The master of fibres Yünsa

THE MASTER OF FIBRES

Yünsa, a major European integrated fabric producer, brings significant innovation to the textile industry. The company has developed an environmentally-friendly BioGreen fabric with minimum environmental impact, setting a new benchmark for the sector. Romana Moares reports.

Founded in 1973, Yünsa is the largest integrated high-segment worsted wool fabric manufacturer in Europe and one of the five largest in the world. With an output of 4,500 tonnes of yarn annually and the capacity to weave 12.5 million metres of fabric, the company successfully represents Turkey in the international arena for top-segment innovative products. About 63% of total sales are exported to more than 50 countries. The company has agents in 20 countries, sales offices in England and Germany, and design offices in Turkey and in Italy.

Yünsa’s product portfolio consists primarily of 100% wool bur, but other fabrics such as cashmere, silk, viscose, polyester, lycra, cotton and linen blend fabrics are also available. Produced using the latest technologies, the fabrics can be water repellent, UV protected, selfcleaning and natural stretching.

The company has a strong R&D department aiming to develop innovative products that are environmentally friendly with a long economic life. In recent years, the R&D specialists have intensified efforts to develop sustainable products reflecting environmental considerations, which will help to keep the planet in a healthy state for future generations.

Examples of the company’s ‘green’ products include the mini eco-fabric collection based on the recycling of fabric waste. Within this process, waste produced by apparel manufacturers using Yünsa ‘s fabric, along with the company’ own waste, was utilised. Benefits include up to 70% reduction in the cost of material per kg, increased awareness of waste being a valuable raw material, and a significant CO2 reduction.

The new fabric

The most recent outcome of Yünsa’s R&D Center is the environmentally friendly BioGreen fabric, processed with an oil-based softener made from the seeds of natural wild plants. This process makes BioGreen fabric highly biodegradable in nature. Given its minimal environmental impact and innovative technology, which uses natural and renewable resources, BioGreen stands out as one of the most environmentally friendly applications in the textile industry.

Yünsa CEO Mustafa Sürmegöz said: “Yünsa’s priority is to bring innovation to the textile industry. These days, sustainability is the most important topic on the global agenda. We believe every industry should assume responsibility for sustainability, and at Yünsa we try to do our best in this respect: environmentally friendly, sustainable solutions and innovations are at the heart of our operation.

“We are committed to ensuring that our production has as little environmental impact as possible, by reducing our energy and natural resources consumption and our carbon footprint. The BioGreen fabric developed by our R&D team is the result of these efforts.”

He further explains that the production of BioGreen fabric uses environmentally friendly green chemicals instead of petroleumbased products, which significantly reduces the release of hazardous substances into the air and water, and eliminates the use of fossil fuels. “This finishing technique has an 8 times smaller carbon footprint when compared to similar techniques. We are very proud to be the first and only company in the world to use this technique on woollen fabrics.” Excellent performance

The company’s quality and reliability, as well as its excellence in management and manufacturing, have been awarded several times. The latest international recognition was received in February 2021.

Yünsa won the TPM (Total Production Management) Excellence Award from the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) for its exemplary production and management standards, becoming the first and only textile company in Turkey to receive this prestigious award.

In line with the Total Productive Management approach, which covers the entire operation including both blue-collar and white-collar employees unlike similar models, Yünsa has proven its excellence with successful business results in a wide range of areas from OHS, manufacturing, quality and delivery to maintenance, cost management, environment, sustainability and employee motivation.

“Yünsa boasts a pioneering position in Turkish textile industry,” says Mustafa Sürmegöz. “At Yünsa, we are glad to see how well our efforts to improve our production and management processes have paid off. Yünsa is the first and only textile company in Turkey to receive the TPM Excellence Award. This award is the result of the hard work of all Yünsa staff and I’m confident that there are many more awards to come for Yünsa thanks to their commitment, loyalty and dedicated efforts.” n