The Business and Construction Machinery Cluster (İŞİM) has completed the needs analysis process, which is the first phase of the 3rd International Competitiveness Development (URGE) Project supported by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Turkey. Strategic goals were determined through a workshop.
The needs analysis for the project, titled "Construction and Industrial Machinery and Spare Parts III. URGE Project," which covers 30 companies, was conducted by the Turkish Technology Development Foundation (TTGV) through company visits. The analysis reports specific to each company were shared at a workshop held with the participation of the project companies.
Esma Akyüz, Project Manager of the İŞİM Cluster URGE Project, stated that İŞİM has successfully completed many projects over the past 8 years, saying, “Between 2011 and 2014, we completed two URGE projects, resulting in a 121% increase in the total export turnover of the participating companies. We have also completed the needs analysis for the third URGE project, and now it's time to expand into global markets.”
“The public should listen to us”
OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın suggested that İŞİM members should discuss with relevant public institutions the importance of prioritizing domestic production before considering exports, in order to assess the potential of the domestic market. Emphasizing that İŞİM is a civil society organization, Aydın stated, "The public should listen to us. As a cluster, we are a civil society organization."
Deniz Bayhan, Mahmut Kiper, Tülay Akarsoy Altay, and Pelin Durtaş, experts from TTGV who conducted the needs analysis study, each gave a presentation at the workshop. Deniz Bayhan mentioned that they had completed six projects with OSTİM. Bayhan explained that they conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis for İŞİM. Bayhan emphasized that they determined strategic goal proposals for İŞİM in accordance with the results of this analysis.
If the domestic market is large, exports develop.
TTGV expert Tülay Akarsoy Altay gave a presentation titled ‘The Construction and Industrial Machinery Sector in the World and in Turkey’. Altay stated that the sector's global revenue in 2014 was $159 billion, and noted that sales increased in the North American and European markets.
A TTGV expert, arguing that all industries are fueled by their domestic markets, cited the example of the United States, which is both a large market and a major exporter. “But this is not the case in Turkey. Measures must be taken to balance market capacity and exports,” he warned.
Altay also provided the following information regarding the sector: Türkiye is the fourth largest construction machinery market in Europe. It is also the ninth largest country in Europe in the construction machinery manufacturing industry.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
To create the necessary intellectual capital (human resources, structural capital, and relational capital components) for companies to overcome bottlenecks in institutionalization, branding, promotion, and marketing, and to increase their exports, and to double their market share within five years.
To transform the İŞİM cluster into a sought-after cluster in the international sector in terms of manufacturing competence within five years by developing the necessary measures to ensure that cluster firms producing locally in Ankara are strong against large global competitors.
To transform the İŞİM cluster into a production center by developing measures that will enable cluster firms to modernize their production and quality assurance infrastructures and to use advanced production methods.
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