Sakarya Strengthens Its Position in the Machinery Sector

President of the Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, A. Akgün Altuğ

Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SATSO) Chairman A. Akgün Altuğ, stated that Sakarya is one of Turkey’s leading cities in the production of machinery and components. Noting that more than 160 companies operate in this field, Altuğ shared the following information:

“At the same time, machinery and components constitute the second-largest sector in terms of the number of companies in our province. Ten percent of our total employment is within this sector. Sakarya maintains trade relations across a wide geography in many industries, and machinery stands at the forefront. Our sector, which trades with around 130 countries, ranks as the second-largest exporter after the automotive industry in terms of the number of countries it exports to. Over the last 10 years, Sakarya’s machinery exports have doubled, rising from 47 million dollars to 82 million dollars.”

Machinery Manufacturers Specialized Organized Industrial Zone

Altuğ emphasized that as SATSO, they strive to diversify production and exports instead of limiting them to a single industry, and that over the years, Sakarya has transformed from being known as the “Automotive City” into the “Production City. ”He added that they have carried out significant efforts for the machinery sector within this transformation and highlighted the strong representation of Sakarya Machinery Manufacturers Association (SAMİB) in the region. Altuğ continued:

“Sakarya Machinery Manufacturers Association (SAMİB) has undertaken significant projects both locally and nationally. One of the first and most successful examples of clustering in Turkey, the Eastern Marmara Machinery Manufacturers Specialized Organized Industrial Zone, is among the most important steps taken in this field. This initiative demonstrates how crucial sectoral clustering is in terms of efficiency. With this structure, our city has also pioneered sectoral collaborations in other areas. In addition, we are a stakeholder in the Manufacturing Industry Machinery Inventory Project.”

Sakarya International Machinery and Metal Cluster

Altuğ also stated that they are working to increase the export capacity of the machinery sector, saying:

“We are carrying out the Sakarya International Machinery and Metal Cluster UR-GE Project. Furthermore, with our relevant sectoral professional committees and the Industry Research and Development Commission, we are conducting specialized studies. Sakarya has gone beyond being just a city that follows technology in machinery production. We aim to become a city that also produces technology. Today, in addition to ready-made solutions, we have companies that design and manufacture industrial machines from scratch for other industries’ production needs. Many of our companies have strong R&D investments. With our patent and utility model applications and registrations, we rank among the top 10 provinces in Turkey and second in our region. These developments in the machinery sector reveal Sakarya’s growing strength in production, technology, and exports. Our province is rapidly advancing toward becoming not only a user of machinery but also a center that develops technology and exports it to the world.”