Destination Turkey

Growth, Urbanization, Increased Inspections Characterize Sector

The Turkish elevator industry has grown in recent years due to increasing urbanization and resultant construction in the country. Also, Turkey’s investments in the Middle East, Balkans and, more recently, a number of African countries are affecting the sector positively.

While multinational companies have been present in Turkey for more than a century, national companies are much younger. For much of its history, the Turkey elevator industry has been engaged in three main areas: assembly production, elevator design and assembly, and elevator maintenance and repair.

Elevator and assembly companies are not hindered by geography and tend to be active in seven geographical regions and 81 provinces in Turkey.

Elevator component production is concentrated in Istanbul, Kocaeli and Bursa, especially in the Marmara Region; in Izmir in the Aegean region; and in Konya and Kayseri in the Central Anatolia Region.

Maintenance companies are strategically located throughout the country according to demand. Maintenance companies may carry out their activities independently or act as an authorized service provider for elevator assembly companies established in big cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Adana, Antalya, Samsun, Trabzon, Konya, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Gaziantep and Diyarbakır.

Codes and Standards

Turkey is compliant with European Union (EU) technical legislation. The inclusion of EU technical legislation in Turkish legislation led to the adoption of the international EN 81 family of harmonized standards as “Turkish standards.”

In addition, EN 81-20/50 standards adopted by the EU Standard Preparation Commission and entered into force after being published by the Turkish Standards Institute shall be obligatory as of August 31, 2017, with a transition period of three years.

Moreover, the necessary studies have been carried by the Turkish Standards Institute to harmonize the same into Turkish standards as well.

Inspection, Code Compliance

According to Elevator World Inc.’s Vertical Transportation Industry Profile, 2014 Edition, Turkey has a total of 351,700 existing elevators and 16,900 escalators. Over the past few years, thecountry has seen a significant increase in the number of elevators being inspected and tagged green (code compliant):

• The annual inspection of a total of 101,245 elevators was conducted in 2012, out of which 14,002 elevators were tagged green (14%).
• In 2013, the annual inspection of 152,278 elevators was conducted, out of which 44,329 elevators were tagged green (29%).
• In 2014, the annual inspection of 167,325 elevators was conducted, out of which 64,689 elevators were tagged green (39%).

Source: The Republic of Turkey, The Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, The Elevator Sector Report (2015/2), General Directorate of Industry: The Series on Sectorial Reports and Analyses

Hyundai Elevator Turkey Supplying Major Istanbul Project

Hyundai Elevator Turkey is providing 39 elevators, 22 escalators and four moving walks to Water Garden Istanbul, a mixed-use “gastronomy center” set to open in the second quarter of 2016 in the International Istanbul Finance Center in Atasehir. The development includes a shopping mall, 15,000-m2 park, upscale restaurants, movie theaters, art galleries and aquatic performance areas. Water Garden Istanbul is to be linked to the public rail system to enhance accessibility. Hyundai Elevator Turkey believes securing this contract strengthens its position in the emerging financial center, bigger than those in London, Hong Kong and New York and home to 560,000 m2 of office, 90,000 m2 of retail and 60,000 m2 of residential space, along with a 2,000-seat conference center, two mosques, schools and public services. Hyundai Elevator plans to provide equipment such as double-deck elevators for upcoming projects in the area.

Çelikray Renews Its Istanbul Branch

Çelikray has moved its central office of Istanbul Regional Directorate into Akasya Acıbadem Kule. Murat Almalı, Istanbul Branch Manager of Çelikray, said the newly expanded office will allow Çelikray to respond to its growing number of customers in the Marmara Region more easily.

One of the most sought-after companies in the field of elevator guide rails, Çelikray Elevator Guide Rails, manufacturing guide rails since 1993, maintains its rapid growth with new investments. Entering into a partnership in early 2015 with CLINDAS Steel- brand machinery motor, which has a factory in Konya, Çelikray opened its Istanbul branch in 2015, again with the purpose of handling its growth more easily with its Marmara Region customers. Expanding the Istanbul Branch, the company has moved it into Akasya Acıbadem Kule in December.

Murat Almalı, Istanbul Branch Manager of Çelikray, said this new office will allow the company to respond to its customers in the Marmara Region more easily. Almalı explained: “Our Regional Directorate of Istanbul was founded in the Şerifali District in May 2014, where the locomotive companies of the industry were centered. We had a two-story prefabricated office on an area of 100 m2 in a warehouse with a 500 m2 storage space.

“On September 15, 2015, we founded a new office on the 23rd floor of Akasya Acıbadem Kule, which is located at a central point in Istanbul and is known by everyone, which we think is in order to welcome our guests under ideal conditions. Keeping our warehouse in Şerifali District, we have moved our central office to Akasya Acıbadem. The location of our Akasya Acıbadem office is preferred since it is easily accessible to those who prefer to travel by railway, sea or other public transportation, as well as providing accessibility for our guests to drive their own vehicles. Moreover, it is also near a shopping mall, which allows our guests who come with their friends or families from outside Istanbul to have a joyful time while doing business.

“Our Regional Directorate of Istanbul employs six employees: three at the warehouse and three at the office.

