Nafiz ÖZDEMİR
Refractory Unit Director
Kümaş Refractory
2016 was a year when we got very close to our target figures in general. Although we went through difficult times in 2016, we are happy that we did not deviate from our goals and that we achieved 92% percent of our budget goals.
If we look at 2016 in terms of the cement sector; we visited almost 80 factories at home and abroad and attended four international conferences in order to feel the pulse of the sector and provide companies with the best solutions to their needs. In addition, our refractory sales to the cement sector increased by 22 percent compared to the previous year. We sold products to the cement sectors of 35 different countries ranging from European and North African countries to Middle Eastern, Asian, and Asian Pacific countries.
Furthermore, we were awarded the TURQUALITY® certificate in 2015 thanks to our administrative knowledge and efforts towards becoming a corporate company all of which include all the processes from production and marketing to sales and after-sales services. This very certificate was given only to us in this sector and, with this in mind, we continue to represent our country at home and abroad in the best way possible. This year we also received the right to become the R&D Center certified by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology. This proved that we are an independent and leading company when it comes to the research studies that we have been carrying out in our own field. Being a company which never compromises on quality in any area from product range and research and development activities to customer experience management and new market analyses provided us with the opportunity to have our own official center a development proving that we are capable of preparing independent reports that may be needed by the sector.
In 2017, of course, we will continue to work towards achieving higher sales figures and increasing our market share. Our main purpose and aim in the light of these plans is to be able to share the same goals with our customers, to show that we always stand by them with our solutions, and to achieve all of these goals with the help of our expert employees who are all specialists in their own fields.
We know that 2017 will be difficult for the economy. However, we expect the sector to continue its growth as we believe healthier working environments will be will be brought along by the positive political developments that we will witness this year.
As we always say, while we are working towards carrying out our business activities in the best way possible we also have to make sure that millions of metric tons of raw materials are processed accurately and put on the market in a quality and efficient way and to ensure that they are always used to benefit all the sector players, as well as our country, world, and the environment.
We hope that 2017 will bring everyone health, peace, and happiness. We wish you great and prosperous days.