Jade Textile: The Powerhouse Behind your Favorite Sportswear
Updated 2/4/2025 8:00:00 AM
Arab Finance: The textile industry is a cornerstone of Egypt’s economy, contributing approximately 3% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employing over 1.5 million people.
As one of the largest textile producers in Africa and the Middle East, Egypt's textile sector is renowned for its diverse offerings, including cotton textiles, ready-made garments, and sportswear. Within this dynamic landscape, Jade Textile has emerged as a leading force, playing a crucial role in both local and global markets.
In this exclusive interview, Selim Sankaya, CEO of Jade Textile, shares insights into the company's vision, ambitious expansion plans, commitment to sustainability, and its unique contributions to the industry.
He discusses Jade Textile's strategic role as a key manufacturer for renowned sportswear brands, its impressive export footprint, and the company's perspective on the Egyptian market's vast potential.
1-What is Jade Textile’s vision and mission in Egypt?
Since 2008, Jade Textile has been a leader in Egypt’s ready-made garment and apparel sector, particularly for the past six years. By 2027, we aim to increase our production capacity by establishing a new integrated fabric and yarn factory, thereby creating more employment opportunities.
In this process, we prioritize investments focused on digital transformation, automation, and sustainability. Our investments in environmentally friendly technologies are critical for increasing the efficiency of our operations and contributing to the growth of the textile industry.
In this regard, the investment program we have implemented in recent years represents an important step toward leveraging Egypt's geographical advantage, which benefits from abundant sunlight throughout most of the year.
In Egypt, where solar energy applications are limited and generally small-scale, the program initiated by Jade Textile is the first and largest project with a capacity exceeding 1.5 megawatts in the ready-made garment sector. While this investment is one of the cornerstones of our sustainability goals, it also concretely demonstrates our environmental responsibility.
We also prioritize investing in the development of our employees and reducing our carbon footprint, recognizing our responsibility toward both the environment and society. In this context, we aim to achieve a water recycling rate of 70%.
Ultimately, our vision in Egypt is to strengthen our position in both local and global markets through sustainable and innovative solutions while leading the sector.
2-What unique value does your company bring to the textile industry?
As part of our strategy to support women's employment, we launched Jade Kindergarten in Egypt with a capacity for 400 children in 2022.
Currently, 200 to 220 children are receiving education at this kindergarten, which increases the participation of our female employees in the workforce and enables them to advance their careers.
Supporting the career paths of our female employees within the company reflects the importance we attach to gender equality. Through this investment, we support our employees' work-life balance and contribute to increasing women's employment in the region. We plan to open our third kindergarten soon.
Aligned with our "People First" philosophy—our company's fundamental principle—we aim to add value to society by creating employment opportunities in Egypt and supporting long-term success through contributions to the local economy.
Our mission is to become an "indispensable production partner" for global brands by focusing on our existing customers. In line with this goal, we resolutely continue our projects centered on performance enhancement, capacity expansion, and innovation.
3-With the recent expansion plans, what specific goals do you aim to achieve in terms of production capacity and market reach by 2025?
Our near-term growth plans focuses on expanding our ready-made garment facility and establishing a fully integrated fabric factory. Over the next three years, we aim to boost our manufacturing capacity, targeting a 15% growth in our operations in Egypt by 2025.
Also, to increase our production capacity, we plan to expand our workforce to 20,000 by 2030. By utilizing the export advantages offered by Egypt, we look forward to both increasing regional employment and strengthening our global competitiveness.
4-How do you perceive the Egyptian market's potential for growth in the textile industry, given the current economic climate?
The Egyptian market offers significant opportunities for the textile industry due to its competitive production costs, young and dynamic workforce, and export benefits under the free trade agreement with the US.
Since 2015, brands have taken more serious consideration of Egypt in the European and American markets, enabling the country to establish an important position in accessing both local and global markets.
In the current economic climate, cost optimization and delivery speed are becoming increasingly important. Manufacturing in Egypt offers logistical proximity to European and American markets, enhancing flexibility in production processes.
With the development of political stability in the region, improvements in customs procedures, and better infrastructure compared to the past, we foresee an increase in foreign investments, which will provide significant momentum for the textile sector in the region.
Jade Textile continues efforts to expand our production capacity in Egypt. While developing environmentally friendly approaches through sustainable production models, we also contribute to the local economy.
We believe that Egypt has great potential for the textile industry, and we remain committed to investing to fully utilize this potential.
5-Can you elaborate on the unique products that Jade Textile manufactures, particularly in the sportswear sector? How does it stand out from competitors?
In the sportswear sector, Jade Textile stands out due to the use of high-performance technical fabrics. Working with global brands, we develop innovative products with moisture-wicking and antibacterial properties.
Sustainability is a priority for us, so we add value to both the industry and the environment with eco-friendly fibers and resource-efficient technologies.
Our ability to offer customized solutions to our customers' needs and our globally certified quality standards put us in a strong position both in innovation and in adapting to the rapidly changing demands of the market.
6-What role does sustainability play in your operations, especially with the recent investment in a solar power plant? How do you envision this impacting your production processes?
Sustainability is a core value of Jade Textile's business strategy and is an integral part of all our processes. In line with our environmental, economic, and social responsibilities, we focus on making our production processes more environmentally friendly, efficient, and innovative.
