AYSAD ha tenuto un panel in due sessioni al Makina Hangar

di Turhan Korkmaz

The Association of Elevator and Escalator Manufacturers (AYSAD) held a panel on May 15, 2026, at the training and management center in Makina Hangar. The first session of the panel, titled “Drive Capability and Potential Risks in Elevators,” was moderated by AYSAD Board of Directors Chairman Fevzi Yıldırım. Prof. Dr. Erdem İmrak from the Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kenan Karahan from Buga Otis Elevator, and Kamber Gülüm from Beta Elevator served as speakers for the first session. The title of the second session was “Why Can’t Turkish Brands Go Global? Is the Issue Scale Economy?” The session was moderated by Sefa Targıt, Vice President of MAKFED, with speakers including Melih Küçükçalık, co-founder of Arkel Elektronik, and Sedat Yıldız, one of the founders of GETA Elevator. The panel, which was followed by a large audience including AYSAD members, industry firms, and representatives of sector associations, concluded with attendees asking questions to the panelists.

Why Can’t Turkish Brands Go Global?

The title of the second session was “Why Can’t Turkish Brands Go Global? Is the Issue Scale Economy?” The session was moderated by Sefa Targıt, Vice President of MAKFED, with speakers including Melih Küçükçalık, co-founder of Arkel Elektronik, and Sedat Yıldız, one of the founders of GETA Elevator. The panel, which was followed by a large audience including AYSAD members, industry firms, and representatives of sector associations, concluded with attendees asking questions to the panelists.

The first speaker of the second session was Melih Küçükçalık, co-founder of Arkel Elektronik. Küçükçalık began his remarks by stating, “When my friend Çağlar and I founded Arkel in 1998, we honestly didn’t ask ourselves questions like, ‘Will we be able to make our brand known worldwide?’ or ‘Can we become a global brand?’ However, looking at where we are today, I must say that we have indeed become a well-known brand in the component sector.”

Answering the question “So how did we achieve this?” himself, Melih Küçükçalık continued: “To be honest, we didn’t start out with a very clear plan. However, looking back today, we see that the steps we took yielded the right results. So what were these steps? First and foremost, you have to be reliable. You have to ensure continuity. Reliability and continuity are the priorities of building a brand. Just as important is ensuring our customers know they can consistently receive products of the same quality. The same applies to the components you sell worldwide. In my view, the absolute must in products and services is achieving a standard.”

Sedat Yıldız, one of the founders of GETA Asansör, who spoke next, discussed GETA's founding phase and said, "Ultimately, five companies came together to establish GETA. Our friends were motivated by the belief that 'we owe it to this country.' Our synergy was very strong. By joining forces, we were also able to reduce some of our burdens. For example, we closed the warehouses belonging to our individual companies. Everyone had their own manufacturing operations, which were both costly and risky. We put an end to those manufacturing operations as well. We optimized our expenses. Later, other companies joined us. For instance, Mr. Devrim from Genemek. He provided us with financial support, stating that he believed in this project and had no financial expectations. I would like to thank him here. 'First and foremost, we learned that rushing into such projects is not the right approach. The best way is to move forward slowly but surely,' he said.

The session's moderator, Sefa Targıt, made some observations before the second segment, stating, "In the introductory section of the Elevator Directive, there is a statement that reads, 'Elevators are not products that can be exported or imported. Elevators become products only when they are installed.' The reason for this is that international trade occurs at the component level. Because an elevator is a machine that only becomes an elevator once it is installed. This is not the case for other machine groups. The advantage this brings is the requirement that installation be performed by a local installation team capable of on-site assembly and that maintenance and service be provided by a local maintenance company. 'Component production is no longer a business that can be done on a small scale. Manufacturing in Türkiye is also becoming increasingly difficult. Costs are very high,' he said, then asked Melih Küçükçalık, 'Based on this, is it necessary to establish production outside of Türkiye to become a global component manufacturer? How did you manage this? Were you able to establish a structure there that would maintain your brand's characteristics?'"

Küçükçalık noted that production and labor costs in Türkiye have risen significantly in recent times, citing the relocation of factories by some sectors to countries where production is less expensive as an example of this trend. Emphasizing that there is no obligation to produce solely in Türkiye to be a Turkish brand, Küçükçalık added, "Today, many established companies have their products manufactured in China due to lower costs. 'Of course, developing a product in Türkiye is the right approach. But once you've gained a certain level of experience, I see no harm in leveraging that experience to shift production to another country where you can secure a price advantage,' he said.

Noting that they established an Arkel production center in India last year, Melih Küçükçalık also highlighted the importance of being dynamic.

Sefa Targıt, moderator of the session and Vice President of MAKFED, stated, "A brand is a perception. It's the impression you leave on the customer. When you enter a building, the elevator's brand creates a perception in your mind. The contractor you're dealing with is also a professional. In this situation, can you be that professional's brand? I'd like to address the scale here. What is the scale of your counterpart? Do they commission 5 elevators a year? Or is it a complex like the ones in England, with several thousand apartments and 250–300 elevators to be installed? Where does scale fit into this business?" he asked, passing the floor to Melih Küçükçalık.

Küçükçalık responded, “Of course, scale is necessary to become a global brand, but I believe everything must proceed step by step. To build a brand, you must first become a brand in your own city. Then, by expanding, you can become recognized and establish a brand in neighboring provinces and your region. After that, you can open branches in every province across Türkiye. And you offer sustainable products of consistent quality.

Finally, you might open offices abroad. Scale is directly proportional to where you operate. If you’re operating in a single province, 50 elevators can make you a brand. If you’re operating nationwide, you might need to install 1,000 elevators a year to become a brand. But if you’re expanding globally, you’ll need to install tens of thousands of elevators. Scale varies depending on geography. But the prerequisite for becoming a brand is sustainability—the ability to consistently deliver products and services of the same quality. You must also create a difference for the customer. Production and good service alone aren’t enough; creating a difference and offering unique products and services are also essential conditions for building a brand,” he said.

In response to the question, “Do you have a global vision?” GETA Elevator co-founder Sedat Yıldız noted that nothing can be achieved without a vision, stating, “I haven’t seen a domestic company in Türkiye that operates on a large scale yet is a recognized brand. We’ve even seen companies that secured large-scale projects from public institutions but eventually went bankrupt. Because in Türkiye, there’s no rule guaranteeing the receivables of SMEs. Yet in EU countries, there is a chapter in place to guarantee SME receivables, and it is in effect. The essence of success in Europe lies in the success of SMEs. No matter how large-scale the project, if you build an elevator and can’t collect your payment on time, the system collapses. Many companies go under. That’s why we must move forward with confidence and minimize risks,” he said.

The panel concluded with a question-and-answer session.