The Summit, which was held in Kahramanmaraş, which meets a significant part of the Turkish textile production, was organized in cooperation with Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KMTSO) and East Mediterranean Development Agency (DOĞAKA). The main theme of the International Trade Summit this year was Industry 4.0, which represents a new production revolution in industry. In the symposium where advanced technologies in the field of textile and academic studies were shared, the technologies, which bring speed, efficiency, quality and cost advantage to the textile sector through Industry 4.0 were shared along with numerous scientific data. Delivering the opening speech of the symposium, Serdar Zabun, Chairman of KMTSO, stated that Kahramanmaraş sets the best example in Anatolia in terms of development with its industrial production amounting 5 billion USD and foreign trade volume amounting to 2.5 billion USD. Zabun pointed out that International Textile Summit, which has become one of the most important gatherings of the textile sector, displays the success and international brand power of Kahramanmaraş in this sector and also opens new paths in the textile adventure and fashion journey. Zabun continued as such: “Kahramanmaraş crowns its performance in production with fashion designs, fair and symposium culture. Exporting to 125 countries in the World, the city is now referred as a strong Turkish brand in yarn, weaving and knitting. Having increased its added value with the investments in the denim production in recent years, Kahramanmaraş has acquired a significant market share and a prestigious position in the European markets with its strategical position in export. A great majority of the products that Turkey sends to the fashion centers of the World in this sector are produced in and exported from Kahramanmaraş.”
Ever Increasing Importance of the International Textile Summit
Giving information about ITS in the symposium held for the 3rd time this year, Zabun stated that the importance of the summit, which is organized in cooperation with Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Commerce and Industry and East Mediterranean Development Agency, is increasing day by day for the textile industry. Zabun continued as such: “I believe that these meetings where we talk about the developments and innovations in this field will increase the contributions of the textile sector to our city by making its global achievements sustainable as well as its contributions to the national economy and development of our city. With these feelings and emotions, I hope that the 3rd International Textile Summit will create a new wave of excitement by shaping the future of the sector and increasing innovation, design and export capabilities, in particular.” Chairing the 2nd session of the 3rd International Textile Summit, Chairman of İstanbul Textile and Raw Materials Association, Ahmet Öksüz expressed the satisfaction he feels for being in the International Textile Summit held in Kahramanmaraş and added that, “Today we did good things and hosted esteemed guests and experts in the field of Industry 4.0. Of course, this is an actual issue. We will listen to what are offered to the yarn industrialists in terms of Industry 4.0. We will also talk about the necessity of it, what is its role in textile, is it suitable for the textile industry or what should be its dimensions.” In the rest of the session, Ph.D Norbert Klapper, CEO of Rieter Group which is an important solution partner in the textile sector in Kahramanmaraş, Adnan Dalgakıran, CEO of Dalgakıran Makine San. Ve Tic. A.Ş. and Governing Board Member of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, Daisuke Tanii, European Sales Manager of Murata Machinery and Murat Kısa, Fanuc Robotics Technical Manager gave various information on the adaptation of the sector to Industry 4.0 and the Works conducted in their companies in this field.
Parade of Robots
During the event, a gala program was organized. Making the opening speech of the gala program, Serdar Zabun stated that they have successfully reflected the success story of the heroic city, which processes its art, literature and multilateral culture onto the fabric just like an embroidery, from past to the present on the podium. Following the speeches, a parade of silver thread works anchored by Jülide Ateş on the theme of “From Tradition to Future” was held with the participation of famous models accompanied by robots. In the parade where famous model Özge Ulusoy took part along with robots, models performed shows where the traditional silver thread Works, which were sent to the Ottoman Palace from Kahramanmaraş and were labelled as “work of Maraş” and the fabrics produced in the cities with the latest technologies were combined. In the event, a silver thread table auctioned for the benefit of the Mehmetçik Foundation, was purchased by Hanefi Öksüz, President of KMTSO Assembly and CEO of Kipaş Holding, for 50 thousand Turkish Liras.
