The Consul-General of the Republic of Türkiye from Cologne, Turhan Kaya, visited the Institute of Textile Technology (Institut für Textiltechnik) of RWTH Aachen University (ITA) together with his Vice-Consul Ahmet Atilla and with the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Türkiye Dr Uwe Merklein on February 14, 2022. ITA Institute Director Professor Dr Thomas Gries guided the guests through the ITA Technical Centre and showed the latest highlights of the ITA during the visit which aims getting an overview of research and development for the textile industry.
Professor Dr Thomas Gries stated that they are delighted to have the honour of welcoming Turhan Kaya, Ahmet Atilla and Dr Uwe Merklein to ITA and said; “Türkiye is an important partner country for us and holds an outstanding position in the field of textiles. The visit strengthens and underlines our good relationship”.
Textile Technology Institute works for a sustainable textile production
At ITA, where innovations are researched for sustainable and future-oriented textile production, the scientific staff deals with novel solutions for the industry and develops optimised processes and production sequences. Cross-linked and resource-saving machinery stands out as one of the various approaches that enable sustainable production.
ITA aims to transition from mineral oil-based textile production to ecological textile production with bio-based materials and states that this transformation of the textile production chain is the current challenge of the textile and clothing industry that the society has to deal with for a greener future. ITA is tackling this issue with full force and is developing new processes and materials that do not affect the scarce resources of the planet.
ITA has been in a close connection with the textile country, Türkiye, for years through the Türkiye-based subsidiary ITA Teknoloji Transfer Danışmanlık ve Mühendislik Ltd. Şti. in Bursa. Through this branch office and locally employed staff, contact with their Turkish partners is maintained in an efficient and agile manner.
Digital Capacity Center brings Industry 4.0 applications together with the industry
The delegation visited the Digital Capability Center (DCC) Aachen and toured the learning factory with its focus on digitalisation following the visit to the ITA. Industry 4.0 is being tested and made accessible to the industry by means of a learning factory with practical application scenarios at the DCC.
Here, obstacles can be researched from a scientific perspective and new approaches to solutions for the digital textile production of the future can be provided in exchange with representatives of the industry.