“Having a share in the international market with elevator guide rails of its own production since 2001, our brand has been dealing with elevator-packed material sales oriented only at the international market since 2013. Çelikray procures the elevator parts used in the packed material exports from domestic manufacturers and leads its customers to the products of domestic manufacturers. In order to meet the technical needs of our foreign customers of packed material purchasers and to categorize the technical capabilities of our suppliers, we have involved the Mechanical Engineer Onur Güzel as part of our Istanbul office team; he is the Technical Manager of our export department as of November.”

Çelikray Raises Its Targets for 2016 with New Office

Çelikray has raised its targets for 2016 with its renewed Istanbul office. Underlining that they have tripled their market share and efficiency in the Marmara Region through their activities during 2015, Çelikray Istanbul Branch Manager Murat Almalı stated they will further increase their market share in 2016, saying:

“Serving the elevator industry with its products such as iron billets and barite weight for elevator counterweight, cast T-clips, machine motors of its own production, in addition to guide rails, Çelikray has established its Istanbul office and warehouse in order to provide quicker and nonstop service for its customers in the Marmara Region, to increase its brand-recognition and to accelerate its activities for market promotion. We attach great importance to being close to our customers, so we could listen to their demands face-to-face and understand them correctly. To express the benefits delivered by our high production capacity of elevator guide rails and our new trade investments to the Marmara Region more effectively, we considered making an investment in the city of Istanbul, the trade center for our country, appropriate. Thereby, we aim to popularize our services industry-wide and maximize our market share.

“Through our activities in 2015, we have succeeded in tripling our market share and influence in the Marmara Region. With our CLINDAS ÇELIK-branded machine, which we incorporated through the partnership we got into at the beginning of 2015, we received highly positive reactions from Istanbul. We believe in 2016 we will further increase our share of the Istanbul market, where we have been operating with patience.”

Tulip-Shaped Tower Planned at Istanbul New Airport

IGA has chosen a tulip-shaped design by U.S.-based AECOM and Italy’s Pininfarina for a 96-m-tall air-control tower to be built at Istanbul New Airport, architects datafile reported. Tulips originated in Turkey and have been the national symbol for centuries. Tower construction is scheduled to start in May and finish in October 2017. The airport, at full buildout, is expected to have an annual capacity of 200 million passengers. It is scheduled to open in spring 2018 on the European side of Istanbul, near the Black Sea.

Mesan Continues Expanding with New Plant

Founded in 2004, Mesan Asansör maintains its growth with new products and breakthroughs. Manufacturing elevator cars (personal, panoramic, freight and special-design), automatic doors, semi automatic doors, coatings and accessories, ceiling models and consumables, Mesan develops its material quality, machinery park and production capacity in light of technological inputs. It, accordingly, expanded its manufacturing area from 450 m2 to 900 m2 in 2006, and to 6,000 m2 in 2014. Increasing its manufacturing capacity 100% and ensuring 30% more efficiency in its manufacturing quality, Mesan Asansör has also added a Bystronic Laser Cutting Machine and fully-automatic tunnel-type electrostatic oven-dyeing facility to its manufacturing park.

Murat Girgin, Chairman of the Board of Mesan Asansör, reports they take great pains to stick to elevator legislation and quality standards while developing products and investments. Emphasizing that they proceed with an innovative and sustainable target for growth, Murat Girgin said, “Mesan having ISO 9001 and TSEK certifications attaches importance to the provision of certified elevator products and services in the Turkish and world markets.”

Mesan Exports to Europe

Today, Mesan continues to provide a higher quality service both at home and abroad with its specialized technical staff at its manufacturing facility of 6,000 m2 in Istanbul, Esenyurt. Delivering its customers elevator consumable materials through packed materials sales within the “Elevator Market” body, the company has also been exporting goods to many countries since 2007. Exporting predominantly to African and Arab countries, Mesan also supplies European countries, with Belgium and Czech Republic in first place.

Ministry Issues Three New Standards

Putting very important legislations into effect in 2015, the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology General Directorate of Industry have issued three new standards in recent weeks.

2015 has been simply a year of legislations for the elevator industry. Important laws, directives and notifications which the industry had been waiting for a long time have been issued within this year. Elevator Management, Maintenance and Periodic Control Directive and Notification on the A-Type Inspection Institutions to be Authorized for Elevator Periodic Controls as well as Municipality Law No. 5393, Special Provincial Administration Law No. 5302, Property Law No. 634 are among the legal regulations that were prepared and developed in 2015.

In recent weeks, T.C. Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology General Directorate of Industry has issued three new standards. Standards newly issued and announced on October 23, 2015 by the General Directorate of Industry are as follows:

• TS EN 81-72 Safety Rules for the Construction and Installation of Lifts – Particular Applications for Passenger and Goods Lifts Part 72: Firefighters Elevators
• TS EN ISO 25745-2 Energy performance of lifts, escalators and moving walks – Part 2: Energy calculation and Classification for Lifts (elevators)
• TS EN ISO 25745-3 Energy Performance of Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks – Part 3: Energy calculation and classification of escalators and moving walks (ISO 25745-3: 2015)