TURKISH IRON AND STEEL

Developments in the iron and steel sector have direct input on the growth of production in iron or steel articles.  At present Turkey produces a wide range of iron and steel articles which meets almost all the domestic demand.  Among iron or steel articles, casting products and steel pipes and tubes have significant importance.  In kitchenware and industrial kitchen products, Turkey has built a considerable capacity in recent years and has increased the exports of these items. With the continuous demand generated by the Turkish manufacturing industry, the casting and forgings industry of Turkey has experienced booming development both in technology and in market. Turkish foundries, which can produce every kind of alloyed or unalloyed ferrous castings, specialize in the production of cast parts for domestic industries. Concerning the geographical distribution of the sector, the major foundries, which are all privately-owned, are in Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, Eskisehir, Bilecik, Izmir and Ankara.  Small scale family-owned casting companies are widely spread in almost all regions of Turkey. The  remarkable  increase  in  casting  production  and  exports  is  due  to  the  increasing domestic   and world   demand   and   government   policies   which   encouraged   many entrepreneurs  to  invest  in  the  foundry  sector.  Turkish foundry men have managed to improve productivity with the use of new technologies and attained low production cost with high quality.  The developing Turkish foundry industry is currently in a phase of expansion and aims production at international standards. The casting industry in Turkey is composed of 1,200 small, medium and large-sized foundries.