Çalık Denim Factory and R&D Director Ahmet Serhat Karaduman

30 years with full of success

 

Çalık Denim, which is among the top 10 companies in the production of premium denim fabrics, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. As TFF Magazine, we have talked about R & D investments and future vision of the company with Çalık Denim Factory and R&D Director Ahmet Serhat Karaduman.

Çalık Denim, allocates about 2% of the turnover in R&D investments, is also proud to have the only Denim R & D center with state approval.

Would you briefly introduce yourself?

I was born in Muş in 1972. I graduated from Selçuk University with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and got my Master’s degree in Management Organization at Çukurova University Social Sciences Institute. I stepped into business life as a weaving engineer in GAP Güneydoğu Textile company in 1996, previously known as Çalık Denim under Çalık Holding. Then, I worked in Turkmenistan Textile Group as Weaving, Dyeing and Product Development Manager. In 2013, I was assigned to Çalık Denim as R&D Manager in Malatya. And I have been working as a Factory and R&D Director since 2014. Being Factory and R&D Director at the same time is important to underline that innovation and production is inseperable for us…

Çalık Denim, which is among the top 10 companies in the production of premium denim fabrics in the world, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. What are the effects of R&D department in succeding Çalık Denim?

We are entitled to open the seventh R & D center in textile industry of Turkey with the certificate we received in 2011. We have become a center of science that will reflect our deep-rooted knowledge in the industry through R & D studies and new technologies. We owe our achievements in value-added denim production to investments in R&D and innovation. When we look at it numerically, we allocate about 2% of our turnover for R&D investments. We do not fixate our research to just denim or fabric in the R & D center. We are conducting research on “Advanced Textile Products” in the center where over 40 engineers are located. We keep working on a much wider field of nanotechnology, intelligent fabrics, different functionalities.

In addition to such products developed through R & D investments, we are also carrying out many business associations and projects in order to improve our business processes, to make more efficient production and contribute to academic life. We are enriching our R & D activities internationally. To sum up, investments we have made in this field and R & D work we have carried out in this regard, along with the importance we have given to development and innovation in all our processes, contribute greatly to the “Çalık Denim” brand at the end of the day…

Çalık Denim aims to increase its market share in the world from 5 percent to 10 percent by 2020. Would you briefly tell us about the works carried out in this context?

Since the first day of Çalık Denim established, investments have always been very important to us. As a premium denim fabric producer with 30 years of experience, we owe our current position in the global market to both our employees, who are part of our family and the investments we have made in R & D and innovation.

We will continue to invest in this direction to increase our market share in the upcoming periods. Technology is the most important cornerstone in our development.

We owe the value-added fabrics we have developed to the advanced technology infrastructure. We have invested $ 140,000,000 between 2010-2017. The target investment rate between 2018 and 2021 is going to be $ 95,000,000. By 2020 we will increase our capacity by 60 million meters and increase our global market share by 10%.

Collaboration projects are really important to move brands further. Our aim is to create “Çalık Denim” quality and trust to the end-consumer through our fabrics which we have developed with our innovative technologies. For this reason, we are collaborating both with brands and universities – especially those teaching fashion and design.

Çalık Denim has the only denim R & D center with state approval. Çalık Denim also works on new technologies in denim production. Would you explain about your works and innovative products you offer to the sector?

As a company that stands out with its innovative and solution producing products in the denim industry, we brought new breath to the industry with the concepts such as Oxygene, Elastech, T-Power, Red Carpet, Fly Jean and Smart Stretch. With these concepts, we found solutions to problems that could not be solved in the industry before…

What will be the future expectations of Denim Market in the world in general and in Turkey in specific? Do you align these expectations in your research work?

Thanks to our large and experienced team of R & D and P&D we are often predicting the trends by feeding on different disciplines, making continuous trend trips. This is actually one of our most important missions … And trends, even though a self-repetitive cycle in certain periods, it has to adapt to the new it is in existence and to meet the expectation of the people of this period.

At this point, our R & D works are gaining importance. To exemplify through the technologies we developed, while super stretch jean demand was on the rise, the open-end look jeans started to become very fashionable. With this demand of the industry, Calik Denim has developed D’enovated concept in SS’18 season. Now, it is one of the remarkable concepts of the SS’19 collection with its updated features. New fabrics have an authentic look with distinctive twill lines combined with the advantages of today’s technologies and upgraded to create a 3D effect every time they’re washed. What makes the Concept stand apart among its kind fabrics is that they are smooth, bright and have no itchy or fuzzy feel. Comfort and style blend as one.

Another technology that we concentrated on is Smart Stretch. Recently, the fashion industry has become more open to the notion of being at ease with ourselves. It’s not only about being thin and fit anymore… There has been a wake-up call for the trend, and Calik Denim concentrated on this plus size trend which is increasingly becoming more important and also employ new technologies to make its customers and end-users lives easier. Embracing the concept of curves as opposed to thinness, Calik Denim’s Smart Stretch was developed both for comfort and style, suiting all body shapes including plus sizes, which the fashion industry now recognises exists! Using new technologies to increase its holding power and help it keep shape, Smart Stretch works to enhance both slim and curvaceous figures. Before, the waist and knee areas were compressed but now with the new added Smart Stretch technology, the fabric knows exactly where to stretch and where not. This ‘smart’ technology shapes and reveals curves where it is needed. On the other hand, recently, people have been seeking to be comfortable as well as being chic in their daily lives. Furthermore, the most of the time they want to go everywhere in sports clothes. Even in the offices.. This demand is also increasing by Millenials entering our lives. When it comes to being comfortable and chic we met “athleisure”. And we couldn’t stop without introducing this trend with the denim industry by creating athlejean story. The concept is a new breath in the industry with its outstanding features. As the concept offers impossible lightness, exceptional flexibility and creamy softness, Fly Jean is the perfect fit for the athleisure style…

In summary, we are carrying out our activities with international cooperation by ensuring the integration of intelligent systems in all our organizations and processes in order to move our technological sub-production to a level where we can respond to all possible requests for the future periods that are expecting to become increasingly difficult.