02.23.23
On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northwest Syria, just 21 miles west of Gaziantep, Turkey, a hub for nonwovens and textiles manufacturing and the home of companies including Mogul and Kurt Nonwovens and General Nonwovens. The quake and its aftershocks are estimated to have caused tens of thousands of deaths including more than 42,000 casualties in Turkey, making it the deadliest earthquake the country has seen since 1268. Additionally, more than 60,000 buildings have been destroyed, many roads have collapsed and the estimated cost of damage is $84 billion.
Serkan Gogus, CCO of Mogul, posted on his LinkedIn Page, “Our area has faced one of biggest earthquake catastrophes in our history. I want to thank all friends and business partners who shared their concern for us. Luckily in industrial zone and Gaziantep city center effect has been relatively limited. As far as I know we have no loss from our employees but unfortunately some of them has lost their relatives.”
He reports that Mogul’s plants and equipment are in good working condition and its offices in Istanbul and facility in Luleburgas have been able to operate as usual.
Meanwhile, representatives of Kurt Nonwovens, Gulsan Group, Eruslu and General Nonwovens are also reporting little damage to their operations but do expect some operational delays due to transportation issues as well as raw material sourcing.
According to Murat Dogru, general manager of EDANA, the association continues to monitor the situation in Turkey where it has many member companies which are experiencing varying degrees of damage.
“The real impact of the earthquake on the Turkish nonwovens industry and how this will impact our industry as a whole will as a result most likely take time to manifest,” he adds.
In recent decades, Turkey has become a significant supplier to markets in Eastern and Western in recent decades. According to David Price, principal of Price Hannah Consultants, Turkey’s capacity in the spunbond/spunmelt/meltblown market is estimated at 310,000 tons with key players including Hassan, Bayteks, Apex, Gulsan, Hyat, Kurt, Mogul, Ritas, Tecknomelt, Teymur, General Nonwovens and Kishu. Meanwhile, the spunlace market has seen significant investment in recent years from companies including Akinal, Eruslu, Fibertex, Mogul, Salteks and Sapro, which now make an estimated 100,000 tons of capacity per year. Additionally, the region is responsible for the supply of about 60,000 tons of carded thermal and air through bonded nonwovens and 50,000 tons of spunbond polyester.
Meanwhile, the hygiene industry, many of whom have supplier relationships in Turkey, has stepped up to aid relief efforts in the stricken area. Essity has pledged to donate €100 million to the cause and will match employee donations while also supplying critical supplies like woundcare, baby diapers and sanitary products to the United Nations Refugee Agency, the company has announced. Additionally, Ontex and Hayat Kimya has announced partnerships with humanitarian agencies in the region.
