Regarding the formation of the association, Cluster Executive Board Chairman Mithat ERTUĞ stated the following: "Approximately two years have passed since we established the cluster. During this period, we did not focus on the legal personality of the cluster in order to move faster without dealing with bureaucracy."
Regarding the formation of the association, Cluster Executive Board Chairman Mithat ERTUĞ said the following.
Almost two years have passed since we established the cluster. During this time, we didn't focus on establishing the cluster's legal entity in order to move faster and avoid bureaucracy. However, at this stage, it was necessary to create a legal entity to guarantee the cluster's sustainability. As the Cluster Executive Board, we examined various alternatives and decided that an association structure was the most suitable legal entity for the cluster. After approximately two months of work, we approved the final version of the bylaws at the Cluster Executive Board meeting on April 20, 2010, and began the necessary work to establish the association.
The name of the association to be established has been determined as Ostim Defense and Aerospace Cluster Association. The association's charter was drafted while adhering to the cluster's current structure. The Cluster Executive Board, consisting of 8 company representatives, will serve as the founding member of the association. Upon completion of the association's establishment process, the other 60 cluster member companies will also be registered as members. Supporting institutions and organizations such as SSM, KOSGEB, Ostim OSB, SaSaD, METUTECH, ASO, ATO, and ODAGEM, which are currently on the Cluster Executive Board, will continue to serve as Honorary Members on the Association's Board of Directors. Thus, the existing structure will be preserved, and the association's legal entity will be established.
The objectives of the association to be established are:
• To increase the share of domestic production in the defense and aerospace sectors,
• To increase cooperation among its members and create the infrastructure for carrying out joint projects,
• Increasing the competitiveness of SMEs,
• To develop a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship,
• To contribute to the social and economic development of the country,
• To create a reference point for clustering and to contribute to other clustering studies, was defined as the objective.
The criteria we use when admitting members to the cluster will remain the same for membership applications. Companies applying for membership will continue to be required to produce a sufficient level of products and services for the aviation or defense industry.
The Ostim Defense Sub-Industry Cluster initiative, which has been ongoing for approximately two years, will be formalized with the completion of the association phase. Our goal is to complete the membership procedures for the member companies of the cluster by July and make the association operational.
