Kahramanmaraş, acknowledged as one of the most important centers of the textile sector in Turkey, once again brings national and international textile technology manufacturers together for the fifth time with the International Textile Machinery Exhibition (KTM) this year.
Mayor of Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality Hayrettin Güngör, elected on the 31st of March, responded our questions in relation to the KTM 2019 Fair. Güngör said, ‘’Kahramanmaraş has a vision to attract exhibitors. The textile sector has been institutionalized with the aid of KTM and similar fairs. The 5th International Kahramanmaraş Textile Machinery Exhibition (KTM), which will be held for the fifth time this year, will create great opportunities for our city. It will be beneficial for our city to have these fairs in order to become traditional and to host in the coming years.’’
‘’It is necessary to be a pioneer in the change itself ”
Mayor of Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality Güngör, identified the present era with the words ‘ the age of change’ and continued, ‘We are in an age when those who resist inevitable change are erased from the stage of history and those who cannot keep up with the pace of change lose their right to survive. In this new era, it is not enough to follow the change, it is necessary to be a pioneer in the change itself. We will see the companies that keep up with this change at the KTM 2019 Fair.’
President Güngör has underlined the importance of Kahramanmaraş who has a word in production and export and further expressed his opinion on the leading role of the city in the transformation of the textile sector and the desired position of the city to produce its’ own brand. Güngör has also continued his speech with the following, ‘Throughout human history, the only thing that has remained unchanged has been the change itself. However, change is more rapid nowadays than in any period of history. In science and technology, humanity has surpassed the distance it has traveled for centuries in a few days. We are in an age where knowledge travels the world at the speed of light with no boundaries. We are in an age where those who resist this evolution are erased from the stage of history and those who cannot keep up with the pace of change lose their right to survive. In this new era, it is not enough to follow the change, it is necessary to be a pioneer in the change itself. The textile sector should be transformed into a structure where quality and competition are decisive and fashion products are constantly produced and sold. In brief, we need to create our own brands in textile. ”
‘’Tekstil Turkish Textile Sector Has Been One of the Leading Areas of the Economy ”
In 2018, Kahramanmaraş, which enjoyed an export figure of over $ 1 billion, is one of the cities that attract attention with its foreign trade volume with production and exports and said that % 61 per cent overall exports consisting of textile products achieved in the city.
Güngör also emphasized on the textile sector constituting the gateway to employment for thousands of people in the city and he streamlined on the major role of the textile sector on the economic and development process of the developing countries as an industrial branch and shared the following, ‘The Turkish textile sector has been one of the leading areas of the economy. Kahramanmaraş Turkish textile sector provides employment to thousands of people in Turkey as one of the leaders in this field. "
“KTM Fair Will Create Great Opportunities for Our City”
Mayor Güngör stated that the sector has started to institutionalized with KTM and similar fairs and said, ‘KTM Fair, which will be held for the fifth time this year, will create great opportunities for our city. These fairs have become traditional and will continue in the coming years that has a positive impact on our city.’’
He added that the sector has reached a very important dimension in exports and that they believe that Kahramanmaraş will grow further in this regard.
Consequently, Hayrettin Güngör concentrated on the matchless opportunity of the fair for the Kahramanmaraş economy and said, ‘I think that the representatives of the textile sector will make good use of this opportunity and show an intensive participation in the fair.’
