Hannover/Gaziantep. Staged from 23 to 26 May in Gaziantep, the heart of the Turkish rug industry, the 3rd DOMOTEX Turkey once again played host to the leading lights of the international carpet industry. This year the carpet and flooring exhibition attracted 198 exhibitors and occupied some 22,164 square meters (approx. 238,570 sq. ft.) of net display space at the Middle East Fair Center. It was, among much else, a very international show, with 32 of the 198 exhibitors coming from as far afield as Belgium, China, France, Germany, Iran, India, Jordan, the Netherlands and Uzbekistan. On the demand side of the market, the show attracted a total of 8,179 trade visitors, most of them from Turkey and the Middle East. DOMOTEX Turkey was organized by Deutsche Messe AG subsidiary Hannover Fairs Turkey in partnership with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce (GTO), the Southeastern Anatolia Carpet Exporters’ Union (GAIB) and the Gaziantep Chamber of Carpet Producers (GHO).

"Thanks to the support of leading companies from our industry, DOMOTEX Turkey once again highlighted the country’s great strength in machine-made carpets. It also yielded a large number of new business leads, further underscoring its key role as the leading market platform for carpets and flooring in Turkey and the Middle East," commented Hannover Fairs Turkey General Manager Alexander Kühnel.

DOMOTEX Turkey 2016 comprised a wide range of display categories, including machine-made carpets and rugs, hand-made carpets and rugs, textile and resilient floor coverings, mats, and parquet, wood and laminate flooring. There were also plenty of machines, tools and technologies for manufacturing and installing floor coverings.

Among the stand-out highlights of the show were a series of displays of creative designs inspired by the latest consumer trends. Visitors to these displays were treated to a rich variety of modern and traditional carpets made from materials as diverse as wool, silk, cashmere, bamboo fibers and polyester.

Also popular with this year’s trade visitors was a collection based on the current trend towards product individualization. As well as the collection itself, the display presented a range of supporting solutions for various sales channels, including large chain stores, small carpet retail outlets and e-commerce.

Another visitor magnet was a special display themed "Carpet Design by the Visually Impaired: Boundless Dreams." The display showed carpets produced by Atlas Hali based on designs created by people with visual impairment. It is part of a social responsibility project aimed at building awareness of the visually impaired and generated a great deal of interest among the visiting public.

The majority of this year’s exhibitors rated the show as a success, with many of them announcing they would be participating again in 2017. The next DOMOTEX Turkey will be held in May 2017.

DOMOTEX Turkey 2016: exhibitor testimonials

Hakan Dinç, General Manager, Kaplan Kardeşler, Turkey: "We have been exhibiting at DOMOTEX in Turkey for years. The fair has a strong international identity, with visitors from Middle East, America and Europe. This benefits us enormously because these regions are our main target markets. I’d therefore like to thank the DOMOTEX Turkey team for organizing this exhibition."

Dr. Meriç Bebitoğlu, General Manager, Atlas Halı, Turkey: "This year DOMOTEX has once again succeeded in bringing together carpet manufacturers and consumers from all over the world. Its targeted B2B meetings yielded a wide range of new business contacts for us."

Danny Bourgois, Sales Coordinator, Vandewiele, Belgium: "Being machinery manufacturers, we value DOMOTEX Turkey because it’s where we meet up with most of our Turkish customers. It is a very important event for the Turkish carpet industry because it is where new machinery innovations are showcased for the first time. As it happens, we are currently in the process of implementing a new multicolor extrusion machine for one of our customers here in Gaziantep. For the carpet industry as a whole, this is a positive sign that Turkey and the Gaziantep region are investing in the future."

Emre Özkaya, Vice General Manager, Royal Halı, Turkey: "We have been exhibiting at DOMOTEX Turkey since its inception. A good percentage of our visitors come from the domestic market and the Middle East, but also from other regions as well. We are very happy with the great contacts we made at our showcase this year and are definitely planning to exhibit here again next year.

Hamit Akçay, owner of Fatih TR Carpet, Turkey: "We were exhibiting at DOMOTEX Turkey back when it was still based in Istanbul, and, of course, we have been part of it since it moved to Gaziantep. We are pleased with this year’s show and intend to exhibit here again next year. For us, trade fairs are an important gateway to our customers. They are drivers of growth and our window to the world."