Safa Özcan, Member of the Board of Directors of AKO GROUP, “We Strengthen Our Logistics Infrastructure With Regular Investments”

“WE STRENGTHEN OUR LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTURE WITH REGULAR INVESTMENTS”

"WE MANUFACTURE OUR COUNTRY'S TIRES FOR OUR COUNTRY"

 “WE ARE THE ONLY COMPANY WITH 100 PERCENT DOMESTIC CAPITAL DOING R&D STUDY OF THE TURKISH TIRE INDUSTRY”

Stating that AKO Group, which grows with production, makes regular investments in logistics infrastructure in line with the production and logistics needs of the factories, in parallel with the increase in turnover, Özcan said: Joined the Logistics Unit inventory. With the newly purchased 25 trucks, AKO Logistics vehicle park has transformed its fleet into a giant fleet consisting of 175 tractors and trailers.”

 “AKO Group is Reaping the Fruit of the Investments Made to date with the Strong Increase in the Trade Volume”

Turkey's domestic capital industrial power (Abdulkadir Özcan A.Ş.) AKO Group, within its body; Emphasizing that the investments made by PETLAS, AKO Akü, Ako Jant and AKO Lastik Kalıp companies have reaped the benefits of the strong increase in the trade volume, Özcan said: “The flagship of AKO Group, the leading company of the tire industry in our country with domestic capital, PETLAS, with its high-tech products developed by itself, has become the world's leading company. attracts a lot of attention in the market. Operating with more than 800 dealers all over Turkey, PETLAS's export markets spanning 120 different countries in 6 continents include countries with large-scale automotive industries and markets such as the USA, Germany, and Italy. Other production-oriented AKO Group companies, AKO Battery and AKO Wheel, continue their strong volume growth in domestic and export markets.”

“PETLAS Is Ranked 82nd in ISO 500 Ranking”

Özcan emphasized that PETLAS is ranked 82nd in the ISO 500 ranking of Turkey's largest 500 industrial establishments, 54th in the same list, and the 11th company that exports to the most countries in Turkey. Özcan said that; “Agricultural tires constitute our main product range in exports with a rate of 42 percent. The share of passenger, SUV and light commercial tires is approximately 36 percent. Following this, construction equipment (industrial) tires receive 14 percent, truck-bus tires 5 percent, military land vehicle tires 2 percent and aircraft tires 1 percent, respectively.”

“AKO Group Made Over 6 Billion TL Investment in PETLAS”

Pointing out that the main priority of AKO Group is to make a sustainable contribution to the country's economy through regular investment, Özcan said that; “The main growth move of PETLAS, which was subject to privatization in 1997 but whose investments fell short of the required level after the first privatization, started with the acquisition in 2005 by Abdulkadir Özcan AŞ (AKO Group), a 100% domestic capital company of the Turkish industry. AKO Group has invested more than 6 billion TL in total within PETLAS since 2005. These investments, which accelerated especially in the last 10 years, continue uninterruptedly.

“Investments Continue Rapidly”

Pointing out that investments in machinery, molds and new product development continue rapidly in order to achieve their goals of becoming one of the premium tire brands in the global market, Özcan said that; “Our work continues. The basis of our success in domestic and global markets is our domestic R&D power, which we reflect on our products. Our investments in R&D continue with an increasing momentum. PETLAS produces high quality tires in 80 different patterns and 2,500 different sizes, from passenger cars to trucks, from buses to racing vehicles, from tractors to vehicles used by military units and security forces, from construction equipment to fighter jets. These are produced with domestic capital, domestic technology, domestic R&D and engineering and domestic workforce. We are the only company in the Turkish tire industry with 100 percent domestic capital that carries out R&D studies, and we continue these efforts without slowing down. We carry out our R&D studies with domestic expertise and know-how, and we develop our own technologies.”

