Asansör Dünyası: 2006 – 2010

From its 10th year onwards, the magazine’s brand recognition and content quality have been strengthening.

With the significant recovery of economic indicators in Türkiye in 2005, the lift industry also entered 2006 with more hope. Regarding this, in the January-February issue, it was stated: “Turkish lift manufacturers showed that they have a positive outlook for the future, considering the positive economic indicators along with the largely completed regulatory alignment with the EU…”

One of the most important developments in 2006 was TÜRKAK signing the Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA) with the European Accreditation (EA). The Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK), established in 1999, became an internationally recognized accreditation body as of April 4, 2006, after a minimum four-year operational period necessary for international recognition and following the inspection of its work by the European Accreditation.

A Meaningful Donation from HKS

The foundations of the vocational high school, which today makes significant contributions to the skilled workforce of the lift industry as Has Asansör Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, were laid in 2006. In the May-June issue, the news stated: “HKS Asansör, whose foundations were laid in a 32-square-meter workshop by Sabahattin Şekerci in 1980, took an important step towards the lift industry that will increasingly add value and continue.  The construction protocol for the vocational high school, which will cost over 1 million US dollars and consist of 18 classrooms with departments of electricity, electronics, lift machinery and motors, allowing students to receive training in lifts, was signed on April 14, 2006, in a ceremony attended by the Minister of National Education, Hüseyin Çelik.”

The most important event of 2006 was the Inelex fair, held for the fifth time in Izmir. Seventy-two companies opened stands at the fair organized by Efor Fuarcılık.

In the September-October issue of Asansör Dünyası, which left a decade behind in 2006, comments from leading figures in the industry about the magazine were featured. In one of these comments, Ercüment Hızal said: “To understand the contribution it has made to the development of the Turkish lift industry, it’s enough to examine the first and last issues of Asansör Dünyası magazine. It’s quite difficult to express in words the efforts made and work done for the representation of our lift sector in our country and internationally. Asansör Dünyası magazine, which has reached this day as a result of dedicated work carried out with the awareness of its responsibility and sometimes withstanding the harshest winds, has created a consensus among all relevant parties that it will successfully represent our sector in the future as well.”

Following this news, on November 3, 2006, the 10th Anniversary Night of Asansör Dünyası was organized in Nakkaştepe with intense participation from the sector’s leading businessmen, and plaques were given to those who contributed to the magazine.

After parting ways with Türkay Özgür, who pioneered the establishment of Asansör Dünyası and was with the magazine until 2006, Muzaffer Baştakar took over the reins and managed the magazine from 2007 until his passing.

Asansör Istanbul 2007

When the calendar showed April 2007, news, interviews and articles about the 10th Asansör Istanbul (Lıft Istanbul) fair filled almost the entire May-June issue. It appears that almost all participants and visitors spoke highly of the fair. The various seminars and sessions held simultaneously with the fair also attracted considerable interest. Asansör Dünyası once again managed to be the center of attention with its daily fair newspaper published during this event.

The third Lift Expo Russia held in Moscow, the capital of Russia, in May, and the third ELE-Espana held in Barcelona, Spain, were also among the important events of that year.

Many companies manufacturing in Türkiye moved to their new facilities in 2007 with new investments. The companies whose investments were featured included Akar and Astes, which produce lift motors in Silivri, Bulut Makina, Fupa Asansör and Metroplast.

One of the significant events that marked 2007 was a comprehensive Lift Safety Symposium held in Antalya for four days in October under the name of Lift Manufacturers Platform. This event brought together representatives from AYSAD, TASİAD, BURSAD, ANASDER, GAYSAD, KAİD, AKASDER and KONAYSAD, as well as participants from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Provincial Directorates of Industry, TSE, KİPTAŞ, and companies from 22 different provinces across Türkiye.

Undoubtedly, the most important event of 2007 was interlift. Selçuk Dikmen, who greatly contributed to the development of Asansör Istanbul, made a comparison in his article in the September-October issue by contrasting both fairs with figures.

