The SteelOrbis Market Talks event was held at the Wellborn Luxury Hotel in Kocaeli, northwestern Turkey, on Wednesday, September 4, with the sponsorship of Turkish flat steel producer Yildiz Demir Celik and approximately 300 attendees.
In his speech, Ilkay Turkan, Yildiz Demir Celik’s domestic sales manager, stated that they did not have a bad start in their first year - 2018 - since despite minor signals no one expected the subsequent shrinkage of the market and that they have since been forced to turn to exports due to the fall in local steel demand. He stated, “Our export department did a good job. 45 percent of our sales in the last quarter were exports. Although we are a new firm, we entered the list of producers in 407th place. We will probably be in the top 100 this year. We consider ourselves to be marathon runners. We will be in this market for a long time despite our problematic start,” he added.
Mr. Türkan said it is noteworthy that their advantage as a local mill is their close proximity to clients, adding that short delivery times carry minimum risks as buyers can clearly see the price trend, adding that the company is successful in meeting spot needs. Türkan also highlighted that they have the capability of supplying the needed dimensions and quantities at will using their own transporters with the help of their cutting-to-length, slitting and trapeze lines.
While mentioning that their goal to become a supplier for the white goods and automotive sectors has not changed, Türkan added that one needs to pass certain audits before becoming an approved supplier for the white goods sector and these processes are continuing. Meanwhile, he said that Yildiz Demir Celik will start these procedures for the automotive sector after procuring the ISO/TS 16949 certificate.
Evaluating the situation in the white goods and automotive sectors, Mr. Turkan reported that automotive is the most impacted industry in Turkey as it closed last year with a 35 percent fall, recalling that Turkey supplies more than 80 percent of its automotive exports to Europe, but adding that this market shrunk by two percent in the first five months of the current year. He stated that the Turrish automotive sector needs an alternative outlet, and that the new markets include the US, Russia, Mexico and China. While defining Turkey’s target markets for white goods as Europe and the Middle East, he predicted a 12-15 percent fall in domestic consumption of white goods in Turkey in the current year.