Science, skill and scope
In a 300,000m2 facility located in Inegol, near Bursa, Turkey’s industrial hub, Isko produces some 300 million meters of fabric every year. This state-of-the-art facility is where a future-forward vision of denim is in the making.
Isko Denim holds many patents, specifically in stretch weaving, its dyeing operations are fully automated, and its new garment-making division is equipped with Industry 4.0 machinery and solar panels line its rooftops. These all proceed from its scientific approach to manufacturing and to minimising its impacts. In what is possibly one of the largest denim manufacturing sites under one roof, it has the daunting task of continually optimising its operations.
Isko’s roots go back more than a century. It is part of Sanko Tekstil, the textile division of Sanko Group, which was founded in 1904 and remains a family-run business. The denim division, headed by Fatih Konukoglu, son of Sanko Group founder Sani Konukoglu, was created in 1983.
The company’s focus on sustainability also goes far back. As one of the first denim mills to receive Nordic Swan and EU Ecolabel certifications, the often-overused term is more than a catchword for Isko, it is ingrained in its everyday activities and vision. “It is not something I learned in school,” says Fatih Konukoglu, a textile engineer by training. “No one taught us about saving water, or energy,” he said as he welcomed a group of journalists, including Inside Denim, to the factory last June. Sustainability, he says, is a journey from which we learn every day.
“All of our investments are geared towards sustainability. It is easy enough to buy sustainable fibres, but if the chemicals used to turn them into fabric are dumped in the environment, that is not good,” says product development manager Baris Ozden who has been with the company for 26 years. “There is only way to do good and that is to take an all-encompassing holistic approach to manufacturing,” he says.
The factory tour was an opportunity to see the efforts the company makes to ensure it abides by its high standards. Its indigo dyeing operations take place under controlled humidity and temperature conditions and the management of chemicals is fully automated. “No human hand ever touches the chemicals,” says Mr Ozden. Sensors weigh the tanks continuously, and cameras take 100 photos a minute to gauge colour via spectrometry. These automated operations are nonetheless backed by manual inspection. A technician is tasked with checking the colour every 1,000 or 5,000 metres. The entire indigo dyeing line extends over 1,800 metres, says the product development manager. “If a problem were to arise, we might have 1,800m of ropes that are unfit for use.” The dyeing machines are rarely ever brought to a stop, it can happen maybe once a year, he adds.
The company’s weaving operations are spread across two levels to allow real-time quality control. On the upper floor, the 2,000 or so weaving machines release lengths of newly minted denim fabrics that drop directly down to the lower level where they are inspected. This allows a technician to stop a machine if an issue is spotted that the loom itself did not identify. Isko has partnered with Italian manufacturer Itema to supply its fully-automated sensor-equipped looms that generate data used to continually optimise production. Many of these are Itema iSaver rapier looms that are designed to minimise selvedge on the left side of the fabric, reducing weft yarn waste edging by 50%.
Industry 4.0
Isko’s new garment making facility, Martelli Production, also features advanced manufacturing equipment. These include automated folding and sewing machines that stitch zippers and flies or pockets and belt loops in a single go. Among these Industry 4.0 machines, several come from SIP Italy, which Ertugrul Konukoglu, Creative Room manager says have been further customised by the two partners. “We created this division to better understand the impact a specific fabric can have on garment manufacturing and the final garment itself. We see this as an additional service to other companies in the supply chain as it can help them overcome obstacles in their own processes,” he tells Inside Denim.
In the laundry facility, Jeanologia laser and Tonello ozone machines are installed next to equipment used for various finishing processes such as enzyme treatments. “Day by day we strive to eliminate pumice stones,” says Ercan Gedik, who is part of Isko’s Martelli Division. He adds that Tonello’s Nanobubble technology reduces water usage and makes garments last longer as the fabric is less degraded.
One of the more impressive installations seen in June was the stock and distribution centre. The colossal, fully automated space measures 100 metres long and 40 metres high. It operates in the dark and in low oxygen conditions to prevent fabrics from oxidising as well as any fire from spreading. Topping the Inegol site, the factory’s roof is covered with solar panels that provide 20-25% of its energy needs.
But Isko is particularly proud of its R&D centre, where 30 people work under the managment of Gökhan Kaplan. “Since 2009, the company has employed 100 researchers, and this where many of our patents were first developed,” he says. It is yet another example of the company’s science-led thinking and commitment to making denims greener.
With an advanced and automated system, the factory’s dyeing house operates in safe working conditions.
Photo: Isko Denim
