the Personal Care Products Conference. An organization to be held in Germany will follow this event in order to evaluate the developments in filtration. The organization that will be held on October 17-18, panels will be organized on the expected market growth in the field of filtration. Themes of the event will include new filtration technologies, market trends, automotive, air, liquid and gas filtration, water treatment and emission controls.
