Interview with Irfan Matak – IT Director Karsu Tekstil
KARSU TEKSTIL – Company Founded in 1973, headquartered in Kayseri, Karsu Tekstil is one of the largest textile companies in Turkey. Manufactures and exports yarns all over the world, and is listed on the Stock exchange.
Karsu Tekstil was founded in 1973 by the entrepreneur and philanthropist Arif Molu. Can you tell us something about the founder and the most important moments in the company’s history?
Mr. Arif Molu was not only a philanthropist and entrepreneur but also one of the most progressive investors in our region. Not only Karsu Tekstil, he has been a leader in many large investments in this region. His contributions and vision cannot be measured even nowadays.
Karsu Tekstil is very active from the point of view of social and solidarity: He created a real school (“Arif Molu Anatolian Technical and Vocational High School”) and invested heavily in the creation and modernization of hospitals and health care facilities. Can you talk about these initiatives?
We believe that the total value added in our country and our sector can be increased by our activities, as well as social and especially by better opportunities to be provided to future generations. In addition to social support, such as school and health, we follow a very sensitive policy on environment and nature. Also we are engaged in intensive afforestation work in our region.
What are the flagship products of Karsu Tekstil and what are the most important markets and Countries for you in terms of business?
We are producing yarn, that is our speciality. Besides, we are the leader in our region in terms of product variety and technical yarn production. We also have the capacity to produce a small amount of fabrics. In these days when the balance of trade in the world is changing, we want to focus on export by transforming the elements such as change and competition into advantages.
In the textile world There is much talk today of ecology and environmental sustainability. Are these themes important to you? How do you move on this front?
Definitely, as Karsu Tekstil, we attach great importance to nature and sustainability as we described in our social projects. We prefer renewable energy especially in energy supply. We also have our own treatment facility.
What do you think about the trend and evolution of the textile market in recent years? How has the textile sector changed, globally, and how could it change in the coming years?
It is hard to imagine living in a world without textiles. This is especially true of clothing and also yarn production cycles. We are aware that, as Karsu we are important part of this ecology. In recent years, the pace of growth in all areas of the world is growing incredibly. Both technological factors and consumer expectations are growing and developing. As Karsu, we attach great importance to technological developments. We updated our ERP infrastructure with Datatex partnership. In the coming years, we aim to further increase our competitiveness with Industry 4.0 investments. Even if you’re not convinced about change, the world is forcing you! We think textile sector is going to change with technology.