Erzen Erez
Haznedar Group, Board Member
How was the year 2019 for your company in consideration of your sector and Turkey in particular?
As the consumption in refractory industry depends on the steel and cement industries with an average of 85%, the production growth and reduction in these industries directly impact our industry. Therefore, the production decrease in the steel sector in 2018 and 2019 naturally affected the refractory consumption in a negative way. The slowdown of the Turkish construction industry also caused a stagnation in cement production. However, since this stagnant period in the cement sector was used for revisions purchasing of refractories continued and 2019 did not cause a major impact on our sales to the cement sector.
With the shrinking of the domestic market in the past year, Haznedar Group has filled the gap through new sectors and export markets. Our sales to incinerators and power plants has helped us feel the national distress we are in to a relatively lesser extend. In line with our strategy, our exports exceeded our domestic market sales in 2019.
What are the developments of your company in this year, such as investments, new products, launchings, etc.?
In order to sustain a stable and continuous growth as well as to increase our production capacity and productivity, Haznedar Group has made substantial machinery/ equipment investments. Our new temper kiln, which was launched in Vardar Dolomite at the end of 2018, started its production in the first quarter of 2019, and three presses we have ordered in the same period will be installed at our facilities in Istanbul and North Macedonia in the upcoming month.
Based on the needs of our growing customer portfolio, our products are constantly improved through the studies done in our R&D laboratory. For instance, Elazığ ferrochrome project carried out in 2019 is a first of its kind in which such a kiln is fully completed with domestic refractory products and is solely accomplished by Haznedar Group both in terms of the refractory products and their application.
In general, what are your expectations in 2020? What are your targets and general strategies for this year?
When compared to that of past years, in 2020 we expect an increase of production in the steel industry by 5-8%. However, such an increase is not enough to make a big impact on the refractory sector. In the cement industry, which has made long stops and revisions in 2019, production will still show a low trend. Hence, the demand for refractories is likely to be lower than expected this year. In short, the effects of the 2019 shrinking of the domestic market will still be felt in 2020.
This year, we aim to attain higher efficiency from our recent investments and enhance our service standards for our growing customer base. Additionally, in line with our expansion to new sectors and new customers, our goal is to achieve a growth of 10%.
What sectoral developments do you expect this year?
2020 will not be very active for the local market. We believe that the domestic steel and cement industries will achieve a greater momentum in 2021. For this reason, as Haznedar Group, we aim to place further importance on exports and open up to new markets by focusing on internationally developing industries during this stagnant period.