FONG'S Europe and Xorella see Egyptian demand for dyeing and finishing machinery rise

Two executives from the FONG'S Europe machinery group said Egypt is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for textile investment, as manufacturers expand and foreign companies set up operations, in an interview with Kohan Textile Journal at the EGY Stitch & Tex 2026 exhibition in Cairo, published on 5 October.

FONG'S Europe GmbH is the parent of the FONG'S, THEN, GOLLER and XORELLA brands. Kadir Esmer, Area Sales Director at FONG'S Europe, said the group offers machinery for yarn and fabric dyeing together with continuous processing technologies, including bleaching, mercerising and pad-steam ranges. Thomas Walther, Sales Director at XORELLA, said his focus is the brand's steaming and conditioning systems, used mainly in yarn production, including cotton spinning.

Walther described the Egyptian market as promising and pointed to a shift of capacity from Türkiye. "We are seeing textile manufacturers and investors from Türkiye moving part of their production to Egypt and establishing new factories," he said. He added that Egypt benefits from competitive labour and energy costs as well as a long history in cotton spinning.

According to the interview, demand in Egypt is growing for dyeing, finishing, yarn conditioning and automation. Walther said automation is gaining importance even in lower-cost countries, because many factories realised after the COVID-19 pandemic that labour shortages could create serious operational problems.

Esmer said the group works with NobelTex as its local partner in Egypt, which allows it to stay close to customers.

The comments follow similar remarks by other European machinery suppliers at the same fair, which Egytex reported earlier this week.

What it means for Egyptian exporters

Investment in dyeing and finishing is the link that lets Egypt sell finished fabric and garments rather than greige goods or yarn, and it is where European buyers look hardest at quality, consistency and chemical compliance. Machinery makers seeing more orders for these processes suggests the wet-processing gap in Egypt's value chain is starting to close. For garment exporters, more local dyeing and finishing capacity can mean shorter lead times and fewer imported fabrics — a key argument when pitching Egypt as a nearshore supplier to the EU.