Defense industry manufacturers from OSTİM came together through a joint effort of the Defense Industry Cluster and the Defense Manufacturers Association. At the meeting, which took place following the tragic events in the region, those who lost their lives in the disaster were commemorated as "industrial martyrs."
The second meeting of defense industry manufacturers in OSTİM was held with the strong participation of leading names in the sector. The meeting, attended by companies such as SASAD, Aselsan, Havelsan, TAI, and Meteksan, also included OSTİM-based companies that serve the defense industry as subcontractors.
Gülnaz Karaosmanoğlu, Secretary General of the OSTİM Foundation, opened the meeting, where the expectations of main and sub-industry firms were discussed and the sectoral problems existing for both sides were examined. She began her speech by expressing her satisfaction with the meeting, stating that it was a highly systematic, conscious, planned, and strategic gathering conducted in line with regional development plans.
Mithat Ertuğ, Chairman of the Defence and Aerospace Cluster Executive Board, then took the floor and described the workers who lost their lives in the accidents in the OSTİM and İvedik Organized Industrial Zones as "industrial martyrs," and invited all participants to observe a moment of silence.
Following a moment of silence, presentations were given to the participants about OSTİM and the OSTİM Defense and Aerospace Cluster (OSSA). Gülnaz Karaosmanoğlu, who gave the OSTİM presentation, stated that after the tragic accident, everyone, regardless of their knowledge, had launched a smear campaign against the Organized Industrial Zones (OSBs), saying, “Actually, very important work is being done here. Productions are being made for Turkey's most important companies. We, with all our institutions, are trying to provide all the support we can to these companies and increase their competitiveness in the market. The OSTİM management exists to ensure this.”
Dolunay Erdoğuş, OSSA Matchmaking and Business Development Coordinator, then took the floor and informed the main industry representatives about the work that the Ostim Defense and Aerospace Cluster has done to date and the production and competitive strengths of the cluster member companies.
Following this, Yılmaz Küçükseyhan, Deputy Secretary General of SASAD, took the podium and began his speech by offering condolences to those who lost their lives in the incident, their families, and all of OSTİM. Küçükseyhan emphasized the importance of clustering in the defense sub-industry, stating that the defense industry has a somewhat different culture, requires certain sectoral disciplines, and, being a sector that uses advanced technology, needs trained personnel. He stressed that clustering is crucial in providing all these resources.
The problems of main and subcontractors were discussed.
Murat Kepir, KOSGEB President's Advisor and Chairman of the SME and Sub-Industry Advisory Board, also spoke at the meeting and presented a report prepared by the SASAD SME and Sub-Industry Advisory Board, which included the expectations of main contractors and subcontractors in the defense industry. Kepir stated that the report is extremely important in revealing the problems between the main contractor and the subcontractors, and continued: “According to this report, the main contractor's expectations from the subcontractor are: institutionalization, development of production and quality infrastructure, ability to produce cost-effective solutions, a smoothly functioning quality system, compliance with contractual requirements, ensuring continuity in production quality, employment of qualified personnel and ensuring continuity. All these requests have emerged from the problems that the main industry encounters when working with subcontractors. However, subcontractor SMEs also have some difficulties and requests from the main contractors. Some of these requests are that in public tenders, institutionalized SMEs should not be subjected to price competition with others, that SMEs should not be pressured by placing orders in short timeframes, that the time for requesting bids should be slightly longer, that work should not be given to firms with insufficient infrastructure or without Quality Certificates, and that the lowest price should not be the determining factor in tenders.” Kepir said that sharing these requests and difficulties is very important and that only through this sharing can the problems currently existing in the sector be solved.
Küçükseyhan: “Main industry should support subcontractors”
Speaking again at the end of the meeting, Yılmaz Küçükseyhan, Deputy Secretary General of SASAD, shared some of his observations that emerged from the discussions. Küçükseyhan said the following:
“As SASAD, we strive to listen to the needs and problems of subcontractors as much as possible. From what we can see, it's quite difficult for SMEs to retain qualified personnel. Because engineers trained at one institution are snapped up by larger companies. Therefore, SMEs are forced to employ personnel with a moderate level of knowledge, meaning they cannot retain quality workforce. Another issue is increasing R&D-oriented activities. This is definitely something our companies need to improve. Regarding quality and facility safety, we at SASAD are always ready to help. Our Undersecretariat of Defense Industry is also very meticulous in this regard. We are ready to assist with finding professors and covering training costs. Furthermore, we can direct experienced employees from main contractor companies to you as trainers, according to your needs. Regarding university-industry collaboration, our concern is this: there are academics who try to enter the market with a product produced or developed in the university's laboratory. We are against this; we believe everyone should do their own job.”
Küçükseyhan stated that he is well aware that one of the most significant problems for subcontractors is delayed payments, and added that the main contractor should resolve this issue for the subcontractor.
Following the presentations, participants visited CETEK Makine, DIGITECH, DORA Makine, EPSİLON, MEGE TEKNİK Makine, ÖZNUR Defense and Aviation, and 3E EOS, companies operating in the defense industry in OSTİM, and received information from officials about their products and production methods.
