Istanbul-based Elteksmak, while gearing up to showcase its wide range of products at ITM 2020, has proved that ultimately quality is what matters when machinery is made for the textile industry. Over 25 years of its operations, it has created a deep global footprint with its wide portfolio of products
Elteksmak, with its expertise in textile finishing and dyeing drying machines, officially started its activities in 1995 in Denizli, Turkey, under the leadership of Mehmet Poslu. Backed by his knowledge about the textile dyeing and printing processes and his long experience of working with leading textile companies, Poslu took the initiative of venturing out on his own. He was soon backed by his sons – Eyüp Poslu, Ekrem Poslu and Emrah Poslu – who acquired education in the fields of machinery, electronics and international trade. Together, they have built the company on strong foundations. The company is now in its 25th year, fully institutionalised with a closed production centre spread over 20,000 sq. metres manned by 140 employees. The company has world-class production equipment with several hundreds of its machines now being operational on five continents.
“Thanks to our sister companies, Polo Automation and Polo Teknik, we really can say that ‘the control is in our hands’. The sister companies provide all automation, software and service as well as spare parts related to our machines. They are specialists in their domain and ensure that our technologies are the most modern. Another group company, Matias A.S. is a representative company which has offices in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and sells Elteksmak machines to Turkic and Russian-speaking countries as well as some other valuable domestic and foreign companies’ machines. It is important for us to have such a widespread presence to ensure customer satisfaction,” says Semi Maner, Sales and Marketing Manager, Elteksmak.
Product portfolio
Elteksmak has gained many years of experience and specialises in the production of machines related to drying technologies. These are the third-generation POSLU GEN3 stenter, EL NINO and ELMEGO-X continuous tumble dryers, AIRELAX belt dryer and VAPORESSO steaming and fixing machine for printed fabrics. In addition, as an accessory of these machines or as a standalone item, the company’s high-pressure squeezing padder is in demand because of the energy savings it provides to its customers.
Speaking about the usage areas and advantages of its continuous tumble dryers, Maner says: “These machines with their starting usage point of providing excellent quality and soft handle to pile textiles like towels and velvets are being used today for various reasons as a result of the changing fashion scenario, new processes and new consumer demands.”
“For example, a significant part of the tumble dryers that we sell today are used for cleaning residues such as fluffs, fibres and dust on the fabric. This cleaning process is carried out especially before digital printing and the problem of retouching caused by these residues remaining on the surface of the fabric is eliminated or used to eliminate the rising dust which creates a big problem for the consumer in some fabrics. To give another example, it is used in the defibrillation stage in the production of Tencel™ fabrics which are nowadays in fashion. The fabric is provided with a clean surface and perfect handle,” he adds. In today’s competitive conditions, it is difficult to satisfy the consumer, which puts the producer under pressure to increase the quality in every aspect. This is something that Elteksmak understands only too well.
“Today’s consumers want to wear shirts, blouses, etc., with a perfect silky touch; they want their sweatshirts to not contaminate their white singlet, etc. As a result of this, tumble dryers as quality-oriented machines are going to be the sine qua non machines of textile finishing plants. Our tumbler machines are working at various sites in almost all fields of textiles such as outerwear, home textiles, knitting, weaving, denim, etc.,” Maner informs.
Elteksmak is one of the few companies producing these machines in Europe and can claim to be the only manufacturer in the world that can produce the multi-cabin type which is production-oriented and mono-block type which is effect-oriented and, if necessary, combine these two types of machines. The ELMEGO-X model can be manufactured with up to six drying chambers and is a machine with very high production capacity and with the EL NINO model, as the name suggests, the desired effect can be taken to the highest level.
Environmentally responsible
Meanwhile, at Elteksmak, sensitivity to the environment plays a critical role with the company highly focused on consuming less energy but achieving the highest efficiency. Elaborates Maner: “Today’s technology is already making progress in this direction. Manufacturers who cannot improve themselves on this subject have no chance of surviving. Energy cost is one of the main issues that enterprises cannot control in production costs. In addition, the purchase cost of an engine during its operating life accounts for 1% of the total cost. Being aware of this situation, the highest efficiency class motors are used in our machines. All our motors are inverter-controlled, which also saves energy.”
