“BMC (Mechanical) Power Group Workshop” was held in cooperation with Konya Chamber of Industry, Konya Chamber of Commerce and the BMC Group. Speaking at the meeting where Konya Chamber of Industry Vice President Ömer Şen gave information about Konya industry, BMC Power Group General Manager Dr. Osman Dur said, "Konya’s industrial sector is a candidate to be one of the important cities as a for BMC."
At the meeting in Konya Chamber of Industry, industrialists from Konya showed great interest, in the agenda which was about the defense industry and domestic automobiles. Speaking at the program, Konya Chamber of Industry Vice President Ömer Şen said that Konya's industrial sector is ready to support the BMC’s production domestically. Due to the fact that Konya is among the top 5 cities that make 94.5 percent of Turkey's defense industry exports, Şen stated that the Chamber of Industry aims to make Konya one of the most critical cities in the Ankara hinterland, which has close ties to the defense industry. Pointing out that the city is willing and capable of playing a role in the automotive and defense industry sector, Şen said, “We are ready to take a role in the automotive and defense industry with our industrialists, universities, institutions and organizations, technopolises, and 19 private sector R&D and design centers. Our city offers products to both domestic and foreign manufacturers with its wide product range in the automotive spare parts industry. Konya, with its industrial infrastructure, human resources, suitable investment areas, regional location, logistics structure and technological infrastructure, aspires to produce domestic automobiles.
We want to have the smaller parts manufactured by the group in Anatolia.
BMC Power Group General Manager Dr. Osman Dur emphasized the development of Konya's industry in the automotive sector. Dur noted that Konya is a city that provides serious services abroad in the automotive sector and said, “We know that there is a strong industrial infrastructure here. In this context, Konya’s industrial sector is a candidate to become one of the most important supplier cities for BMC. As a matter of fact, Konya has been providing these services for years; we know this.”
Dur went on to say that as a group, they have made great efforts to develop engines for the defense industry in the recent period, and that they have taken a step towards designing the engines of all domestic trucks, buses, military and civilian vehicles and producing them in Turkey. He also said that they do not want to produce every product themselves, but that they especially want to bring the sub-parts to Anatolia. Dur further adds, “For about one and a half years, we have created an ecosystem with its university, supplier chain, tests and market, in order to develop our own production and domestic mechanical power systems with a serious staff and to continue this. We are working to create; we set out to bring this technology to this country, whatever it takes to dominate the market, whatever price has to be paid. At BMC, we do not want to do everything ourselves in sustainable togetherness. We want to stay in integration and testing. We want to bring the sub-parts to the domestic industry in Anatolia," he said.
Erkuş: ‘’Konya has gained great experience in the automotive industry’’
Speaking later, Konya Chamber of Commerce Board Member Ramazan Erkuş stated that Turkey has come a long way in domestic automobiles and noted that Konya aspires to (lead in) domestic automobile production. Erkuş continued his speech as follows: “Our country has taken a big step towards growing its economy with the decision of national automobile production. In Konya, we fully support our country's step in this direction. In Konya, we are very eager to have this investment in our city. In this context, with the support of our Governorship and Metropolitan Municipality, we had the "Automobile Manufacturability Feasibility Report in Konya" prepared by an independent research institution specialized in automotive together with the Konya Chamber of Commerce, the Commodity Exchange, the Chamber of Industry, the Organize Industrial Zone and MEVKA. We personally presented the report we prepared to our Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Faruk Özlü, and TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and got their views on the subject. This report also reveals that all institutions and organizations in Konya have the advantage of being able to act in unity and solidarity.
In the continuation of the program, BMC Power Group General Manager Dr. Osman Dur, Deputy General Manager Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu and Production Director Osman Gürsen Arslan answered the questions of industrialists from Konya.