We discussed the place of Kahramanmaraş in the industry and textile sector, economic development of the city, economic activities of KASİAD members in progress and Kahramanmaraş International Textile Machinery Exhibition (KTM), in particular, with Ali Arpasatan, President of Kahramanmaraş Industrialists and Businessmen Association (KASİAD).
KASİAD President Arpasatan answered our question regarding the role of Kahramanmaraş, which recorded an export volume exceeding one billion dollar in 2018, in Turkey as an industrial city by stating that Kahramanmaraş has proved itself in terms of agriculture and trade and will surely prove itself in terms of industry as well and added that, “Kahramanmaraş has set a model in terms of production and export since it has reached this production power in a short period of 35 years. There are two important reasons: it has not experienced capital and brain drain. In our companies, now second generations occupy significant positions. The young people complete their education and return to their hometowns. This is luck for us. This rate is low in the other industrial cities. This will create a competition advantage for us in the future. Another issue is the labour force created by the Syrian migrants in our city. We had problems in that regard and I think that we have gained impetus with their inclusion in production.”
“We Will Actually Create Added Value in Textile From Now On”
Reminding that textile products constitute 61% of the export of Kahramanmaraş, Arpasatan made the following assessment regarding the impetus that Kahramanmaraş has gained in the textile sector:
“We swallow cotton powder for three generations. I am not surprised that a city, which has been planting and ginning cotton for years, has come to this point. This is what has to be. We have never abandoned textile, we have always believed in this sector. The present economic conditions of Turkey proves how proper our decision was. While we go after innovations in textile as our flagship, we also wink at other sectors. I think that we will create added value in textile from now on. This is because of the fact that information is growing like a snowball just like capital in economic order. Today Kahramanmaraş is the city with the largest yarn production in Europe and maybe one day, the city will experience with the largest technical textile production volume.”
“We Wait for Regional Incentive for Spinning”
Sharing information about the new investments and incentives made for the continuation of the development in textile industry in Kahramanmaraş, Ali Arpasatan stated that they have problems in this respect and said as such:
“The recent incentive package includes only modernisation incentive for spinning and weaving sectors. When you remove spinning and weaving out of textile, you cut the main body. For a long time, this situation has slowed down our growth. More recently, weaving has been included into the scope of regional incentives in line with a supplementary decree, but spinning is still within the scope of general incentives. This has political reasons about the Southeastern Anatolia. This is a political decision, not economic. I will not focus on these. At the end of the day, such decisions cause harm to Turkey. Neither Southeastern Anatolia region nor Kahramanmaraş could have made investments. While providing incentives, knowledge and capabilities of cities should be taken into consideration. We are still waiting for regional incentives for spinning.”
“Delays in Tomsuklu Organized Industrial Zone Hinder our Growth”
KASİAD President Arpasatan emphasized that the New Organized Industrial Zone will greatly contribute to Kahramanmaraş and regional economy and added that, “While we were an agricultural society, our biggest problem was the small size of our plain. Because of this, we would rent and plan the lands in the Southeastern Anatolia region. I suppose that it would not be so assertive if I state that we taught cotton farming to Southeastern Anatolia. The same problem affects us again in the industry as in the case of agriculture. Kahramanmaraş has a large surface but 2/3% of its territories are mountainous.”
“Delays in Tomsuklu Organized Industrial Zone pose a significant obstacle to our growth. It is barren and almost plain and has a location, which can connect us to Gaziantep. This means that it has a strategic importance. When this region is opened to production, I think that it will be a production base. We expect more support from our politicians and bureaucrats in such a significant issue. We should not forget that today the biggest problem of Turkey is unemployment and this problem concerns politicians the most.”
“We Should Ensure That KTM Remains the Only Fair in the Region”
Assessing the contribution of Kahramanmaraş International Textile Machinery Exhibition (KTM 2019), which will be held for the fifth time this year in Kahramanmaraş, to the region, Ali Arpasatan pointed out that Kahramanmaraş attracts visitors not only from region but also everywhere and said that, “Particularly last year, all of us witnessed that the fair attracted visitors from the west of the country, as well. It is certain that it draws more attention than the other textile fairs held in our country. According to me, organisation of fairs with similar contents in one region is not appropriate. Thus, we should immediately improve physical conditions and ensure that KTM remains the only fair in the region. In this way, we can relieve the other cities from burden as well.”
Stating that the commitment and diligent works of ECR Fair Organisation have played a key role in the success of KTM, Arpasatan said that, “However, textile infrastructure and qualified labour force of Kahramanmaraş are also important. KTM took the road under challenging conditions but I think that it will be more successful in the future. I congratulate the management and staff of ECR Fair Organization for their success in KTM.”
“KASİAD Members are all over the world”
Answering our question about the strategy that they set for making a name for Kahramanmaraş in the world in 2019 as KASİAD, President Arpasatan said that the members of KASİAD are highly active from China to the USA and they represent Kahramanmaraş and KASİAD in the best way possible and added that, “MADO gives franchise in a city in China. Another member opens branches in the USA and England. Others open warehouses in Italy and Russia and even there are KASİAD members operating in Africa. I congratulate all members of KASİAD, via you, for their representation and successes.”
“It is necessary to rapidly clear the way for investors”
Finally, KASİAD President Arpasatan stated that production culture and corporate culture have been internalized in Kahramanmaraş and nobody can forestall it anymore and added that, “From now on, we need to increase the works for unearthing the values, culture and history of our city. I observe that service sector is not growing in parallel with the manufacturing industry, and this is upsetting. However, you cannot tell apart these two sectors and together they create positive synergy. Five-star hotels, hospitals, convention and exhibition centres are needs of this city. Since such facilities are no adequate, we cannot display the beauties of our city and the power of our industry sufficiently. Promotion comes short. We expect our politicians and bureaucrats to be more sensitive about this issue. It is necessary to rapidly clear the way for investors since there is nothing more valuable than time.”