Moreover, the other automation equipment used by Elteksmak is selected from the top segment brands. Energy savings means not only users savings, but also less carbon dioxide emissions. “The burners that we use in our gas-heated machines are of the highest quality and provide considerable energy savings when combined with the perfect air distribution systems, strong insulation and exhaust air humidity control systems. Also, if we consider our tumbler machines, these mechanically give the desired touch to the fabrics, reducing the amount of chemicals given as softener by 75% and contributing to less pollution of nature. Our high-pressure padder, which I mentioned before and which is in great demand, reduces the amount of water in the fabric to 40-50% depending on the type of fabric. This provides great savings in evaporation energy,” he adds.
Being competitive
In recent years, Elteksmak is witness to the changing scenario the world over and has equipped itself accordingly. One of the fallouts of this change is that Turkey’s machinery manufacturers have become very important in terms of dyeing and finishing machines. Not only is the competition in Turkey quite substantial, the competition to sell in other countries is becoming increasingly stiff. “Today you will find a growing interest in machines made in Turkey. Earlier these machines were bought only because of their lower prices but now they command attention because of their quality and technological superiority,” Maner points out. In fact, the price difference between machines made in Turkey and Europe has actually begun to matter less since European manufacturers have also been forced to lower their prices. What counts now is quality!
Export scenario
In 2019, Elteksmak sold 70% of its production to foreign markets. In fact, all countries related to textile production are now in their target zone. This has made the company truly international. Providing more information about their marketing and overseas sales channels, Maner says: “As I said before, our marketing and sales activities in Turkic republics and Russian-speaking countries are carried out by our group company, Matias A.S., based in Uzbekistan. Our activities related to Turkey and other countries are carried out by our regional sales managers with great local experience about the countries for which they are responsible. Connected to them are meticulously chosen representatives and agencies.”
Trade show presence
The ITM fair has always been considered by Elteksmak as being crucial to their global growth plans. This year, in June, it will have a presence at ITM 2020 with its POSLU brand ram, ELMEGO-X brand tumbler and other tumbler machine, EL NINO. Meanwhile, the company has an ambitious plan to participate in trade fairs in at least 10 other countries. “As a company, we attach great importance to fairs and strive to participate in all of them, whether local or international, as much as possible. In our 2020 planning, we have already made agreements to participate in 10 other countries besides the ITM fair,” Maner informs.
Research and Development
Elteksmak has a very strong research and development team. This ensures that the company keeps working on new projects. “In addition to new projects, we are constantly working and researching to add new features to our existing machines. Apart from our routine operations, every request or need from our customers is a matter of research and development for us,” Maner says. A matter of pride for the company is that such research and development led it to receiving the Best Design Award in 2018.
“The design competition was hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Turkey Exporters Assembly (TIM) and Industrial Designers Society (ETMK). At this event, Elteksmak was honoured with the Best Design Turkey 2018 Award in the Industrial Design Section for its GEN3 stenter and high-pressure FOULARD machine,” Maner informs. In this competition, the evaluation was conducted by an international jury and the assessment was not only limited to external design but also the categories of diversity and renewal, user benefit, health and safety and design quality and sustainability for production.
Road forward
With the year 2019 registering excellent growth and helping Elteksmak going over and above its set targets, the company’s management has high hopes for 2020. “We have pushed up our bar of targets for this year. Growth, in itself, is a deep topic. But it can be summarised as healthy growth in two words. If in your growth process, your system, vision, quality, and service activities are parallel to customer satisfaction, I think then it can be termed healthy growth.
When the issues I consider as the conditions of growth are realised, the doors of export open automatically.” And though from time to time there are fluctuations in Turkey’s economy due to the instability in geo-political conditions, the textile sector remains on a firm path with its export share notching ever-increasing benchmarks. “At Elteksmak, we have made a good start to the year 2020. While we cannot foresee other conditions that may affect the country in general, I think our textile sector will continue to have a strong presence worldwide,” Maner states.