TLDR: Yeşim Group has received the prestigious Innovation award at the 2025 Just Style Excellence Awards. This recognition is for their pioneering integration of automated, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered inspection technology in circular knitting, developed in partnership with Smartex.AI. This initiative has revolutionized quality control and waste reduction in textile manufacturing, leading to a nearly 70% reduction in defects in Lycra jersey production. The ‘Golden Stop’ mechanism, a key feature, ensures immediate intervention for recurring critical errors, preventing further waste. This advancement significantly enhances product quality, shortens lead times, and contributes to Yeşim Group’s sustainability objectives by reducing raw material consumption and minimizing environmental impact.
Yeşim Group has been recognized with the esteemed ‘Innovation’ award at the 2025 Just Style Excellence Awards. This accolade celebrates the company’s groundbreaking integration of automated, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered inspection technology into its circular knitting processes, a collaborative effort with Smartex.AI. This development marks a significant leap in textile manufacturing, directly addressing long-standing challenges in quality control, efficiency, and waste reduction.
Historically, the circular knitting process, a cornerstone of textile production, relied heavily on manual inspection methods. These methods were not only labor-intensive but also highly susceptible to human error. Defects were often identified only after substantial lengths of fabric had been produced, resulting in considerable material waste, costly reworks, and prolonged production delays. This late detection also led to excessive consumption of raw materials like yarn, dyes, and energy for products that might ultimately be unusable or require extensive repairs, thereby impacting profitability and undermining sustainability goals. The absence of a real-time, systematic solution for identifying and rectifying recurring errors further exacerbated these issues, leading to the continuous production of faulty materials and significant scrap.
In response to these challenges, Yeşim Group embarked on a mission to fundamentally transform its quality control paradigm. Their partnership with Smartex.AI aimed to implement a system capable of real-time, highly accurate defect detection, thereby reducing dependence on manual oversight and shifting the focus from reactive correction to proactive prevention.
The integrated Smartex AI system, deployed on Yeşim’s circular knitting machines, utilizes advanced optical sensors and machine learning algorithms to inspect fabric as it is being produced. This non-contact, non-destructive approach captures high-resolution images, enabling the identification of a wide array of defects, including horizontal and vertical lines, spotty holes, and oil marks, at the earliest possible stage. The system’s adaptive learning capabilities ensure its ongoing effectiveness, as it can be retrained with new defect data and adapted to various fabric types as production needs evolve.
A standout feature of Yeşim’s implementation is the co-developed ‘Golden Stop’ mechanism. Unlike conventional alert systems that merely notify operators of defects, Golden Stop enforces immediate intervention when critical, recurring errors are detected. If the system identifies the same critical defect within a predefined threshold, it automatically halts the knitting machine. A password-protected screen then requires an authorized supervisor to investigate and resolve the root cause before production can resume. This enforced pause is crucial for addressing persistent issues at their source, preventing further waste, and fostering a culture of operational discipline.
The system also provides comprehensive, actionable data on defect types, frequencies, and locations. This ‘quality intelligence’ empowers Yeşim’s teams to conduct precise root cause analysis, optimize machine settings, identify underperforming raw materials, and engage in proactive maintenance, transforming quality assurance into a strategic driver of operational excellence.
The implementation of Smartex AI has yielded quantifiable benefits for Yeşim Group. In Lycra jersey production, machines equipped with Smartex have achieved a remarkable reduction of nearly 70% in defects, significantly enhancing product quality. This improvement has a cascading positive effect, leading to increased efficiency and reduced waste in subsequent stages such as dyeing, finishing, cutting, and garment production. The early and precise detection of issues, such as oil marks, which were resolved by changing the oil, has minimized the need for post-production correction and reduced material waste.
Selim Şankaya, Co-CEO of Yeşim Group, expressed his pride in this achievement, stating, “Winning the ‘Innovation’ category in the 2025 Just Style Excellence Awards with our AI-powered Intelligent Inspection and the co-developed ‘Golden Stop’ mechanism marks a proud milestone for us.” He further emphasized the alignment of this award with the company’s mission: “This award is fully aligned with Yeşim Group’s corporate mission: ‘To create irreplaceable value through excellent customer service and sustainable growth, to protect the planet, and to be the core strategic manufacturing partner of the world’s leading brands with a People First approach.’ At every step, we remain committed to this mission. Today’s success reflects our dedication to continuously enhancing quality, investing in technologies that reduce waste, improve efficiency, and protect the environment.” Şankaya concluded, “At Yeşim, we see quality assurance not merely as a control process, but as a strategic force that moves our business forward. … This recognition not only confirms that we are on the right path, but also inspires us to aim even higher. This achievement is a strong reflection of Yeşim’s determined journey toward the future. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all colleagues who contributed with their efforts, vision, and dedication.”
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Yeşim Group, established in 1956 and headquartered in Bursa, Türkiye, is a leading integrated textile manufacturer. It manages all apparel industry processes in-house, from yarn to finished product, with a daily capacity of 115 tons of knitting, 125 tons of dyeing, 100,000 meters of printing, 400,000 pieces of apparel, and 100,000 pieces of home textile products. The company operates on a total area of 326,000 square meters in Bursa. Its R&D center, certified by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, has pioneered smart, organic, recycled, and innovative fabrics. Yeşim Group maintains strategic partnerships with renowned global brands including Nike, Under Armour, Zara, Bershka, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren, Aldi, Gerster, Schlafgut, and Tchibo.
