Visit of the Turkish Consul General in Aachen, Germany
Turhan Kaya, the Consul General of the Republic of Turkey from Cologne, visited the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University (ITA) together with his Vice Consul Ahmet Atilla and with the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Turkey Dr Uwe Merklein on 14 February 2022. The aim was to get an overview of research and development for the textile industry. ITA Institute Director Professor Dr Thomas Gries guided the guests through the ITA Technical Centre and showed the latest highlights of the ITA.
ITA researches innovations for sustainable and future-oriented textile production. In doing so, the scientific staff deals with novel solutions for the industry and develops optimised processes and production sequences. Cross-linked and resource-saving machinery is one of many approaches that enable sustainable production.
Another major goal at ITA is the following principle: moving away from mineral oil-based textile production towards ecological textile production with bio-based materials! This transformation of the textile production chain is the current challenge of the textile and clothing industry that our 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 scarce resources of our planet.
There has been a close connection to the textile country Turkey at ITA for years through the Turkey-based subsidiary ITA Teknoloji Transfer Danışmanlık ve Mühendislik Ltd. Şti. in Bursa. Through this branch office and locally employed staff, contact with our Turkish partners is maintained in an efficient and agile manner.
Following the visit to the ITA, the delegation visited the Digital Capability Center (DCC) Aachen and toured the learning factory with its focus on digitalisation. At the DCC, Industry 4.0 is being tested and made accessible to industry by means of a learning factory with practical application scenarios. In exchange with representatives of the industry, obstacles can be researched from a scientific perspective and new approaches to solutions for the digital textile production of the future can be provided.
"We are delighted to have the honour of welcoming Mr Kaya, Mr Atilla and Dr Merklein to ITA," Professor Dr Gries sums up. "Turkey 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."
Turhan Kaya visited the ITA on the occasion of his inaugural visit to the Rector of RWTH Aachen University, Professor Dr Ulrich Rüdiger. Further visits to the institute and the Honorary Consulate Aachen were on the agenda.
Honorary Consul Dr Uwe Merklein, who initiated the visit, has close ties to ITA - he completed his doctorate at ITA and was for many years managing partner of the ITA-affiliated 3T TextilTechnologieTransfergesellschaft, now ITA Technologietransfer GmbH.