Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said, “When it comes to ceramics and sanitary ware, Turkey will come to mind, not Italy and Germany.” said.
Minister Varank, in his speech at the Kale 65th Anniversary Ceramic Day and Granite Slab Factory Groundbreaking Ceremony, said that some brands are special and that Kale Group is among the honor companies of Turkey.
BOTH BRAND AND MATERIAL: KALEBODUR
Stating that the name “kalebodur” is used for ceramic tile and tile products wherever you go in Anatolia, Varank continued as follows:
“Similarly, when buying ceramic tile adhesive, it is enough to say 'kalekim'. While it is a great success to launch even one generic brand like this, Kale Group has at least two such brands. I worked a lot with my father while he was building in Istanbul, I speak as your brother who knows very well what these brands are. Believe me, this success is one of the rare achievements even in the world. Even just when you think about it, you already understand the importance of the success of the Kale Group in 65 years.”
LARGEST IN TURKEY, NUMBER IN THE WORLD
Minister Varank, describing the campus of Kale Bodur, Minister Varan said, “It is the first and largest ceramic production complex in our country and one of the few in the world. A total of 1250 different facilities, from floor tiles to wall tiles, from granite to vitreous ware, operate here on a total area of 50 acres. The journey, which started with a modest facility in 1957, has turned into a gigantic industrial zone where 6 thousand people work with visionary investments made over time. We are talking about the 65th largest ceramic tile manufacturer in Europe and the 5th largest in the world, with an annual production of 17 million square meters as of today.”
EXPORT TO MORE THAN 100 COUNTRIES
Stating that the production of the group is exported to more than 100 countries, Minister Varank stated that they see a growth story that can be a role model for the Turkish industry.
Minister Varank emphasized that Kale Group made great contributions to employment and Turkey's exports with 17 companies operating in different sectors, and stated that the group was important to them because of the work they did in the field of defense industry.
1.5 MILLION SQUARE METERS OF PRODUCTION
Pointing out that they laid the foundation of the Granite Slab Factory, Varank said, “Approximately 3 million lira will be invested in this factory, which is the first stage of a 550-stage investment. With the future investments, the total amount is aimed to reach 1 billion liras. As the name suggests, this facility will produce innovative, high-value and large-size granite. An additional 1,5 people will be employed in this factory, where an annual production of 70 million square meters will be made when operational. Good luck to Çanakkale and our country.” said.
DOMESTIC AND NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IS THE CROWN OF OUR HEAD
Minister Mustafa Varank thanked the Kale Group management for their contribution to the Turkish economy.
Varank stated that the Ministry of Industry and Technology did not leave companies alone and said:
“We have issued an investment incentive certificate of 14 billion TL for 1,6 investments of Kale Seramik. Again, we have approved and commissioned 3 R&D centers within Kale Group, and we provide significant advantages for research and development activities there. We support this factory investment, which we will lay the foundation of, within the scope of our incentive system. Good luck, when you look at the contributions that the investment will make to Çanakkale and our country, you can see that it deserves all these supports. Since the day we took office, we have been working day and night to move the Turkish industry to the position it deserves. We come together with our business people both in the field and at the Ministry. On the one hand, we learn what we do not know, and on the other hand, we try to respond to the demands and suggestions of the industry.
NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY MOVEMENT
Under the leadership of our President, we are reshaping the Turkish industry with the vision of the National Technology Move, and we are giving the highest priority to domestic and national technology. In this sense, the ceramics industry is one of our pupils. It is one of the sectors that uses domestic resources the most and has the least dependence on imported products. It is among the most important industries of Turkey with a transaction volume of approximately 2 billion dollars and an export of over 1 billion dollars. It creates 40 thousand direct and 330 thousand indirect employments.”
TURKEY HAS THE CAPACITY TO MANUFACTURE EVERY PRODUCT
Stating that ceramics has widespread use in many areas such as space, military applications, insulation materials, aviation industry, blue light and infrared filtering, Varank stated that they have prepared an Advanced Materials Technology Roadmap and they are determined to give a greater momentum to the ceramic industry.
Stating that they also set targets for the development of advanced and innovative ceramics, composites and their production processes, Varank said, “There is no question that we, as Turkey, cannot produce any technology. Our competent human resources, our growing R&D ecosystem, and our entrepreneurial capacity are currently the key to domestic and national production. At this point, the private sector has started to get to know the Technology Oriented Industry Move Program closely. With this program, we support the production of high value-added products that are not produced in Turkey from a single window. Last month, we announced the results of the call for structural transformation in manufacturing. We decided to support 2,7 projects with a total size of 21 billion liras.” he said.
ONE OF THE SAFE INVESTMENT PORTS IN THE WORLD
Stating that investments will be made in many critical products and technologies, Varank said that they will also provide support in digital transformation.
Advising investors to follow the Technology-Oriented Industry Move Program, Varank said, “Please do not hesitate to apply. We have very important achievements in the ceramic industry, but there are other important issues that we need to do in the changing and transforming world. One of them is green transformation. Green transformation, climate change and sustainability are now at the top of the agendas of countries. The Carbon at the Border Regulation, which came to the agenda with the harmonization package announced by the European Commission in July 2021, will be implemented by the European Union in 2026. The ceramics industry is expected to be one of the industries that will be affected by this regulation. We export a significant part of our exports to the European Union. This transformation is not a choice but a necessity for the ceramics industry.” said.
Minister Varank stated that after the Kovid-19 epidemic, there were problems in the global economy due to the Russia-Ukraine War, and said:
DO NOT HESITATE
“These turbulent times will of course pass. The winners of that day will be those who resolutely continue on their way and invest. I say this as a friend who meets, talks and consults with industrialists and sector representatives every day. Of course, the war environment, this conjuncture is very sad, but it also contains serious opportunities. Recent events have shown us that Turkey, the intersection point of Europe, Asia and Africa, is now one of the safest ports in the world for investments. Turkey is a preferred country with its human resources capacity, planned industrial zones and an accelerating innovation ecosystem. In this context, I call out again and again to those who want to invest and say 'I wonder'; Don't hesitate. You are at the right place and at the right time for both investing and earning.”
TURKEY WILL COME TO MIND
Expressing that Italy is the first country that comes to mind in the ceramic industry in the world today, but that they will change it to Turkey, Varank said, “There are European friends here, excuse me, but I will say this; If Italy is the first country that comes to mind in the ceramic industry in the world today, Turkey will be the first country that comes to mind in ceramics from now on. If Germany is the first country that comes to mind in sanitary ware, the first country that comes to mind will be Turkey. We are already getting the signals of this and we really trust our industry and our business people.” used the phrases.
Kale Group President and Senior Manager Zeynep Bodur Okyay presented Minister Varank with a book and a specially designed ceramic after his speech.
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