Single Post
30 Years of a Simple Thread: From Braided Cord to Finished Products (1996–2026)
A handful of people and a single braiding machine — that's how Tekiş started in 1996. Thirty years later, in 2026, that same braided technique is still running on our factory floor. We never had to abandon it to grow past it.
In the narrow-fabric business, staying in operation for 30 years is not ordinary. Machines change, fashion changes, markets change — the ones who survive are the manufacturers who focus on a single craft and go deep into it. In 2026, Tekiş Lastik completes its 30th year. This is not a celebration piece; it is the story of how a journey that began in 1996 with a single braiding machine grew into a factory that manufactures for more than 40 countries and puts its own brands on the shelf. It answers the question buyers ask most when choosing a supply partner: Will this company still be here tomorrow — and how far can it walk the road with me?
1996: Starting With a Single Braiding Machine
Tekiş was founded in 1996 in Bağcılar, Istanbul. In our early years, our craft was producing braided cord and tres. Narrow fabric is the invisible but indispensable part of textiles — the elastic that holds the waistband of a pair of trousers, the strap of a bag, the lace of a shoe. From the very beginning, we focused on getting that invisible part right.
Braided production became our foundation, and it still continues today. The fact that we are still making braided cord 30 years later is no coincidence; instead of abandoning one technique for the next, we chose to turn every technique into a permanent capability.
2000: The Move to Narrow Woven
As we entered the 2000s, we broadened our range and invested in narrow woven elastic and tape. This was not simply adding a new product; it meant a different production discipline, different looms and a different kind of engineering.
What matters is this: when we added narrow woven, we did not drop braided. Today our customers can find braided cord, woven elastic and knitted elastic all under one roof. That versatility is the reason we can serve different industries without depending on a single product group.
From Indirect to Direct Export: 2015
Our products actually travelled abroad for years — but at first it was not us who exported them; it was our customers in Türkiye. They incorporated our elastic, tape and cord into their own products and shipped them out.
Indirect export (before 2015):
Turkish customers incorporated our elastic, tape and cord into their own products and exported them — Tekiş quality had already reached European shelves without carrying our name.
Direct export (since 2015):
We talk directly to overseas buyers, send our own samples, and stand behind our own standard — manufacturing for more than 40 countries today.
2021: Beyond the Thread — Finished Products and Our Own Brands
2021 was a threshold year for us. That year, by setting up our own sewing workshop, we became able to produce not just the narrow-fabric component but the finished product itself. This was the shift from telling a customer "we can give you the tape" to "we can make you the finished product too."
In the same period, we proved this capability with our own brands. Under the Habby Accessories umbrella we developed products in three distinct segments: Habby Pet for pet accessories, Habby Fashion for fashion accessories and Habby Sport for sports accessories. For a component manufacturer to design, produce and bring its own brand to the end consumer is the most concrete proof of end-to-end manufacturing capability. Also in 2021, we began our digital transformation — digitising production, tracking and customer relations to combine 30 years of manufacturing experience with modern systems.
From Thread to Finished Product — What Vertical Integration Means
What sets us apart from most suppliers is that production happens in-house, from thread to finished product. We weave and braid on our own looms, produce plastic accessories with our own moulds, and turn them into finished products in our sewing workshop.
Because we see every stage of the product, quality is not dependent on a single outside supplier.
We can carry the same standard from the first metre to the last.
On request, from GRS-certified recycled (rPET) yarn — certificate held at our yarn supplier's level; we do not market the product as "GRS-certified."
Habby Accessories proves the same in-house chain end-to-end — from component to a brand on the shelf.
Not Just Manufacturing — Developing Together
Another benefit of 30 years of manufacturing memory is this: with our customers we do not build a mere "produce-the-order" relationship — we develop products together. In OEM and private-label work, we take a brand's specification and turn it into a sample, and the sample into series production. When a new width, a new braid structure or a different material combination is needed, we have the technical depth to try it and solve it.
Thirty years of manufacturing memory means we don't just produce the order — we develop the product with you.
The Proof of Quality: OEKO-TEX and ISO
Trust is built not by saying but by documenting. Since 2021, our products have carried OEKO-TEX Standard 100 (No. 2019OK0492) — independently tested to contain no substances harmful to human health. Alongside this, we operate with ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety) management systems. These certificates are not abstract badges: OEKO-TEX means the product meets the chemical-compliance requirements of a European retailer; ISO is the assurance that the order comes out of a consistent, repeatable process.
Tomorrow
Türkiye's proximity to Europe, our fast sampling processes and 30 years of manufacturing memory make us not just a supplier but a long-term manufacturing partner. The next 30 years are built on something as solid as the thread itself: continuity and end-to-end capability.