Sustainable production not only reduces our environmental impact but also enables us to provide higher value to our customers by enhancing the efficiency of our business processes. Our efforts in areas such as energy saving, water recycling, and integration of innovative technologies are concrete examples of this approach.
From this perspective, we aim to take a leading role in the sector by placing our sustainability goals at the center of our business strategy, viewing sustainability as a long-term responsibility, not an option.
7-Can you discuss any challenges Jade Textile has faced during its growth, particularly in establishing itself as a trusted supplier for brands like Nike and Under Armour?
Working with global brands such as Nike and Under Armour has enabled us to manage the process thanks to our deep-rooted experience in the industry and production principles that align with our customers' expectations. This infrastructure not only helped us meet high quality standards, but also achieve our environmental sustainability goals and make our supply chain more efficient.
High quality, flexibility, and sustainability are among the core values that make up the DNA of our company. Beyond meeting the high expectations of global brands, these values have also enabled us to gain a strong competitive advantage in the sector.
By delivering reliable service to our customers, we have further strengthened our position as a consistent business partner in our cooperation processes.
Today, we continue to increase our competitiveness with our ability to adapt to the changing dynamics in the sector while providing fast and flexible solutions to meet our customers’ needs. Based on our experience and confidence, we aim to carry our leadership in the global market further.
8-With factories in multiple locations, what are Jade Textile's current production capacities, and are there plans for further expansion in Egypt in the near future? If so, what are the target areas or product lines?
As of 2024, Jade Textile holds an important position in the sector with our production facilities strategically located in Egypt. We produce sports and premium brands at our factories in Borg El Arab, Cairo, and Ismailia.
Our ability to carry out fully integrated production in Egypt by sourcing yarn from Türkiye enables us to deliver faster and more flexible service to our customers.
In 2019, we strengthened our value chain and gained a competitive advantage by moving our apparel-focused fabric production to Egypt. In line with this strategy, we continue to increase our production capacity by expanding our existing investments.
We have three factories spreading over an area of 71,968 square meters in Alexandria and two facilities operating on an area of 78,000 sqm in 10th Ramadan City. This is in addition to SG Smart & Green factory, which covers an area of 106,000 sqm in Cairo, GMT Green Medal Textile factory covering an area of 127,000 sqm, and a facility spanning 180,000 sqm in Ismailia. In total, we effectively respond to global market demands with a production area of 562,968 m².
These expansions include not only increasing production capacity but also investing in sustainability and innovative production models. We are determined to continue this strategic approach in the future to strengthen our leadership in both local and global markets.
9-While I understand you may not be able to disclose exact figures, can you provide a general overview of Jade Textile's financial performance in 2024? What are the key performance indicators you are focusing on?
In 2024, Jade Textile focused on financial growth while expanding customer base to raise revenues and enhancing operational efficiency with innovative technologies.
We adhere to high standards in product quality and strive for continuous improvement. Sustainability remains a key focus, with goals to reduce our environmental impact and prioritized research and development to meet the changing needs of the market.
These approaches are designed to solidify our company’s position in the sector and ensure long-term sustainable growth. We have taken important steps in these areas throughout the year, and we are moving confidently towards the targets we have set.
10-As a third-generation leader of a family business, what are the core values that guide your leadership and decision-making at Jade Textile?
As a third-generation leader of a family business, I am guided by the core value of "People First," which prioritizes enhancing the quality of life for our employees, customers, and the community over mere production.
Supporting work-life balance, providing a safe work environment, and promoting career development are central to my decision-making. This philosophy also drives our social responsibility initiatives, such as supporting women's employment through projects like kindergartens and investing in environmentally friendly production models.
Digitalization and innovation are also central to my leadership. In today’s dynamic business landscape, I believe that embracing digital transformation and innovative solutions is crucial for improving operational efficiency and delivering faster, more flexible services to our customers. Our investments in technology aim not only to enhance business processes but also to simplify our employees' work lives.
I strive to make decisions that consider both present needs and future implications. A people-oriented approach, combined with digitalization and innovation, leads to more efficient business processes while remaining sensitive to societal and environmental concerns. This perspective continues to shape my leadership style and business philosophy.
11-Looking ahead, what are your long-term aspirations for Jade Textile, and how do you plan to maintain its position as a leader in the ready-made garments sector in Egypt?
Our long-term goal is to maintain our leadership in the ready-made garment industry in Egypt and to reach an even stronger position in global markets. In this direction, we focus on several strategic areas.
Firstly, innovation and technology are at the forefront for us. Our main priority is to develop innovative products in line with global trends in the apparel industry and to integrate the latest technologies into our production processes.
In addition, sustainability is of great importance to us. We aim to both reduce our environmental impact and add value to the sector with eco-friendly manufacturing techniques.
We strengthen strategic collaborations with global brands to increase our share in the global market. By keeping our quality standards at the highest level, we both ensure customer satisfaction and gain a strong reputation in the market. Furthermore, our employees are our most important capital.
By continuously training and developing our teams, we aim to create an innovative and achieve high performance in business culture. Moreover, pursuing these strategies help maintain and further improve our leading position in the ready-made garment industry.
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