With a history of responsible business stretching back
118 years, Sanko Textile is a cornerstone of Istanbulheadquartered
Sanko Holding, one of Turkey’s strongest
and best-known family enterprises.
Sanko Textile’s operations span cotton and synthetic yarn
production, weaving and knitting and home textiles. In
2023, it introduced a new recycling technology venture,
RE&UP, to specialise in textile-to-textile recycling, turning
cotton, polyester and poly-cotton fabrics into high quality,
traceable raw materials ready for re-spinning.
RE&UP’s collaboration with Andritz started in 2021, when
Sanko ordered a mechanical recycling line – and
subsequently a further nine in 2022. At over €14 million,
this is the biggest single-order project in the history of the
Andritz textile division in Turkey. Five lines are already in
operation under the contract, with five more scheduled for
delivery in 2024.
RE&UP’s goal is to enable a seamless closed-loop ecosystem
for end-of-life textile waste and through its feedstockagnostic
process – which is capable of processing the
majority of production and post-consumer waste – it offers
valuable recycled textile raw materials for the whole
industry at scale. The company is already providing this as
an end-to-end and scalable solution and has set a target of
recycling more than one million tons of textile waste by
2030.
“RE&UP leverages the vast knowledge of our parent
company Sanko in spinning recycled fibres, which requires
specialised fibre and yarn engineering expertise,” says
general manager Andreas Dorner. “What we can do
in-house with this expertise, we will do in-house. However,
to truly push boundaries, it is essential that we collaborate
with companies that also have expertise in their areas of
specialisation. Andritz has expertise in the sustainable
industrialisation of textile recycling technology and has
demonstrated great results. We knew that by joining forces
we could be an instrument for great change in the
industry.”
With this project, the challenge was to ensure that the
machine technology required was completely fit for
purpose, and that the set-up process was as smooth as
possible. Andritz provided significant support and guidance
during this phase. Having successfully established the first
plant in Turkey, future RE&UP hubs to recycle postconsumer
goods will be established in Europe, Asia and
America.
“We are working with Andritz technology to tackle this
challenge together,” says Dorner. “We provide a solution
that not only reduces environmental impact by diverting
waste from landfill and incineration, but also puts it back
into production. As we continue to establish more bases for
RE&UP around the world, we will rely on Andritz for
further support to ensure we can deliver on the needs of our
customers globally.”
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