The 4th Ordinary General Assembly of OSSA was attended by Deputy Minister of National Defence Şuay Alpay, AK Party Ankara Member of Parliament Emrullah İşler, Undersecretary of Defence Industry İsmail Demir, President of Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) Nurettin Özdebir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OSTİM Orhan Aydın, General Manager of Military Factories Murat Akkaya, General Manager of Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation Ahmet Taşkın, General Manager of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI-TUSAŞ) Temel Kotil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASELSAN Mustafa Murat Şeker, General Manager of Roketsan Selçuk Yaşar, and OSSA members.
“SMEs are ready and willing”
At the General Assembly, OSSA Coordinator Hilal Ünal summarized the activities covering the period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016.
Ünal outlined the following points: “First of all, we have introduced ourselves both domestically and internationally. We provide training to our companies at very low costs. We utilize the support of our Ministry of Economy. We try to provide all the training that a defense and aerospace SME needs, and we conduct consultancy activities. We implement ERP systems. These are actually very costly items for SMEs, and we continue these with the support of the Ministry of Economy. Between 2015-2016, as OSSA, we participated in important events abroad in the defense and aerospace sector together with our members. We are conducting incredible lobbying activities.”
We are in contact with major industries. We have very close relations with the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry (SSM). We always feel their support. Our ‘Industrial Cooperation Days in Defense and Aerospace (ICDDA 2016)’ event, held under the auspices of the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry and organized by OSSA, was completed with 5,400 registered business meetings, with the participation of 2,000 people from 33 countries and 200 companies. We expect the support we receive from our government to accelerate localization efforts to continue and increase. SMEs are ready and willing to localize subsystems.”
“Brave industrialists who never give up on their love of production”
OSSA Chairman Mithat Ertuğ stated that Turkey, which until recently imported almost everything for the defense industry, has now entered a period of maturity. Pointing out that the sector's size has exceeded 3.5 billion dollars and the employment it creates 50,000, Ertuğ said, “The sector offers very important opportunities and possibilities for SMEs. Defined as defense and aerospace, 30 percent of the total defense industry turnover is provided by sub-industries, the majority of which are SMEs. This sector clearly demonstrates the importance of SMEs.”
The experienced industrialist, stating that the cluster was initially perceived as simply a matter of buying and selling work, summarized the situation as follows: “Breaking down prejudices wasn't easy. First, it was necessary to understand what clustering was and to build team spirit. The foundations of OSSA's slogan, 'We are stronger together,' were laid that day. We had the support of courageous industrialists and OSTİM behind us, first and foremost.”
Mithat Ertuğ, in his speech highlighting the warm relations established with the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry (SSM), the support of the Ministry of Economy, SaSaD, and many state institutions, concluded with the words, "I thank our courageous industrialists, who deserve the biggest applause, for their participation and for never giving up their passion for production, no matter what happened."
“SSM is an extremely important institution for us”
OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın highlighted the Undersecretariat of Defense Industries (SSM) as a crucial asset for OSSA and the sector. Touching upon the impact of SSM's establishment on the development of Turkey's defense industry, Aydın stated, "On the civilian side; in energy, transportation, and healthcare, where we spend more money than in the defense industry, we unfortunately don't find this structure. For example, transportation spends more money than defense. But there's no door where we can go to explain our problems, discuss our projects, or engage in domestic, national production. There's no structure that monitors and regulates this sector. Go to the Ministry of Energy; it's not there either. Therefore, SSM is an extremely important institution for us in terms of taking ownership of the defense sector."
Orhan Aydın, noting that the Undersecretariat has a mature staff that fills the concept of industrialization in Turkey with content, said, "We should establish an equivalent institution to the Undersecretariat of Defense Industries in other sectors as well, and this institution should be responsible for the industrialization of Turkey."
The Chairman of the OSTİM Board of Directors, stating that they do not consider it sufficient for small producers to be merely subcontractors or contract manufacturers, said, “It is our duty to transform them into a position where they can design, produce, and develop systems. We are looking at practices around the world; in the American approach, it is said, ‘Think of the small business first!’ Look, there is an approach outside of trade. Here, however, we are saying the opposite of the model of ‘Think of the big business immediately, think of the one with the least risk, go for the big one immediately.’ I am not the only one saying this. The European Union legislation and the law protecting small businesses also say the same thing. ‘Think of the small business first!’ The second priority is to prefer those with knowledge.”
Orhan Aydın, who also brought up the issue of domestically produced engines, stated the following regarding the matter: “Nothing happens without an engine. Tanks don't move, planes don't fly. How will we do it? The first thing that comes to mind is, ‘We'll go and get the technology from someone else.’ But they won't give it to us. We will make it ourselves. Can we do it? Yes, we can.”
EVALUATIONS
Representatives from public and private sector organizations who attended the General Assembly as guests made assessments regarding both OSSA and their respective fields. The guests emphasized the necessity of domestic and national production; they also spoke about the contributions of working with SMEs to the sector.
Temel Kotil - General Manager of TAI-TUSAŞ:
As TAI, we want to see the names of the companies that will replace TAI. If there is a company that says, "I want to replace TAI," let them raise their hand. Starting tomorrow morning, we will replace them with TAI. Then we will go even higher. If 10 TAIs emerge from this meeting, we will grow tenfold. In 2017, our consolidated turnover will be $1.9 billion. I think the sector's turnover will be around $6 billion. We are almost one-third. In terms of exports, together with our partners in OSSA, we export approximately half a billion dollars.
