Customer care
Originally based in Syria, Sharabati Denim operates two facilities, one in Egypt and the other in Kadirli, in the south of Turkey, where construction began in 2015. With continued investment in new generation equipment, this site has progressively expanded to double and mirror the production of the Egyptian mill.
The very first mill run by the Sharabati family was located in Syria in 1978, 45 years ago. The family-owned company now operates two factories, one in El-Sadat City, Egypt, which dates back to 1998, and a second one in Kadirli, where production began in 2017. This makes it one of the newest denim mills in the country.
Ongoing investment in the Kadirli mill have sought to align its production with that of the Egyptian plant so that they produce the same qualities and quantities. The combined production capacity of the two plants is roughly 120 million metres. “Now, technically, we can produce the same products in Egypt and in Turkey,” Alessandro Moretti Ciacci, head of sales and marketing, told Inside Denim last October when the company opened its doors to its key customers.
In early October, Sharabati invited 250 denim industry professionals, working for brands, manufacturers, sourcing offices or the media, to its Kadirli mill. Among these, 53 international customers working for 31 companies flew in from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, while 151 Turkish customers representing 69 companies also attended. “Denim is a family, it is a big family, and we wanted to bring this big family together at our company,” says Mr Moretti Ciacci. The event was also an opportunity to show off the nearly brand-new facility. The most recent building, when we visited, was the entrance hall that “was finished just six months ago,” he says.
Still a work in progress, the Kadirli site was in the process of taking delivery for the solar panels that were to be installed on its rooftops. At the end of 2022, the surface covered represented 4.5 megawatts (MW). When complete, the installation will reach 5.6 MW, Dilek Erik, Sharabati’s marketing manager tells Inside Denim.
Efficiency & sustainability
The Kadirli mill has a production capacity of 50 million metres a year, it covers nearly 200,000 sq.m and employs a staff of 1,500. “When I arrived at Sharabati, Kadirli was already one of the best mills. As it is a new mill, it has very recent machinery and equipment,” says Mr Moretti Ciacci. He says 2021 was a good year, as the company sold 100 million metres of fabric. The company's main mill, in Egypt, has a capacity of some 70 million metres a year and is where its management is based.
The vertically integrated facility has both open end and ring spinning lines, which manufacture 25 tonnes of open-end and 50 tonnes of ring spun yarns daily. These enable the company to cater for the demand for both types of yarns, with the ring spinning machines delivering the slubby qualities that are currently in high demand.
In the dye house, a new slasher dyeing machine was recently installed next to the two rope dyeing ranges. These operations are conducted under safe working conditions with an automatic dosage dye kitchen. The company says it uses mostly pre-reduced indigo. Its Sahara dyeing process allows it to reduce water consumption (by 50%), chemicals (by 15-20%) and electricity (by 40%). This building also houses an automated warp beam management system that transfers beams from warping to weaving operations that the company claims is unique.
The weaving operations are housed in two halls, one dedicated to denims, the other to gabardines. A total of 288 looms produce the fabrics. Sharabati has calculated that the iSaver looms, machines made by Italian group Itema, have helped save 900 kg of selvedge yarns per loom per year. With an ear to calls for authentic selvedge denims, the company will be installing vintage selvedge looms from the early 20th century next to these high-tech and highly efficient 21st century machines.
“Our strong point is our internal know-how,” says Mr Moretti Ciacci. “The rope and slasher dyeing machines were set up by our own staff. Our high level of in-house expertise is also how we maintain a high level of innovation.” This competence and keenness for technical innovation spans the entire company, as he says that even Mohammad Sharabati, company president and owner, is adept at running machines and “loves denim technology”.
Sharabati’s commitment to sustainable innovation can be seen in the mill’s caustic soda recovery unit. Here, the mercerising agent is reused instead of being discharged. The company says it can recover up to 75% of the caustic soda it uses. Water evaporated from this unit is also captured for reuse in the mercerising process itself.
Sharabati is currently building a new wastewater treatment system in Kadirli which will combine chemical and biological processes and should have a capacity of 2,500 m3 per day once it is in operation.
Customer focus
The on-site stock can house some 5 million metres of fabric, and the company also stores its goods in warehouses located closer to garment manufacturers, in Tunisia and Morocco. These make it possible to offer fast delivery times and were cited by Sharabati’s customers as a big plus in working with the company.
The company’s goal is now to make its achievements, with regards to innovation, sustainability and customer service, better known. Behind the scenes, it has developed many greener denim production methods; it is time now, it believes, to communicate its efforts to reduce its environmental impacts. “We were the only denim mill to take part in the Circular Days event in the Netherlands last fall,” points out Ms Erik. Its closeness to key buyers and manufacturers was made particularly clear at the open house event last fall, attesting to Mr Moretti Ciacci’s assertion that Saharabati “is a very brand-oriented company”.
Sharabati’s mill in Kadirli is located in the south of Turkey, not far from Syria, where the family-owned company’s first denim factory was in operation from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.
All Photos: Sharabati
