Hüseyin Kumru, the founder of BURPRES Metal Sanayi A.Ş. and current Chair of the 10th Group Committee at BTSO, provided statements to Bursa Haber Newspaper regarding the sector.
ENTRY INTO THE SECTORHüseyin Kumru, one of the leading figures in the sector with approximately 45 years of experience, spent the first ten years of his youth in Germany before coming to Turkey in 1977 to work in the mold industry. He founded his own company, BURPRES Metal Sanayi A.Ş., in 1982. As one of the sector’s veterans, Kumru, who also serves as Chair of the 10th Group Committee at BTSO, shared with Bursa Haber Newspaper how they managed the pandemic process based on the experience gained from numerous economic and social bottlenecks he has witnessed to date.IMPACT OF THE PANDEMICKumru assessed that while the pandemic process caused deep wounds in the economy and industry both in our country and worldwide, the mold and casting industry was not significantly affected. He attributed this to their work not producing a final product with declining direct demand. As an example, he noted that during the pandemic, when demand for healthcare sector products such as hospital bed molds surged, manufacturers struggled to meet the demand. The experienced businessman stated that mold, casting, and tool manufacturers were able to reduce risks by shifting their production focus to different sectors in line with changing demand. However, he also pointed out that production for certain sectors was disrupted due to reasons such as the shift to the domestic market caused by export restrictions, the severe blows to the automotive sector—which forms the backbone of their industry—and a 26% decline in automotive sector sales within the European Union, their largest export market.ACCESS TO RAW MATERIALSHüseyin Kumru noted that while this challenging process, which has affected the entire world, did not disrupt sectoral production, the global negative impacts caused issues in the supply chain. He assessed that difficulties in accessing raw materials, coupled with the inability to produce certain raw materials in Karabük and İskenderun, forced them to turn to imports with rising costs each day, preventing auxiliary industry, mold, casting, and tool manufacturers from gaining an international competitive advantage.PATIENCE IS NEEDEDThe experienced businessman noted that the effects of industrial investments and the ongoing construction of an automobile factory in Bursa on national industry and development should not be expected to reflect in indicators immediately. He stated that this is a process and that significant benefits will emerge once stages such as mold preparation are completed. While producing for foreign automobiles, even though the producing countries’ standards can be met in our country, certain mandatory criteria and foreign brand requirements have forced manufacturers to rely on imports. However, he emphasized that this situation will end once the automobile factory becomes fully operational, allowing national products to be used in spare parts, molds, and castings. Kumru expressed his belief that this will create significant added value for the country’s industry.EVERY CRISIS CREATES ITS OWN OPPORTUNITYThe experienced businessman, noting that the company, which was initially workshop-based during its founding years and now handles sheet metal, metal injection, plastic injection, mold design, mold manufacturing, and sheet metal pressing in-house with technologically advanced machinery, has also gone through difficult times, stated that some crises have contributed to the company’s growth.INCREASE IN PRODUCERS IN THE SAME SECTORHüseyin Kumru also stated, “We want factories and production to increase in the country, but in reality, the number of companies doing the same work should not grow beyond a certain point. There are too many producers in the same sector. They not only fail to generate foreign currency but also cause losses. The industrial sector is a very complex matter involving exchange rates and labor costs. It would be healthier to enable production growth in different areas.”SMALL INDUSTRIAL SITESHüseyin Kumru, who is also the President of the Foundry Industrial Site, stated that they are grappling with numerous structural issues as an industrial site. Mentioning that there are many companies in the industrial site wishing to expand, Kumru said, “There are 100-square-meter shops here. Even if they want to grow, they cannot expand due to high market prices and become stuck. People’s enthusiasm is also being crushed.” He called on authorities to clear the way for entrepreneurs and investors seeking to expand.SUPPORT, NOT HINDRANCE, FOR SERVICESKumru, also the site president, built a public toilet and a prayer room suitable for the site. The service, which should have been commended, became subject to legal proceedings. Very surprised by this situation, President Kumru stated, “My aim was to serve guests and customers coming from outside to our site, but instead of receiving support for our service, we encountered obstacles. This situation has greatly saddened me; we urgently expect authorities to resolve this matter.”WE CANNOT FIND QUALIFIED STAFFKumru, expressing sadness that art schools are no longer at their former level, stated, “Art schools should be places where only individuals with very high scores can enroll; they must not be accessible with low scores.” Hüseyin Kumru, advocating that engineers should graduate from art schools before receiving engineering education, added, “I believe people who attend regular high schools should not become engineers.” The businessman, noting that while everyone wants to graduate from university and unemployment is high, they struggle to find qualified staff, concluded, “Tophane Industrial Vocational High School contributed significantly to the sector about 20 years ago, but unfortunately, I cannot say the same for this period.”