In terms of exports, I believe we are the largest in this sector. Normally, if these were original products, we would sell them at least 10 times more expensively. We wholeheartedly wish that every company here, as TAI, would be as big as TAI. Our revenue target is 10 billion dollars. If we don't reach this figure, we can't be a real player. Hopefully, together we will be number one.
Ahmet Taşkın - General Manager of MKE
As Makine Kimya Endüstrisi, a well-established company in Ankara, we are here with you. We are ready to do whatever we can together. We are ready for collaborations.
Mustafa Murat Şeker - Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASELSAN
We've reached a certain point. Hopefully, things will get even better. We've come this far thanks to the rules set by SSM (Undersecretariat of Defense Industries). These things should become natural now. As the main companies, we need to create a culture of working together without any coercion from the state. I hope that's how we'll see the future. We will increase collaborations, expand business partnerships, and grow together.
Selçuk Yaşar - General Manager of Roketsan
We are watching OSSA's rising success. We are not looking for subcontractors, we are looking for solution partners. If someone else is doing a job in Turkey, we won't do it, nor do we want to. We aim to achieve large turnovers by selling original products and systems. I worked at OSTİM for a year in 1987-88, and I say this with pride. Today's OSTİM is at European level. It has become an industry that can do what engineers and technicians in Europe do. OSTİM has become a very valuable brand. It will do much bigger things. That is our goal. I believe that together we will achieve much greater successes.
Major General Murat Akkaya - General Director of Military Factories, Ministry of National Defense
OSTİM is a very large factory for me. I see it as a very large factory in Turkey. I believe that we will achieve even more successful services together in this role. We have to succeed with the engine project, and I believe we will. As the General Manager of Military Factories, I will be working with you on this matter. I will be with you soon. I will have one foot in OSTİM. We will develop that cooperation.
Nurettin Özdebir - Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASO
We live in the most challenging geographical region in the world, at the center of global gravity. Everyone acknowledges that any new order sought to be established in the world cannot be built without us. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have the capabilities we currently use in the fight against terrorism and in Operation Euphrates Shield. It's not possible to buy everything with money. And even what we buy with money, we are sometimes prevented from using. Together, we must provide our country's Armed Forces with very significant gains. If we cannot do this, if we cannot develop them further, we cannot survive much longer in this precious and challenging geographical region of the world. We need to work 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. To protect our future, to protect oppressed people and states, we are obliged to do this, we are compelled to do this.
Ismail Demir - Undersecretary of SSM
Considering its scope and the work it has done, I truly believe it occupies a much larger space than its size suggests in Turkey's defense and aerospace structure. I hope this sectoral expansion will serve as an example for other clusters. We hope to see you achieve many more successes. As always, we are with you on this journey. We expect not only thanks, but also continuous criticism and guidance from all clusters in Turkey. Together, we will find the right path. It is necessary to do a little better than everything that has been done, to ensure the expansion of every sector. We trust in the dynamism of our people. Yes, they want to corner us in this geography. Hopefully, the dynamism and strength of this country will overcome this. Let's stand tall and overcome these difficulties.
Şuay Alpay - Deputy Minister of National Defence
Industrialism is an important field representing a deep-rooted culture, a serious tradition, and, in this respect, nobility. It is a costly undertaking. There is no need to even describe the immense importance of industry and industrialists in a country's development. I know many industrialists who have lost their health and paid a heavy price. Therefore, you represent a significant burden. For this reason, I salute you all with respect. You are all truly people who deserve heartfelt congratulations.
I am a friend who believes that whatever needs to be done to pave the way for you should be done. You have made great contributions to this country. There is a great success story here. I congratulate my Presidents, Board members, and all the industrialists who have contributed to this great success story, and I wish you continued success.
Emrullah İşler - AK Party Ankara Member of Parliament
I am pleased with the points raised here. I particularly think it is important to underline a few things. Defense and aviation are extremely important issues. They are indispensable for a country. Especially if you live in our region, you absolutely need to be self-sufficient in this area.
Under the leadership, close patronage, and directives of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we have made significant progress in this field over the past 15 years. I'm not saying this is enough. We are still a country that cannot manufacture its own engines. Therefore, we need to achieve these things as soon as possible. We absolutely must reach a point where we are self-sufficient in defense and in every field.
Of course, we are proud of what has been accomplished so far. The steps taken in recent years make us happy. We rejoice in the successes, but we must also emphasize that it is not enough. Looking at this hall, we see that a fusion of state and nation has also been formed. Therefore, we have the ingredients: flour, oil, and sugar. Then we need to make this halva and put it on the market as soon as possible.
ELECTION RESULTS
Following the election held at the General Assembly Meeting, the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board were constituted as follows, according to the votes received:
Board of Directors (Full Members): EMGE, Küçükpazarlı, Alkan Makina, Dora Makina, Mikron Mühendislik, Skymark, MFK.
Supervisory Board (Full Members): Tolga Plastik, Akalın Isıl İşlem, Cetek Makina
