The machinery manufacturing business will see a significant jump over the next five years, with its eyes set on dethroning the current leader — the automotive industry — the Central Anatolian Machinery and Accessories Exporters’ Union (OAMAİB) Chairman Adnan Dalgakıran said.

Dalgakıran was sharing his opinions on current conditions and developments in the machinery business with the Anatolia news agency. There is no new production of technology in Turkey; instead, Turkish industrialists are importing technology from developed nations, he noted, adding that the machinery industry will soon become the actor undertaking the task of generating technology in the country.
In 2007 the machinery field achieved $9 billion in exports, a 37 percent increase over the previous year. In the same year, machinery imports increased by only 19 percent, “That means we are gradually bridging the gap between the imports and exports,” Dalgakıran commented.

He said the industry has so far made a bright entry into 2008, estimating that this year exports would show a surge of between 20 and 40 percent. But the growth will largely depend on external demand, as contraction in the domestic market will continue, he predicted.

Developed nations count the machinery industry as among their major businesses and use considerable financial resources to support it, Dalgakıran said, adding: “This is exactly what the problem is in Turkey. Turkish industrialists prefer imported machinery, not because of their quality but because of the five to seven years of payment installments foreign machinery producers make available to their customers.” If the support problems are solved, the industry could easily reach $50 billion in annual exports, Dalgakıran believes.

Another problem, he noted, is the fragmented structure of the machinery industry itself. There are too many firms operating in the market, and their sizes are extremely small relative to their competitors in the world, he said. He estimated that there would be a serious wave of consolidation, mergers and acquisitions within the industry since the companies have to reach to a certain size in order to survive the ever-toughening competition. “They will either merge to form larger companies or will transform affiliated industries, or they will wither away from the competition. This is what happened elsewhere before, and the same will be experienced here in Turkey as well,” Dalgakıran noted.

Source:Today’s Zaman

Migros enters top 250 retailers list 
Turkish retail chain Migros entered the list of the world’s 250 largest retailers for the first time in fiscal 2006, according to a new report released by accounting and consulting firm Deloitte in conjunction with the STORES magazine.

Deloitte Turkey issued a written release yesterday, and according to the 2008 Global Powers of Retailing list Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. remained the world’s largest retailer, with $344.9 billion in annual turnover, and increased its lead over the second place Carrefour Group (Carrefour), which has $97.8 billion in turnover. Home Depot ranked third with a turnover of $90.8 billion. The big mover was Tesco PLC, which overtook German retail giant Metro AG (Metro) for fourth place, the first move among the top five since 2003. In doing so, Tesco also became the second largest retailer in Europe and is gaining ground on Carrefour.
Migros took the 236th spot among the top 250 firms and ranked 12th among the fastest growing retailers between 2001 and 2006.

Dr. Ira Kalish, Deloitte Research’s consumer business director, said the increase of retail groups from emerging economies on the list indicated an exciting time for global retailing. “There is evidence of consolidation and modernization in emerging markets that should continue in the coming years,” he said.

Total retail sales for the top 250 rose to $3.25 trillion in fiscal 2006, up 8 percent from the previous year. In addition, more companies in the top 250 contributed to that growth. Only 36 retailers saw declining sales in 2006, compared with 49 in 2005.