Boyteks Tekstil’s global push reaches customers in more than 100 countries.
Bigger is better for Boyteks. The mattress fabric manufacturer — a regular at the International Sleep Products Association’s EXPOs for the past decade — generates big numbers serving its mattress customers in the United States and across the globe.
Boyteks makes more than 262 million linear feet of jacquard woven and knitted fabrics each year — almost enough cloth to circle the world twice. Then it ships the rolls to more than 100 countries around the world.
The company creates all these materials from a single sprawling factory in Kayseri, Turkey, set against a backdrop of soaring Mount Erciyes, whose peak is almost 13,000 feet above sea level. The factory, itself, is a mountain, encompassing some 2.15 million square feet.
“Our brand stands out with its innovative and design-oriented products,” says Mehmet Yildiz, general manager of Boyteks. “We carry out all stages of work, from yarn to fabric production, in fully integrated facilities operating with an ERP system.” (ERP stands for “enterprise resource planning,” which uses software that manages day-to-day business activities.)
Fabric innovation
A commitment to innovation is a driving force in Boyteks’ prominence in the mattress market, according to Ozkan Yildizhan, assistant general manager.
“We are one of the first brands that comes to mind when it comes to innovation in mattress fabrics,” Yildizhan says. “We strongly believe in the power of innovation and design. We have made serious investments in research and development and have become the pioneer of the industry in this field. We have developed more than 100 innovative products.”
He says Boyteks has set the standard with many of its products, noting that the company has registered its Cooler brand in more than 80 countries. Since then, Cooler has become a term used more generally in the market to refer to fabrics that promote feelings of coolness.
Recently Boyteks has promoted vegan mattress fabrics crafted from plant-based fibers. “The whole process is accomplished without any testing on animals,” Yildizhan says. In fact, this vegan ticking placed in the top 20 for Innovative Furniture Accessory at Interzum Guangzhou in China.
fabrics at the Boyteks plant in Kayseri, Turkey.
Of the new launches this year, the vegan fabrics were the most popular, according to Aydin Aydin, Boyteks’ brand manager. The line appeals to customers looking to create an entirely plant-based product. This means that the mattress fabrics must not contain products derived from animal sources, such as wool and silk.
At the ISPA EXPO in March, Boyteks introduced a new and unexpected way to manage moisture and provide cooling: cactus mattress ticking. Thanks to the cactus ingredients, the fabric contains minerals and vitamins, which include antioxidant properties, according to the website. “We launched it this year, and we are using cactus water as a treatment on the fibers,” Aydin said. “What’s the advantage of the cactus mattress ticking? It has huge moisture management.”
Paving the Silk Road
“With more than 50 wholesalers and agents around the world, we always strive to provide our customers with the fastest and highest quality service experience,” Aydin says. “Thanks to our showrooms and warehouses around the world, we strive to offer our customers the best experience. Every year, we touch the lives of more than 30 million people in more than 100 countries and produce good mornings.” And good nights, too, he adds.
Boyteks was founded in 1999 when it began mattress fabric production, later establishing an upholstery fabric business in 2003. Two years later, the company started producing knitted mattress fabric, adding warp knitting in 2012 as it steadily expanded its production capabilities.
In 2015, Boyteks became one of Turkey’s top 100 exporters. Today, the company ranks among Turkey’s top exporters based on the number of countries it reaches.
Boyteks serves mattress manufacturers across Turkey and in Asia, Europe and the United States. “We are the mattress fabric facility with the highest production under one roof in the world,” Yildiz says.
Boyteks is part of a large industrial enterprise called Erciyes Anadolu Holding, which includes more than 1,500 furniture and mattress stores with three different brands in Turkey and Europe. The group operates a total of 30 companies in eight different industries, including furniture, cable, chemicals, energy, iron and steel, logistics and marketing.
Future growth
Aydin, the brand manager, says Boyteks is focusing on its international business these days as Covid-19 worries have lessened.
“We are exhibiting in fairs intensively these days,” he says. “We are reuniting with our business partners that we stayed away from during the pandemic times. In the first seven months of the year, we participated in nine trade fairs in eight different countries: the United States (at the ISPA EXPO in Orlando, Florida), Germany, Brazil, China, Italy, India, UAE and Turkey.”
The mattress fabric business is changing, and Boyteks is responding to those changes.
“We are constantly making capacity increases and modernization investments,” says Bekir Ozgun Aldat, assistant general manager. “We pay attention to using technology to the maximum in production. We analyze customer needs and expectations well. Our customers now demand faster service and instant solutions. We’re focused on that. We may have some collaborations or investments in this area in the future.”
Boyteks officials acknowledge that 2022 has been a challenging year for the mattress industry around the world.
“Rising inflation rates, the raw material crisis and rising costs have caused consumers’ priorities to change,” Yildiz says. “Since bedding and furniture are needs that can be postponed, we have seen the impact of those changes.”
But Boyteks is looking for a stronger business climate soon. “With the year 2023, I think the industry will revitalize and gain upward momentum,” Aydin says. “We have made plans for 2023. We will be in the field more. We will be with our customers.”
And that should spark even more growth in the company’s mattress fabric business, fueling Boyteks’ mission to, as Yildiz says, “stand out as one of the leading brands of industrial textile production in the world.”
