The founder of the Zorlu-Group, Mehmet Zorlu, started in the early 50's with a textile manufacturing facility in Denizli (western Turkey). His business principles were: honesty and sincerity, perseverance, commitment to growth and above all, quality. Today his son, Ahmet N. Zorlu, manages the holding company, following his father’s ground rules.

The textile sector within the holding company comprises 14 manufacturing facilities and marketing offices in Turkey, France, Germany and South Africa. About 40 % of the "high quality" products are exported and on the rise. The most important markets include Germany, followed by other EU countries, and the USA. Polyester yarns are produced, from which drapery fabrics and other home fashion products are woven, knitted and embroidered. In addition, cotton yarns are produced, which are used in the subsequent manufacture of top-of-the-bed, napery and drapery fabrics. These fabrics are completely finished, cut and sewn in the company’s own facilities. All production units are already ISO 9002 certified.

Zorlu Linen, the youngest and most modern textile plant belonging to the holding company, was literally built from the ground up in a record time of only nine months. This entire project was in the hands of a highly motivated team of qualified Turkish engineers under the direction of the general manager, Recep Sayar, and did not follow the usual pattern of installing machines after the completion of the building. In fact, the procedure followed the reverse order with building being progressively completed as called for by the sequence in which machines were to be installed. The precise realization of the project including detailed and ingenious logistical planning and suppliers being strictly held to delivery schedules with penalties for late delivery, in the end led to the entire plant being started up exactly as originally scheduled. Employees were factory trained by suppliers weeks in advance of start-up.

At this time Zorlu Linen is the largest vertically integrated textile operation in Europe and the third largest worldwide for the manufacture of home fashion products from cotton. Individual departments include spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing, cut and sew, packing and distribution. Annual capacity is 55 million meters of top-of-the-bed, napery and drapery fabrics. The company’s own design studio always has 300 different designs available for selection by customers and special requirements of individual customers can be handled and put into production after 24 hours from receipt of any request.

All chemicals and dyestuffs used conform with strict European and US health and environmental regulations. The company is competing for the Environment Prize 1999 with a very modern chemical and biological wastewater treatment plant.

In every department throughout the entire facility state-of-the-art machines from leading Western European suppliers are in operation, in order to meet the highest demands in the quality of the end product.

Zorlu Linen is one of very few manufacturers of home fashion products to operate a 24-color flat bed screen printing machine with a 46 meter long printing table and a 20-color rotary screen printing machine. Both are equipped to handle fabric widths of 320 cm.

The weaveroom is also equipped to produce this width of fabric. Here 256 DORNIER air-jet weaving machines are installed in nominal widths of 280, 340 and 400 cm. In order to be flexible as far as styling is concerned, shed formation is provided by cam motion, dobby, as well as jacquard machines. Decisive in the selection of the DORNIER air-jet weaving machine, in addition to the proven practical application of this equipment in nominal widths up to 400 cm, was the pneumatic tucking unit, PneumaTucker®, for outside and center selvedges. This air-operated tucking unit requires only 20 % of the parts required by a mechanical tucking device, none of these being moving parts. The PneumaTucker® can easily match the weaving speed of the air jet weaving machines without any difficulties. The device provides a high degree of integrity and functionality and does not require any maintenance.

With a filling insertion rate of in excess of 2,000 m/min., Zorlu Linen attains an overall efficiency in the weaveroom of over 90 % as a result of a perfect management of the operation. There is every reason to be proud of the fractional amount of off-quality fabric; however, the company intends to further reduce this.