Globaltex Fine Linens founder Ramazan Patak gave an interview to a Turkish Newspaper.
Jun 24, 2023
Globaltex Fine Linens founder Ramazan Patak gave an interview to a Turkish newspaper.
Thank you for publishing our story; We could not be more proud of what our family has created. We hope this article inspires other entrepreneurs to make great products that will last for generations!
Reportage:
From Şanlıurfa to Miami! Globaltex is among the top 50 companies in Florida
Quite a lot of Turks live in Miami, Florida. There are mostly Turks who invest in real estate and come here for vacation. We visited the showroom in Miami of Ramazan Patak, a businessman who started from scratch and grew rapidly, with whom we interviewed over Zoom during the coronavirus period. The location of the company operating in the field of textile is quite nice. Ramazan Bey has a different story stretching from Şanlıurfa to Miami. At the same time, different institutions and media organizations in the USA are constantly talking about him. I was really impressed when I saw the showroom. It is stated that there are Turkish products in the showcase outside, and when you enter, you see that it has a place worthy of Turkish products. We made an interview with Mr. Ramazan about his company.
First of all, congratulations. We interviewed on zoom during the coronavirus period, now we will do it face-to-face. Could you briefly tell us about your company for those who did not read our previous interview?
Although Globaltex USA LLC or Globaltex Fine Linens company officially started life in 2015, its first foundations actually started in 2014. It took a year to set up my company. But before that, I did a research study. We are a company concentrated mainly in hotel textiles, we are a company with offices in 3 locations, Miami, Houston and Denizli. Currently, we produce and sell goods to luxury hotels in places such as Mexico and the Caribbean Islands, especially the USA. 80% or more of these products are produced in Turkey, and the rest is produced in Miami. When I first started, we had an area of 2 thousand square meters, now we have increased to 6 thousand square meters. We purchased the entire space as of last week when we were originally a tenant. At the moment, we have our own company of 6 thousand square meters in the heart of Miami.
I was very impressed with the Showroom in Miami. Can you talk a little bit about the Miami location?
We use the best materials in each of our locations. Satisfaction of our customers is very important as we state that we use Turkish made products. Our Miami location is in the Little River Business District. We are located in the heart of South Florida. Thanks to this, we have the opportunity to deliver the same day to all our customers. This allows us to be a few steps ahead of other companies.
You have both a showroom and a warehouse in Houston, Texas. You have built a place from scratch and you will be moving soon. Can you share the details?
We built our first showroom office in Houston Texas in December 2018. But since we were going through a very rapid growth phase, we decided that we needed a warehouse there as well, and we started searching in Houston Texas as in Miami, Florida. We had the same criteria. Since we could not find a suitable place for these criteria, we decided to build from scratch. In January 2023, we will have completed the construction of all showroom warehouses and transferred there. The place is 5 minutes from George Bush Airport.
You can't get enough of the rewards! Can you tell us in detail about the awards you have received in the last 8 months since the last interview?
- We were deemed worthy of this list in the Financial Times' INC 5000 magazine two years in a row. - In 2019, we were at 249 rank with 1710 percent growth, among 5000 companies. - In 2020, we were in the 1488th place with an average growth of 298 percent. - Ranked #54 in America's Fastest Growing Companies in 2020. In 2021, we became the 168th company. - We were among the 250 Most Successful companies in Florida with 400 percent growth in 2021. - 2 years ago, we were among the top thousand successful businessmen to be followed by Forbes Magazine. - We were chosen by Brickell Magazine as one of the 10 most successful people in Miami. - We became one of the 20 most successful businessmen under the age of 40 in Florida in 2018. - I was named one of the 250 most successful leaders in 2023 by the South Florida Business Journal. - South Florida Business Journal We were selected among the top 50 companies in South Florida. We were in the top 5. We did not apply for these awards. We continue our work honestly with our team, so we get successes and awards, and it's not just me, but the whole team's work, both in Florida and Texas.
From the outside, you bring Turkey to the fore. What do those who see that it is Turkish made say, what is the feedback like?
First of all, I am proud to be Turkish, no matter how much I live in America, and with this pride, we try to fulfill our duty by reflecting Turkish products to our business. We know that there is a great need for Turkish products not only in the field of textile but also in the foreign market, and we receive very good comments in our field, textile.
You are a success story from Şanlıurfa to Miami. What advice would you give to those starting from scratch?
The first is to be honest and to make this honesty as a lifestyle. It is very important to set long-term goals. To set goals that are 5 years or more and to feed these goals with short goals. Another important thing is continuity. Without continuity, success will be far away. Everything is possible when a person wants and when he/she is 100 percent focused on his/her goal, but stability and dedication are a must. If I can do it, you can too. When I meet with my team, I say, have you changed a person's life for the better? Your life is meaningless if you haven't contributed to anyone's life. You have to touch people's lives. It is our humane duty to produce as human beings and improve other people's lives.
What would you like to say to young people?
It is necessary to strike a balance between technology and real life. I want to say that they should use technology as an advantage in their lives and work for them, and unfortunately, technology that develops very fast actually makes people lazy. If young people use it only as a tool, they will be more successful and happier. Most importantly, they should give importance to real life and give more importance to real people, family, friendships rather than social media.
How many customers do you have in how many states?
We currently have more than 1000 customers in 38 states of the USA. One of our goals next year is to serve 50 states.
You don't like to share, but I want to mention it as an example. You undertook the complete painting and maintenance of the school you graduated from in Turkey. How did you decide this?
What are your plans for social responsibility? First of all, giving zakat is a responsibility both in our religion and in our culture, and as a business person we need to fulfill this duty. You can see some of them on social media platforms, but I don't want to say most of them. You're right, sometimes we need to show it as an example. Let me tell you at least two of them, the others are left to me. I took on the painting of the school I graduated from in Turkey, and I started a project recently at Miami Dade College, where I graduated, and I meet the needs of the applied hotel in the tourism and hotel management department.
In the USA, there is a great interest in your company in both national and local media. The American dream draws their attention… We do not reach the media in any way, we do not want them to write or broadcast about us, they reach us, which shows that our team and company are on the right track. I've always believed in the American Dream, and I still believe it now. The dream isn't over, it's something anyone can do, but I would say sacrifices have to be made.
Not if we don't say Miami. It is one of the favorite cities in Turkey. Can you talk about both touristic and business?
The reason why Miami is a favorite city in Turkey is that its weather structure is very similar to the Mediterranean. Sea, sun and fresh air… This Mediterranean person makes us very happy, making it more attractive to have this city in America. Miami is an incredibly large and developing city that is famous all over the world. This will allow this place to develop further in the very near future. In the 2026 world cup, some matches will be in Miami, which indicates that more investment will be made here and it will become even more popular. Miami is a really nice place to live and have a job. Many people choose this place as a holiday.
I see you working hard all the time. When you say visits, phones, e-mails, family, how is 24 hours enough?
First, being organized is absolutely essential. You need to be organized and use your calendar very well. You need to know what to do the next day, not impromptu. Sometimes you plan a month in advance. When you do this, you can create time for your loved ones, customers and family.
The last word is yours, Mr. Ramazan, please come in...
In the changing world, the most important thing is to do honestly whatever we do as human beings in its simplest form. Not just thinking about yourself, thinking about the people next to you and making your decisions by thinking about them makes life more livable. As a final word, in my opinion, if we cannot change a person's life for the better, if we do not contribute to it, our lives are meaningless.
We would like to thank Anıl Sural and "Vatan First" for their wonderful articles.
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