Dr. H. Serdar ŞARDAN
Secretary General
ÇEİS
While the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic, which affected our country as well as the entire world, continue; the challenges we had to deal with in 2021 were the increase in energy prices at the global level, negativities in the supply chain and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. Despite all these challenging circumstances, we continued to work without holding up production and created added value for our country.
Our industry has contributed to the continuity of all of the sectors it is in cooperation with and the boom in the domestic market by satisfying the domestic demand fully in 2021, as it had so far. On the other hand; it continued to be one of the most important players of the world cement league with its reputation in the international arena, product quality and price advantage.
We are the largest producer in Europe and the 5th largest producer in the world with an annual capacity of 115 million tons. Our high-capacity production volume, geographical location and price advantage brought us to the top in exports. We know no bounds as a sector and deliver Turkish cement to all over the world. Today, we are the largest exporter in Europe and one of the two largest exporters in the world. At the point we have reached, we have no single competitor that can reach to the same level of export capacity and magnitude in the markets where we lead the export.
While the official figures for 2021 are not definite yet, we estimate that domestic sales of approximately 60 million tons have been achieved. On the other hand, we realized approximately 31 million tons of export in 2021. We increased our export revenue, which was 1.1 billion dollars in 2020, to 1.25 billion dollars in 2021. Now, we export cement to almost 100 countries. As of 2021, we happened to export to 18 new countries such as Poland and Croatia. The opening of the Syrian market is considered as a very significant development for our sector.
We have carried our work beyond imagination
Before telling about our achievements in 2021, I would like to note down a quote from Montaigne “No wind favors he who has no destined port.” Our destination is so clear; preparing the sector for the future and implementing innovative projects in this respect.
We had a very and productive 2021 in terms of project management; we expanded our field of business by adding new ones to our ongoing operations. We had every operation we carry out to grow up with the opinions, considerations and contributions of specialists as an organization that has assumed the responsibility of representing the cement industry; we took it beyond our dreams by working with enthusiasm and without giving a pause throughout the year.
We brought to life ÇEİS Kampüs and Çimento Sektöründe Yeni Bir Perspektif: Endüstriyel İşveren Markası Çekiciliği projects in order to improve the knowledge and experience of our human resources and to introduce a well-qualified workforce to our sector. We completed the second period with the theme of “Innovative Approaches in the Urban Area” in the Yapı Tasarım Yarışması, in which we opened up space for the creative spirit of the sector and supported the creation of award-winning projects. We continued to draw attention to the examples of aesthetic and innovative cement and concrete usage with the “Yapı Seçkisi Dizisi” which we brought to life in cooperation with Arredamento Architectural Magazine. We developed our first mobile application, namely, Çimento İletişim Platformu (ÇİP), that enables digital communication within the sector by adopting the goal of providing further visibility to our sector in the digitalizing world. We introduced the next generation training system to our sector by taking the 16-hour basic occupational health and safety training to the digital environment. We carried out a number of efforts such as the Covid-19’un Çimento Sektörü Çalışma Hayatına Etkileri Araştırması which we prepared to become a guide during the pandemic process, Kültür- Sanat Buluşmaları that brought our sector together in cultural events, and Online Aile Buluşmaları to which our employees participated with their families.
In 2021, we brought our first social responsibility project to life, which I believe will further improve the value of all of our activities and existence of ÇEİS: #BenimleGelecek We brought together our project, which will lead to a significant change and transformation in the field of gender equality, with our sector through creation of a lasting vision in the social life of our country.
Our struggle against the “gray” perception of the sector continues
The most essential purpose of a non-governmental organization is to serve the society. Being among the umbrella organizations of our sector which operates in 7 regions and all climates of Turkey with its 17.500 employees, I can say that, for the cement industry, we have invested in various fields that will be beneficial for our country.
We are spending extensive time on digital transformation in addition to our goal of ensuring gender equality in the cement industry, our struggle against the “grey” perception in the sector, our investment in and our training activities for a qualified human resources. On the other hand, we continue to invest in occupational health and safety, which has been the red line of our sector that has adopted the principle of “Zero Occupational Accident”, for many years. While our union has the quality of being the first union in Turkey to have an Occupational Health and Safety Training Center; our sector, as an industry that is “pointed at” in terms of occupational health and safety, is setting an example for various sectors too.
We reject representation that focuses solely on economic progress
We have proudly undertaken the responsibility of representing the cement industry for 57 years. Being one of Turkey’s largest employers’ unions, we are contentedly carrying out activities that will be beneficial our member companies since our foundation. Representing approximately 95% of the sector on a number of national and international platforms, indeed imposes a great responsibility on us. We reject a manner of representation that solely focuses on economic progress. We strive to be present in every field that can take our industry and society forward in our belief, and to have the voice of our sector heard in different communities in this respect. If I need to give an example, we establish contact with architects, designers and university students and collaborate with public institutions through our Building Design Contest. We are touching every individual of our society on gender equality, which is a highly
significant issue. We are in touch with new graduates and young professionals through our Çimento Sektöründe Yeni Bir Perspektif: Endüstriyel İşveren Markası Çekiciliği project.
We also care about the importance of strengthening our individual efforts with collective collaborations very much. In accordance with the understanding we adopt, we became the first Employers Association of the Corporate Governance Association of Turkey (TKYD), which continues its activities in order to promote and develop corporate governance approach in Turkey and to implement it with the best practices. Assuming an understanding of responsible industrialist, we will continue to undertake groundbreaking efforts with the goal of strengthening our representation in the areas we are present and opening new areas for our sector.
The Paris Climate Deal is on the 2022 agenda of our sector
Being in control of an investment amounting to 20 billion dollars, our sector will continue to produce continuously in 2022, as it has done until today with 65 plants owned by 31 corporations, to contribute to employment and to undertake value-added works that will strengthen its global presence.
The United States of America, Israel and Syria were among the countries to which our sector have exported the most in 2021, respectively. Our primary target markets for the following period will be the United States America, Central America, West Africa and the Middle East. We are among the most important actors in the global market and we will continue to strive on the path leading to our goal of creating a Local Player in a Global context without pausing in addition to continuing exports in order to make this outstanding performance of our industry lasting and sustainable. We shall act in furtherance of our strength through the brands that will become the flagship of our country in the global cement market; We shall plan investments that will make it possible to promote high quality Turkish cement to the entire world through our own brands.
Another important topic that will take part in the agenda of our industry for 2022 is the Paris Agreement. In this respect, we set a goal of “reducing the increase in greenhouse gas emissions by 21% until 2030, and attaining the net zero emission by 2053” for ourselves as a country. The cement industry will not hesitate to fulfill the responsibilities it assumes in order to achieve these goals set by our country. We neither have the option to stay out of the process nor we have such an intention. Hence, we are considering this development as an opportunity to accelerate our sustainability steps and we are planning all of our work with such awareness.
Reaching to green technology and making use of investment opportunities that occur in this respect are of utmost importance for achieving our goals. Increasing the use of alternative raw materials and energy resources and improving the competencies of our employees recruited in the sector besides the digital transformation aiming to minimize our carbon emissions are amongst the efforts that we have included in our agenda in line with this goal. Our industry continues to work on this subject within a specific plan and with major devotion.