Durak Tekstil makes a difference with its quality production and its sustainability vision in the field of industrial sewing and embroidery thread. The company takes into consideration the potential of the employees, of which 65% consists of women, not their gender. Durak Tekstil also attaches strategic importance to the protection of natural resources by using recycled raw materials.
Turkey’s leading manufacturer of industrial sewing and embroidery thread Durak Tekstil, takes a step further towards sustainability backed by its production strength. Meeting several environmental criteria from recycled raw material use to energy saving, the company makes important contributions to education and sports with their high number of women employees. Bursa-based Durak Tekstil brings the sector an innovative perspective that puts people at the centre as well as new products.
Durak Tekstil started production with the manufacture of fishing nets in 70s and earned a new title as Turkey’s first manufacturer of polyester embroidery thread in the 80s. Experiencing a rapid growth in a period of branching out and breakthroughs in exports for Turkey, the company has continued to develop both its capacity and production facilities with new investments. Making new investments in twisting, automatic dyeing, and winding departments in the 90s, Durak Tekstil certified its environmental awareness as Turkey’s first 100% domestic capital industrial yarn manufacturer with the Oeko-Tex certificate received in 1997. Durak Tekstil established the High-Tech POY facility in 1998 for the production of polyester chips yarn, and ensured standardization in the raw material quality of all its yarns while transforming into a brand that produces embroidery and sewing threads in world standards.
Showing that the target is the global market with the ISO 9001: 2000 certificate it received in 2000, Durak Tekstil took a pioneering step for the Turkish textile industry and opened its new factory in Changxing, China in 2007. Closely monitoring the transformation in the global market and the demands for value added products, Durak Tekstil opened its R&D and Design Centre in Bursa in 2018. The company does not compromise on continuous innovation and investment and increased its capacity by 50% during the pandemic. Durak Tekstil has started its studies for the Turquality certificate, which is the next stage of the branding process, and plans to receive this certificate in 2022.
“We strongly support women employment”
Durak Tekstil Director Nadiye Kurteş lists leading corporate principles as; quality production, standardization in products and processes, customer focus, creating value for the employee and the environment. Kurteş said; “We are taking strategic steps to grow globally by adding value to the sector and people. For this, in addition to meeting the basic quality values, we attach great importance to the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability”.
Pointing out that women employment constitutes an important topic of the social dimension, Kurteş emphasized that they attach importance to women employees and gender equality at Durak Tekstil. Explaining that 65% of all employment of Durak Tekstil is women, Kurteş said; “When doing business here, the potential of the employee is taken into consideration, not the gender. Women are at all levels of our company. Women make up 50% of white-collar and 71% of our blue-collar employees, and we create different opportunities to increase this rate. Apart from postpartum legal leaves, we offer female employees and fathers opportunities such as flexible working, taking leaves, and the first and last day of school leaves for those whose children go to school. We are in contact with a special kindergarten to offer a nursery to young children of working mothers. We will implement this after the pandemic”.
Disclosing that women employees and managers are fully supported at Durak Tekstil, Nadiye Kurteş referred to her duty as the Chairman of the Executive Board. Kurteş explained her career development in Durak Tekstil as follows; “After graduating from Uludağ University in 1994, I started my employment life at Durak Tekstil and worked in different positions over 26 years. I worked actively in Quality Control & R&D first and then in Production department. I am currently working as Production and Central Sales Director. I have been, since 2018, the Chairman of the Executive Board, which I entered in 2014”.
Explaining that former Chairman of the Board of Directors Ömer Durak, who passed away in the past months, supported her throughout her career; “With the trust and support given to me, I made a very meaningful progress in my career in order to be successful. Apart from me, there are many women managers at Durak Tekstil and all of them are successfully pursuing their careers. I can say we are a big family”.
“We took effective measures against Covid-19 in all our facilities”
Nadiye Kurteş underlined that they took serious measures to protect the health of employees and their families during the pandemic. Kurteş listed the implemented measures as follows; “In order to protect the health and safety of employees and their families in the pandemic, first, a working systematic in accordance with social distance has been adopted. We also halved the capacity in dining halls and services. In addition to regular disinfection in all facilities and offices of Durak Tekstil, disinfectants were placed in places accessible to everyone. We distribute free masks to our staff every month. Temperature of all personnel is taken twice a day. We perform the Covid-19 tests at certain periods and we repeat these tests after the treatment of positive cases. HES Code has now become necessary when entering Durak Tekstil. We continue to take quick measures against all possibilities that could lead to disease”.
“Social responsibility projects make us stronger”
Social responsibility projects take a major place in Durak Tekstil’s holistic sustainability perspective. Nadiye Kurteş said that they carry out activities to raise social standards, especially of employees, and participate in environmental projects. Kurţeş shared the following information; “Since it is our production centre, we support the program of training football players from the youth setup at Bursaspor Vakıfköy facilities. We believe that sports add a positive value to the development of our children. We contribute to education by providing scholarships to successful children who are in need throughout our region. Finally, we created a library and a computer-equipped education hall in Uzunöz Village in Bursa Keles”.
Sustainability starts with raw materials at Durak Tekstil
Stating that the starting point of sustainability is the protection and a more controlled use of natural resources, Nadiye Kurteş said that they attach significant importance to the use of recycled raw materials at Durak Textile in this context. Kurteş commented; “We use raw materials that comply with Oeko-Tex and Reach criteria. We carry out pioneering studies in social sustainability by producing recycled products. The leading brands of the world announce that 70% of their products will consist of recycled products in the next 3 years. We will crown our success in this area by obtaining the Oeko-Tex-Step certificate for these products in the long view”.
