Dear BEYSAD readers,

We are very pleased to use our magazine as a means for communicating the opinions and insights of the thought leaders of our industry. This interview is filled with exciting details for the future of our industry. The interview content will shed light on our business course. I am sure you will find it very useful.

We would like to extend our profuse thanks to Mr. Özcan Aydilek, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of TURKBESD (Association of Turkish White Goods Industrialists) for sparing his time for this interview in his busy schedule.

Could you please briefly tell us about yourself and your past experience?
I was born in Erzurum in 1954. I studied at Istanbul Men's High School, then I graduated from Economics Department of Istanbul University. I worked for two major German companies operating in Turkey. I started my career at Mercedes Benz Türk A.Ş. and I worked for this company at different levels for 15 years. I have been working for BSH Bosch ve Siemens Ev Aletleri A.Ş. for 20 years and am currently an executive board member in charge of financial affairs, financing, information technologies, legal and human resources departments. 

At the same time, I am a member of the Board of Directors of Robert Bosch A.Ş., DEIK (Foreign Economic Relations Board), AHK Chamber of Turkish-German Trade, Cultural Foundation for Turkish-German Businessmen, YASED (International Investors Association of Turkey) and Higher Advisory Board of MESS (Turkish Employers' Association of Metal Industries). 

What is behind your success? Can you please tell us about the way you do your job? What principles do you adopt?
The prerequisite condition for the success of a professional is to take ownership of his job and display commitment to his company and take responsibility under any circumstances. Building on this and prioritizing his job all the time with diligent work, the success will certainly follow. 

We would like to wish you success in your new role as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of TURKBESD. Can you please describe the management structure and members of TURKBESD?
Our association was founded in 1986 with the support of companies operating in the Turkish appliance industry. As of 2012 our members include Arçelik, B/S/H/, Candy, Indesit, TürkDemirDöküm and Vestel Beyaz Eşya. 

What is the vision and mission of TURKBESD?
The purpose of TURKBESD is to develop the Turkish white goods industry, improve the service quality in line with national and international standards, increase the export volume, ensure brands manufactured in Turkey are globally popular, make research on technique, energy efficiency and environmental compatibility at the time of production and ensure the technological progress occurs in the industry. TURKBESD also aims to make the best of industrial and regional potential in order to contribute to economic and social development of Turkey, assume roles in the creation of national economic policies and contribute to the national development, develop projects that facilitate integration with the global industry, the EU sector in particular and accelerate regional and local growth, share the sectoral issues and offers for solutions with the public and authorized bodies and fulfill on behalf of its members the requirements on energy efficiency, environmental legislation and regulations. 

Recently, you have been frequently expressing opinions about the energy efficiency issue in the printed and visual media. Can you please inform us about your activities in relation to energy efficiency?
Energy efficiency and environmental issues have recently been a key topic for our industry. Companies focus more on meeting customer demands with minimum energy and performing environment-friendly production activities. The R&D units of companies make significant effort to achieve this goal and make our industry a patent leader by means of inventions. 

What are the projects of TURKBESD in this respect?
Environmental issues and energy efficiency stand out as key topics in relation to both production process and products themselves. Appliance facilities invest continuously for the purpose of increasing energy efficiency and aim to minimize the possible threats to the environment at the time of production. 

Is TURKBESD part of a larger organization in the global arena and are there any activities carried out collaboratively?
TURKBESD is a member of CECED (EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF MANUFACTURERS OF DOMESTIC EQUIPMENT) which is an EU-based organization whose headquarters are located in Brussels. National associations as well as companies can be a member of CECED.

This membership allows us to keep abreast of developments and new regulations within EU and share the opinions of the Turkish appliance industry with EU officials. 

What are your evaluations about the current position of the white goods industry in the Turkish market?
In view of the progress made since our foundation in 1986, I believe all the sector players in Turkey deserve to be proud of their achievements. In 1986 the production volume was just above 1 million units, which rose to 3.5 million units in 1996 and 15 million units in 2006. Finally, the production volume reached 21 million units in today. Thereby, Turkey has achieved the highest production volume among European countries and is today the leader of the appliance industry in Europe. Therefore, I would like to congratulate all the investors, companies, managers and employees - regardless of whether they are part of the main industry or supply industry - for their achievement so far. 

Can you please comment on Turkey's production and export volumes?
Of 21 million appliances manufactured in Turkey, almost 15 million units are exported to overseas markets. The fact that our products are very popular in the entire world, particularly in the USA and Western Europe where advanced technology is used, is a proof of the superior quality, high technology and competitive cost structure of the Turkish appliance industry. 

Can you please tell us your opinions about the R&D activities in Turkey considering TURKBESD members? What can be done further in this field?
Entering the business as an assembly industry at the beginning, the industry today employs almost 1000 R&D personnel and creates the highest number of innovation in Turkey. With the highest number of patent applications, the Turkish white goods industry is the R&D leader of the Turkish market. As is known, the R&D activities proceed on a logarithmic basis, which makes future years more promising for us. 

We believe that collaboration of the main industry and supply industry is very important for the overall growth of the industry. What are your opinions about the Turkish white goods supply industry? 
As I have already mentioned above, the production volume has increased from 1 million units in 1980s to more than 20 million units today. Apparently, one of the most important factors in this achievement is the supply industry which has become very strong. Without the development of the supply industry this production capacity cannot be reached and innovations cannot be made. 

In order to be able to grow more, the collaboration in the industry should be improved and any activity in this respect - regardless of whether it has to do with quality and quantity - will certainly be supported by the appliance manufacturers. 

We have been regularly consulting your opinions for the preparation of the Strategy Paper for White Goods Supply Industry, but I will ask you to share these with our readers as well. What are your expectations from the Strategy Paper? Which topics should absolutely be covered in the Strategy Paper in order to ensure the project serves to the best advantage of the Turkish white goods industry? 
First of all, I would like to congratulate the BEYSAD management for their effort in the scope of the Strategy Paper. We are looking forward to learning the results of this project. I would like to reiterate that TURKBESD is ready to provide all the assistance needed in this project. The main industry will take part in all the activities for the preparation of the Strategy Paper, share the long-term plans and make available its knowledge and experience, thereby ensuring the strategy paper yields to more efficient results. 

What are your opinions about BEYSAD and what do you expect from BEYSAD? What can BEYSAD do for main industries in addition to Strategy Paper? 
The fact that white goods supply industry comes together in the scope of an organization contributes significantly to the development of both the main industry and supply industry. As a result, the Turkish white goods supply industry has been a supplier of components not only for local manufacturers but also for EU-based manufacturers and other producers in different regions.

Both the main industry associations and supply industry associations should aim to boost the productivity of our members, enhance their quality understanding, increase the added value in the domestic market, thereby contributing more to the national economy and ensure costs are reduced in order to have a more competitive structure in the global arena. 

I know both sides agree that we should collaborate in order to maintain and reinforce our leader position in Europe, which drives me to be more hopeful about the future of our industry.