Panel Discussions

With Asansör Dünyası coming under Muzaffer Baştakar’s management, noticeable changes in content began to occur. One of the most striking changes was the increase in the number of long interviews with members of manufacturing companies in the sector. For example, in the September-October 2008 issue, we see a total of seven long interviews conducted with Ferhat Tinli (İFO), Çağlar Ayaz (Arkel), Rıza Latif (Fupa), Fehmi Toptaş (İMO), Doğan Tekeli (Architect), Nadir Erol (Tromp) and Cemil Aksakal (ARD). Another notable change, in addition to the interviews, was the inclusion of news from the national media about economic developments in the country and various construction news outside the lift sector.

The 2008 Financial Crisis

The 2008 economic crisis deeply affected the construction sector in Türkiye and, consequently, the lift sector was deeply affected, as well. Regarding the crisis, which was the subject of many articles and interviews, Tunç Timurkan spoke in the January-February 2009 issue with these words: “The 2008 crisis had actually already begun by the time it was noticed (especially in our country). The few people who noticed it had already been aware for some time. However, no one wanted to talk about it, because no one wanted to dampen others’ spirits, and they also thought that mentioning this topic would accelerate the crisis even more.

“However, until today, much of the talk was that the balloon was over-inflated and would one day burst. The bubble has already burst today, meaning the crisis is on the table. What needs to be discussed from now on is the accurate assessment of the damage the crisis has done and will do, and the realistic determination of measures to be taken to eliminate the damage. … We can think that this picture will be reflected in the lift sector in a similar proportion and manner. The only difference here might be that the destruction in the lift sector will continue for a few more years even after the crisis ends.”

Konya in the Turkish Lift Sector

The Konya lift sector, which today accounts for nearly half of Turkish lift exports, first made its mark as beginning to develop in the May-June 2009 issue. The companies that particularly stood out at the 2009 Lift Istanbul fair also caught the attention of the Asansör Dünyası team. After the fair, Ersan Barlas, on behalf of Asansör Dünyası, visited KONAYDER Association, Akış Makine, Ahmet Asansör, Miraç Asansör, Cihan Asansör, HÜ-RAS, ACK Asansör, EEM Otomasyon and SMAS Asansör in Konya, providing a lot of information and interviews about the companies in Konya.

Global Lift Standards Meeting Held in Istanbul

Representatives from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), Korea Elevator Safety Institute (KESI), Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISK), The Japan Elevator Association (JEA), Standardization Administration of China (SAC) and European Lift Association (ELA) gathered under the leadership of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and met in Istanbul in April 2009 to align lift standards valid worldwide.

interlift 2009

In the November-December issue of Asansör Dünyası, regarding the interlift 2009 fair held after the global crisis, it was stated, “In Augsburg, pleasing results were obtained from the International Lift Trade Fair, which was not affected by the crisis. Approximately 18,200 people from 60 countries visited the fair, and 480 companies participated, all of whom were highly satisfied.” In his post-fair article, Ersan Barlas said: “The impressions of interlift 2009 Augsburg Fair are still fresh in our minds; it was beautiful, comfortable and functional. The pathways between stands were wide. This is very important for visitors. Because even while passing by, they can glance at the stands without missing them. It was a pleasant memory to see the increasing number of conscious Turkish stands and visitors again in Augsburg.”

Muzaffer Baştakar’s Passing

Following the unexpected passing of Muzaffer Baştakar, a founding partner who had been the face of Asansör Dünyası and contributed significantly since its inception in 1996, his daughter Yelda Baştakar took over the reins in 2010. In the July-August issue, a tribute to Muzaffer Baştakar was featured within the fold-out cover. Prof. Dr. Erdem İmrak, in his article titled “A Difficult Article…” on Baştakar’s passing, wrote: “I couldn’t bring myself to start the article I was to prepare for this issue. Hence, it became a “difficult article” for me. Asansör Dünyası had a strong start to 2010. We put in a lot of effort to turn our magazine into a global one. We worked hand in hand with great enthusiasm and determination. There were many events and wonderful things to cover in this issue. But, Asansör Dünyası lost Muzaffer Baştakar. When I first heard it, I said, ‘It’s like a joke.’ Whoever I told, they had the same reaction, too. Yes, Muzaffer Baştakar, who carried Asansör Dünyası on his shoulders, who took it out of difficult situations, and who risked everything for it, left us unexpectedly.

We have taken a hard turn and now need to regroup.”