ATA (Israeli company)

ATA Textile Company Ltd. (Hebrew: "אתא חברה לטקסטיל בע"מ") was one of the first industrial enterprises founded in Israel, established in 1934.

Although named after the community in which it was founded, Israeli writer and Nobel Prize laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon later declared that "ATA" stood for "Ariga Totzeret Artzenu" ("Textiles from our land").

[1] In the summer of 1934, a water well was drilled on Moller's property, and a road was built directly linking the factory to nearby Haifa.

Machinery was also imported from Czechoslovakia, and pamphlets urging members of Zionist organizations in the country to study textile manufacturing were distributed in order to gather potential employees.

By 1936, the ATA factory had 115 employees, mostly from nearby kibbutzim, including Mishmar Yam (now Afek), Ein HaMifratz, and Kfar Masaryk.

During the war, Mandatory Palestine served as a strategic centre for British military operations in the region, which guarded travel to India via the Suez Canal.

As British supply transport was regularly subject to German submarine attacks, distribution and manufacturing was forced to centre around local factories in Palestine.

Hans and Erich Moller established a subsidiary in order to market ATA goods during this period, called Theta ("תטא").

Initially, ATA focused on producing khaki clothing, including tembel hats, trousers, and shirts that became synonymous with the company.

Experiencing high rates of unemployment in less-developed areas of the country, Minister of Trade and Industry Pinchas Sapir encouraged the establishment of new textile factories.

However, the Histadrut, Israel's national trade union centre, was led by Mapai members who were unable to reach a deal with the striking workers.

Thus, the factory was sold to a group of investors headed by Tibor Rosenbaum, who appointed Amos Ben-Gurion to manage the plant.

In 1980, David Arbel replaced Amos Ben-Gurion as factory manager, and continued in his role as CEO until the company's closure.

ATA's assets were eventually purchased by Kitan, a manufacturer owned by the Clal Industries investment company, and rebranded as Golf & Co.

Golf & Co. was later purchased by IDB Holding Corporation Ltd.[4] On the site of one of the former ATA plants, the Kryon company established a factory.

exhibition, alongside some iconic fashion items such as the Levi's 501s, the Breton shirt, and the Little Black Dress, and as ancient and culturally charged as the sari, the pearl necklace, the kippah, and the keffiyeh.

Capsule collection with the famous Israeli model, Anya Martirosov, telling her story of escaping from the USSR and moving to Israel.