“We Take A Place In The Global Competition With Our Own Power”

Stating that some of the raw materials of the tire industry consisting of natural resources that do not exist in our country are imported from abroad, but the real added value elements in the tire industry are the knowledge and technology used in tire mixtures and tread designs; Özcan emphasizes that no external licenses are used in any of the tires they produce. Özcan said that; “We develop all of our products with the power we get from our own R&D team and with our own technology. We produce the tires of our country for our country, with domestic capital, domestic R&D and engineering, and domestic production power. As a domestic organization, we take our place in the global competition with our own strength, instead of producing products that are suitable for production in Turkey by international brands, instead of producing products with appropriate technology for the markets deemed appropriate.”

“We Plan to Obtain One Quarter of Total Energy Consumption from Solar Energy”

Expressing that AKO Group equips its production facilities with Solar Power Plants (GES) with the principle of environmentally friendly clean energy, Özcansaid that; “With an investment of 16 million dollars in all industrial companies, AKO Group aims to obtain one-fourth of its total energy consumption from solar energy in all its production facilities within a year. “

“We Are The Competitive Turkish Player in More Than 120 Countries in Six Continents”

Stating that they export to a wide geography spanning from North America to Oceania countries, from Africa and the Middle East to Northern Scandinavia, Özcan said that; “In addition to our strong position in the domestic market; we are the Turkish player in the competition in more than 120 countries in six continents, including countries with large-scale automotive industry and tire markets such as the USA, Germany and Italy.” “

“Unavailability of Export Equipment and Rising Freight Prices Are The Problems Directly Affecting Exports”

Stating that the deterioration of the supply-demand balance in the global markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused some problems in the field of logistics, Özcan draws attention that since the export equipment (truck-container) could not be found, the freight (sea-road transportation fee) prices increased and this situation became a problem that directly affected exports.. Özürün said that; “In addition, fluctuations in freight prices directly affect our shipments. Due to these fluctuations in prices, our export costs increase and problems arise in loading. Due to freight prices and the global problem of empty containers that have been increasing in the last year, we sometimes export by alternative transportation modes such as road or Ro-Ro. Due to these problems in logistics, we are looking for new distributors, especially in countries with Free Trade Agreements with our country. In addition to different dynamics in different geographies, uncertainties and tensions that mark global trade, as well as fluctuations in the automotive sector such as the chip crisis are the realities of today. We are working diligently so that all these risks do not affect our export power. We continue to grow in the global market with our product and service quality.”

“Our Demand Is To Stop The Fluctuations In Freight Prices”

Expressing that they actively use all modes of transportation since they export to 120 different countries in six continents, Özcan shares that they make 30 percent of their shipments by road (Intermodal + Truck) and 70 percent by sea. Özcan said that; “We can list the most important factors affecting this choice as the transit time to the country we ship to and optimization of freight costs. Due to the shortage of empty containers all over the world, we have problems in delivering our products to our customers. Our most important demand from the relevant institutions and organizations is to stop the fluctuations in freight prices and to meet our container demands for seaway on time.”

“AKO Akü and AKO Jant Continue their Strong Volume Increase in Domestic and Export Markets”

Talking about the companies within the AKO Group, Özcan said that; "The flagship of the AKO Group, the leading company of our country's tire industry with domestic capital, PETLAS, attracts great attention in the world markets with its high-tech products developed by itself. AKO Akü and AKO Jant, other production-oriented AKO Group companies, continue their strong volume growth in domestic and export markets. It is managed by our established AKO Logistics Unit.”

“25 Vehicles Purchased with the Goal of Strengthening Logistics Infrastructure”

Emphasizing that AKO Group is constantly improving its logistics infrastructure with regular investments in line with the needs of production companies, Özcan finally said that; “Within the framework of these investments, our AKO Logistics vehicle park has grown even more with 25 Mercedes Actros 1848 tractor trucks purchased at the end of 2021. These 25 vehicles, which entered our inventory of AKO Logistics Unit, were purchased with the aim of strengthening the logistics infrastructure for growth in domestic and overseas markets where exports are made by road.”