Turkey's Machinery Sector Sets Up New Growth Hub in Trakya

The machinery manufacturing industry ranks among the leading sectors of the Turkish economy through its production capacity, contribution to exports, employment generation and added value creation. Over 13,000 companies representing the sector continue to pursue growth within insufficient organized industrial zones, small industrial sites and congested urban structures. The Machinery Manufacturers' Associations Federation (MAKFED), which draws attention with projects to advance the sector, is bringing to life a specialized organized industrial zone that will consolidate the fragmented sector. MAKFED introduced the sector's first and only specialized organized industrial zone in the Thrace Region at a presentation meeting held at Polat Renaissance Hotel. The presentation meeting for the Machinery Specialized OSB, held under the presidency of MAKFED Board Chairman Adnan Dalgakıran and the Board of Directors—whose members include 18 sector associations—attracted strong interest from machinery manufacturers. The machinery manufacturing industry, dominated by SMEs, comprises over 13,000 producer companies and these firms provide employment to 220,000 people. Sector companies operating in industrialized provinces are concentrated in cities such as Istanbul, Bursa, Kocaeli, Thrace, Izmir, Eskişehir, Ankara, Konya and Gaziantep. Fifty percent of machinery manufacturers operate in organized industrial zones, 30 percent in small industrial sites, with the remaining 20 percent scattered and dispersed within city limits. The Machinery Specialized OSB, which will consolidate the machinery sector from insufficient organized industrial zones, small industrial sites and urban areas into an OSB offering multiple advantages, will be adjacent to the PAGDER&ASLAN Plastics Specialized Private OSB established in Kırklareli-Vize. The benefits that the Machinery Specialized OSB, to be established under MAKFED's leadership, will provide to industrialists were explained to participants at the meeting held at Polat Renaissance Hotel.

The MAKFED Machinery Specialized Organized Industrial Zone presentation meeting was attended by Kırklareli Governor Osman Bilgin, Istanbul Deputy Governor İsmail Gültekin, Pınarhisar Mayor Mustafa Cingöz, MAKFED Board Chairman Adnan Dalgakıran, TOBB Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Board Chairman Kutlu Karavelioğlu, Asrey Construction Board Chairman Mehmet Ali Aslan, PAOSB Board Chairman and Asrey Construction Board Member Fidan Aslan Eroğlu, MAKFED Board Member and PAOSB Vice Chairman Hüseyin Semerci and the Chairs of MAKFED member associations.

Speaking at the Machinery Specialized Organized Industrial Zone presentation meeting, PAOSB Board Chairman and Asrey Construction Board Member Fidan Aslan Eroğlu stated: "We are experiencing the excitement and joy of the collaboration between the Machinery Manufacturers' Associations Federation (MAKFED) and Asrey Construction for establishing a Machinery Specialized Organized Industrial Zone in Kırklareli Vize. As Asrey Construction, we played a pioneering role in establishing a private organized industrial zone in Vize and achieved a first in Turkey. With the protocol signed with the Plastics Manufacturers Association (PAGDER) in 2012, the first step was taken toward establishing the PAGDER&ASLAN Plastics Specialized Private Organized Industrial Zone on an area of 650,000 square meters. Such a collaboration between the private sector and a civil society organization was a first in our country. Today we are providing this benefit for the machinery manufacturing industry, our country's locomotive sector. Alongside many advantages ranging from 30 percent cheaper energy to 45 percent investment incentives, from a location adjacent to Istanbul and Europe to relocation credit support, we aim to equip our machinery industry with a specialized OSB it needs, together with modern infrastructure facilities and social living spaces. The Machinery Specialized Organized Industrial Zone, to be established on 1 million square meters of land with 400,000 square meters of expansion space, will consist of three phases. The first phase will be offered to our industrialists at advantageous prices starting at 55 dollars per square meter, the second phase at 70 dollars per square meter, and the third phase at 85 dollars per square meter. We have also fixed the dollar rate at 1$ = TRY 4.5. I wish our Machinery Organized Industrial Zone to bring benefits to our country, the machinery manufacturing industry and the region."