The late appearance of the textile industry in the interwar period was due to the lack of capital, industrial energy, skilled workers. In this period, the textile industry took the fourth place in terms of investments, after food, distribution of electricity and tobacco industry. In 1939, the Macedonian textile sector was employing 434 people, which was 5% of the employees in the industry.
Macedonian industry had gone through a period of a steady increase in the interwar period. The production increased in the second half of this period.
The period after the Second World War is said to be a flourishing period of Macedonian textile industry. Thus, the development of this branch in this period until 1990 can be divided into three parts:
1.The government of the SFRY decided to change Macedonian economy from craft to industrial with the program of five-year plans. According to this plan, about 16.7% of the investments were in the textile industry (period from 1947 to 1953). It was the first positive impulse when in 1950 a silk factory, "Noncha Kamishova" in Veles, was built and put into regular production. This is a period when two large capacities are created in Macedonia - the factory for processing wool, sheets and goods - Todor Vipovski Merzhan (ie Teteks) in Tetovo in 1951, and in 1951/1952 the factory for processing cotton started, spinning yarn and weaving of cotton fabrics "Makedonka" in Stip. In fact, in this postwar period, Stip stands out as the center of the textile industry.
2.The second positive impulse lasted from 1958 to 1966 when 22 textile factories were built in all parts of the country. During this period, in 1962, "Astibo" started working. This factory was the first branch of "Makedonka“ and its production line was located precisely in "Makedonka" premisses.