Held at Hacettepe University Beytepe Congress Center in Ankara from October 23-25, 2018, ICDDA brought together global giants of the sector with SMEs, offering opportunities to conduct bilateral business meetings, improve existing business relationships, create new ones, and explore the problems and potential solutions facing the sector.
The capital city hosted the ICDD event for the fourth time, an event focused on the defense and aerospace sector, one of Turkey's most important and critical areas. Numerous representatives from both the public and private sectors attended the opening of the event.
Speaking first at the opening ceremony, OSSA Chairman A. Mithat Ertuğ stated that the event brought together SMEs with leading international companies in the sector such as Airbus, Boeing, BAE Systems, Leonardo, PTC, Rolls Royce, Skorsky, and Thales.
Ertuğ, providing information about OSSA, explained that the cluster includes 205 companies, all of which possess AS9100, Facility Security Certificates, and ERP systems. Thanking all the institutions and organizations that provided support, the OSSA President stated, “I hope that our event, which includes participants from over 50 countries and aims to provide the necessary connections for our SMEs to utilize their increasing capabilities and potential in international markets, will be fruitful and beneficial for all participants.”
“We believe in clustering”
OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın pointed to the ecosystem created by the fact that the main suppliers in the defense and aerospace sector are located in Ankara. Underlining that the Presidency of the Defense Industry plays a leading role in the creation of this ecosystem, Aydın said, “This is very valuable and important. We wholeheartedly congratulate and thank the Presidency, which manages the entire value chain consisting of main suppliers, subcontractors, and SMEs in terms of industrialization, and which has played a very important role in meeting and localizing our country's defense needs.”
Emphasizing that they expect similar practices and industrialization in the civilian sector as well, President Aydın said: “Unfortunately, we have not shown the same success in other areas as we have in the defense industry. In these areas, we have completely surrendered to the hegemony of foreign companies. We believe there is much work to be done here.”
In this regard, we strongly believe in clustering as a method of localization and industrialization. When we talk about clustering, we don't think it's something that can be done by just one company, one institution, or one bureaucrat. Therefore, we wholeheartedly believe that it can be achieved by managing the entire ecosystem, creating an ecosystem where the public sector, private sector, and our universities can work together. We are continuing our efforts in this direction.”
Orhan Aydın, who touched upon 7 different sectoral clusters that are successfully continuing in OSTİM, stated that the results are very clearly visible.
Aydın, emphasizing the importance of the ICDD event, stated that the activity was very valuable for them and continued as follows: “Here, on an international platform, our SMEs can sit side-by-side with companies from all over the world and discuss their products, capabilities, and resources. Even more importantly for us, this event shows that an SME in Ankara, in Turkey, can do a great deal for an international company.”
Does a company in OSTİM have a global counterpart? Yes, it does. Because companies all over the world, including main suppliers, are looking for people who possess talent, innovation, and the ability to produce goods. Therefore, the fact that our Presidency of Defense Industry manages a value chain extending to SMEs, and that they reach us and interact with us, is very valuable to us. At the end of his speech, Orhan Aydın thanked the institutions and organizations that supported ICDDA.
“Ankara is also the capital of the defense industry”
Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) Chairman Gürsel Baran stated that Turkey has written a success story in the field of defense industry, adding, “Ankara is also the capital of the defense industry.” Baran emphasized that the defense industry is one of the primary factors determining the economic and political power of countries, and stated, “In our country, this sector is of even greater importance due to our geopolitical location.”
The President of ATO noted that, with its recent developments, the defense and aerospace industry has begun to both meet the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces and to enter and establish a presence in international markets where competition is at its highest level.
Baran, noting that four of the top 100 largest defense industry companies in the world are based in Ankara, continued: “The defense industry in our country is experiencing a golden age we have never seen before. While nearly 80% of the defense industry was dependent on foreign sources at the beginning of the 2000s, this rate has decreased to 35%. Excluding companies that provide products and production services to the sector as subcontractors, there are nearly 300 SMEs operating in the defense sector in Turkey. OSSA is a very important cluster formed by the joint action of small and medium-sized enterprises producing goods and services in the defense industry. It successfully carries out a wide range of activities, from increasing the share of domestic production to making defense industry SMEs competitive in the international market, from opening up to foreign markets with final products to technology transfer. 30% of the total defense industry turnover is provided by the subcontractors, the majority of whom are SMEs.”
"It will pave the way for new collaborations"
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Çetin Ali Dönmez explained that the role of SMEs in the sector continues to increase and that significant technological accumulation has been achieved. Dönmez thanked all companies and SMEs that keep their hopes alive, continue production, and provide employment even in challenging financial conditions.
The Deputy Minister stated, “As the Ministry of Industry and Technology, we will not only express our gratitude to them. We will be faster in solving the problems faced by our SMEs. We will be more present in the field. Our contributions to solving the financing problems of our companies will continue to increase. This event will bring together our defense industry companies and SMEs, civil society organizations, all our public institutions, especially the Presidency of the Defense Industry, and international firms, increasing interaction, strengthening collaborations, and paving the way for new partnerships.”
“Global Companies Must Be Formed”
Head of the Defense Industry, İsmail Demir, noted that Turkey has gained significant momentum in the defense and aerospace sectors. He emphasized that a number of players, elements, and factors have been effective in this, and that the strategy to be determined in the coming years should include specific steps towards Turkey becoming a global power in the globalized world. He shared the following views: “In this meeting, we will emphasize the concept of industrial cooperation. To achieve this, it is crucial that our industrial ecosystem, within a broad framework, not only in defense and aerospace but in every field where expertise is needed – in every aspect of technology, manufacturing, and industrial matters – creates companies that are competent, have depth, and consistently maintain quality on a global scale. To achieve this, it is essential to create a multifaceted, multipurpose cooperation environment within this ecosystem.”
It is crucial that this collaboration and coordination activity is not limited to our country, and that our companies and organizations, which stand out with their competencies, can create a network globally and provide services on a global scale with their quality. It is also important to recognize that aviation is a significant factor alongside defense. In this sense, the importance of creating a global supply chain is once again highlighted.”
Touching upon the figures achieved by the defense and aerospace industry, Demir emphasized the role of being part of the global supply chain in the formation and increase of these figures. Stating that the competencies developed in the sector can make very broad contributions in many areas such as energy, transportation, communication, and health, Demir underlined the following points: "In this process, it is essential to create structures that consistently maintain quality, continuously work towards technological depth, prioritize R&D and product development, and are among the world's leading companies in specific fields."
One of our main goals during these collaboration days is to create companies that have a place in the global world through such connections. In this sense, we believe that the Industrial Competence Assessment and Support Program (EYDEP), initiated under our presidency, will play an important role. I invite our industrialists to evaluate this program in order to be able to play a role in the international arena. We believe that as a result of this program, very important companies will emerge in the coming years, and SMEs will gain new momentum."
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