Vittorio Zagaia, CEO & Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Galata Transport, We Actually Carry Turkey

 “TURKEY'S TRAILER FLEET HAS A CONSIDERABLE SIGNIFICANCE IN EUROPE”

 “Galata Transportation is the first company established in 1997 in the international transportation sector with direct foreign capital. 50 percent of the company was established with the participation of Albini & Pitigliani, known as Alpi World, one of Italy's most established international transportation and logistics companies. Next year we are entering our 25th year. Although we are a freight forwarder that started to work as a land route in the past 24 years, at the point we have reached today, we have more than 200 employees and more than 5 branches in Turkey, as well as air, sea, intermodal transportation, logistics and road transport. We produce value-added services.”

“Our Biggest Specialization is Partial Transportation”

“The biggest specialty of Galata Transportation on the road is partial transportation. We are currently a company that provides weekly, regular partial transportation services to 17 countries. 2 of the 17 countries are North Africa -Morocco and Tunisia - the rest are European countries. Of course, we also offer complete and project transportation services to countries such as the Turkic Republics, Russia, Iraq and Iran. As we have a very wide coverage area in air and sea routes, we have a very serious coverage with Albini & Pitigliani's subsidiaries such as Galata, which are over 60, as well as our agencies and networks we have established deep-rooted relations over the years.”

“Turkey's Truck Fleet Has a Considerable Significance in Europe”

“When we look at the equipment complement of the Turkish road transport sector, we can say that it is already at European standards and maybe even higher. Turkey's truck fleet has a considerable size in Europe. But unfortunately, there have always been some obstacles in front of road transport over the years. Whether these are the transit documents, the visa problem applied to the drivers, the backlogs at the Kapıkule border crossing that cannot be solved somehow, and therefore the delays... At the moment, we have the green agreement in our lives, the fact that we will benefit from it at that point is very much, of course it is necessary. If the necessary incentive and support packages are applied to our sector in terms of making investments.”

“We Actually Carry Turkey”

“As an industry, we actually carry the future of Turkey. Therefore, it is not enough for us, as transporters, to raise our voices alone in the sectoral problems we experience. I believe that the Ministry of Trade, sector representatives and all NGOs should raise their voices to solve the problems of us, the transporters. Because the reason why our vehicle, ship or plane moves is to deliver the labor of our exporter delivered to us on time to the buyer. It is neither right nor sufficient for our industry alone to fight for it at the point where we cannot take it.”

 “Our Biggest Priority is Our Drivers”

“If we consider the driver problem, which is currently on the agenda, there is no such problem in Turkey. Our biggest feature is our drivers. We have to accept this. Are there enough investments for the drive enough? If it was asked like 'Do we give the drivers what they expect in the face of the responsibilities they take?', I think we do not. I have been working in this sector for 31 years, we do not give it according to my observations.”

 “Logistics Means Life”

“Logistics is a concept that works 24/7. We have seen during the pandemic period that all health sector workers are glad there are, I bow respectfully in front of all of them. However, we saw once again that our sector is one of the most important sectors and has a priority place in our lives. Logistics means life. However, in a country like Turkey, logistics is not really done. The fact that some companies are doing it, no matter how successful they are, does not mean that there is logistics in Turkey. There is no logistics in Turkey. This includes Galata Transport. We have a lot to learn. This is a sector where we have to work 24/7. We need to analyze our costs well, so we need to ensure that customers prefer us because one thing I have observed lately is that customers have turned to investments in a way that they can solve their logistics needs again. So instead of "outsource", there is "return to insource."

"UTIKAD's Statement of 'TIO Certificate is Not a Requirement' is a Great Misfortune for Our Industry"

“I don't think our NGOs are working perfectly. It is a great misfortune for our industry that UTIKAD, to which we are affiliated, makes a statement such as "TİO certificate is not required". If the Ministry of Transport issues a document called TIO to carry out this work and the association we are affiliated with says, 'Something other than this document is required', what else is it? He has to fill the back. Example cloud technology is given. Transition to technology is of course important. The future of companies that stay away from digitalization is really difficult. We invested in technological transformation a few years before the pandemic. This is how we achieved operational sustainability in the pandemic. However, the cost of this transformation requires an investment of millions of lira. You say 'make' this investment to a company, but you call the document that the Ministry says 'buy' as 'unnecessary'.  In return for the fact of the container thefts that took place today, the shipowners are making a statement that "We will no longer work with companies that do not have a TIO certificate". This is noteworthy, isn't it?