Fuat Gozacan, Turkish entrepreneur and pioneer in supporting sustainable technologies, founded FG Group in 1997, which soon became one of the most powerful denim producers in Turkey. In 2017, he co-founded Wiser Wash, which is a patented ozone bleaching process that claims to eliminate all the toxic chemicals and save a considerable amount of water and energy.
Thanks to Wiser Wash, more than 71 million liters of freshwater has been saved so far, and more is still being saved with each piece of garments produced with this process. Besides this significant saving, Wiser Wash has a goal of spreading its licensure system all over the world while it is already operating through a strong global network and license partners in India, Vietnam and Italy.
Gozacan explained The SPIN OFF how he operates and what are his future projects.
What is the state of the art of the denim industry today and its environmental impact?
The denim industry has been known for its negative environmental impact for a long time as it takes approx. 6,810 liters of water to produce just one pair of jeans and, yet, millions of pairs of jeans are produced each year. They are so much that the global jeans market is expected to reach a worth of approximately USD 85.4 billion by 2025. I have always wanted to bring a real transformation of this heavy industry that causes significant harm to both environment and human health.
Thanks to Wiser Wash, the patented ozone bleaching process I co-developed in 2017, we eliminated all the toxic chemicals and saved a considerable amount of energy and water. More than 71 million liters of freshwater have been saved so far, and more is still being saved with each piece of garments produced with this process.
Tell us about Wiser Tech and Wiser Wash founded?
After long R&D studies in LA, Wiser Wash started its journey in 2017. The results were outstanding and better than any other competitor in terms of water, energy and time saving, but we realized that it was important to maximize results by creating an all-in-one solution: that’s why in 2019 we founded Wiser Tech. This new venture was created to improve the Wiser Wash experience, designing and projecting a machinery family made to enhance the patented laundry process.
The whole system is about creating an entirely new paradigm in the denim production industry and go beyond Industry 4.0 with 360-degree solutions that will completely change the denim finishing practices. In the industry, the dependence on the person and person’s abilities-level of knowledge is quite high. Therefore, decision support mechanisms need to be developed a lot. The right decisions are only possible with the collection and analysis of the right data.
What differentiates your system from other similar ones?
As Wiser Tech, we approach the sector bringing a different perspective with our 25 years of textile experience. From now on, the machines work like a network object, see all the interventions of the operator. The system does not allow unauthorized interventions, the whole process is kept under constant control with the data sent by the machines. A central control system, as long as you provide the source data and run with a recipe module, can be developed with the actual production data to be transmitted by all the machines we have launched, and you can create a live and self-planning business with the constraints you specify. In this way, software that minimizes the business planner's making wrong decisions and enable them to see details that it may not see can be provided with this live data.
We made the finishing technologies fully traceable and accessible thanks to the advanced application of Wiser Tech Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the cloud system. WOX (Wiser Wox X-Perience) physically consists of an ozone drum and generator, but, in its spirit, it was designed as a network object that provides data to Artificial Intelligence algorithms. The flow and capacity stability of this generator is able to remain at ± 1.5% with the application of AI-based smart algorithms and systems. In this way, it is ensured the bleaching is homogeneous.
It provides textile manufacturers with total control over their production, with credible sustainable solutions to address the most pressing environmental issues of the industry: 40% lower cycle duration, 66% higher production capacity, better bleaching results. WOX encourages taking our motivation further together with the rapid change towards sustainability of the textile industry and the globe. Our goal is to reach all manufacturers in the textile industry to create a sustainable sector by developing leading technologies.
Wiser Wash operates according to licensing agreements according to market areas. Where does it stand now?
We choose our partners carefully, to be sure that our goals and visions are truly common and compatible: To reach different customers in European continent, we started our joint venture with Elleti Group which is known as one of the well-known garment manufacturer in Verona, Italy. Through it, we could reach different brands like PVH Group, Jacob Cohen, Replay, Diesel, DSquared2 and Take Two to adopt Wiser Wash patented process.
On the other hand, we are giving a broader service worldwide including US continent with the help of our joint ventures with Arvind and PPJ Pongphou. Different production abilities in those regions give a greater advantage to reach more corporate customers like Gap, Kontoor Brands, Espirit, H&M among others. Wiser Wash has a bold, ambitious yet effective expansion strategy for all stakeholders.
What are your ambitions in this field?
We aim to be a pioneer in this field in our country and to encourage harmless production methods to other companies with our project where process optimization is carried out to give denim bleaching and special effects. We aim to provide advantages over our competitors and to have an advantage in the international market with the alternative process we will bring out in our project work that we have started by considering the need to eliminate the disadvantages of denim washing and bleaching processes used in the market.
Since ozone gas will be produced by using ozone generators, it will bring potential to innovate with machinery, industry and similar new fields of business. We will try to increase our production capacity with new technology and the production volume will be expanded. We believe that joining forces with different stakeholders is one of the most effective methods in business growth. It brings significant benefits to all parties and creates a true win-win situation that boosts resources, such as manpower, skillset, knowledge, equipment, technology and similar aspects.
Is Wiser Tech launching any new technology, system or finishing?
After WOX, we also manufacture other machines needed to complete the sustainable denim finishing process. Our washing machine WEX helps enzyme washing by using less water and energy. Our laser machine WLEX (wiser laser experience) we developed gives denim the desired look in seconds.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the existing business models and redefine the production process by developing new practices based on data analytics. Wiser Tech machines excel with their operating system embedded using control software powered by Wiser Tech AI on the cloud. In this way, Wiser Tech provides manufacturers with the opportunity to produce more environmentally friendly and sustainable methods from start to finish.
What business objectives does Wiser Tech want to reach?
Our goal is to provide textile manufacturers total control over their production, offering them sustainable solutions to address environmental issues of the industry. Wiser Tech does not only produce textile machinery, it also builds the production system of the future. We aim to add a new production vision to the industry, thanks to machines that use artificial intelligence and communicate with each other over a network.
We aim to contribute to the acceleration of the transformation in the industry by making these solutions accessible and profitable for every manufacturer. In our well-equipped R&D Center, we constantly work on developing Wiser technologies that will lead the textile industry.
As a Global Compact participant, Wiser Globe is committed to adopting the Ten Principles and taking action to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. Wiser Wash has a Global Licensure System & Wiser Globe is the only licensor of it. Thanks to our global partners, each of whom is a pioneer in their own field, we have the chance to carry the benefits of Wiser Wash to wider boundaries.
The establishment of new Wiser Wash production facilities is the main target for the upcoming months. In Izmir, in Turkey, a new Wiser Wash facility will be ready soon. Beside of Turkey, Pakistan is another important location that might be opened by the end of 2022.
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