Miller Magazine Issue: 113 May 2019

65 TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM MAY 2019 In the Technology Platform of this issue, we covered Cift Kartal Milling Machines that popularized because of its installation of facilities in Turkey and abroad. Fikri Saatçioğlu, Deputy Chairman of the Company, talked to our magazine during the IDMA Exhibition, a significant hub for the milling machinery industry. Saatçioğlu talked about the company’s activities, mission, and projects. Saying that Cift Kartal diversified its product range, he noted that the company increased its competitive edge in local and foreign markets and increased its market share; he emphasized that the company continues its work with a mission to become a world brand. Saatçioğlu underli- ned that the company gives great importance to know- how. “If you do not invest enough in this area, it is impossible to exist in foreign markets. If you try to continue your journey with daily policies, this understanding will spell great troubles for your company in the long run,” he warned. The interview Cihangir Fikri Saatçioğlu, Deputy Chairman of Cift Kartal, gave to Miller Magazine is as follows: Mr. Saatçioğlu, can you tell us about your company and activities briefly? Çift Kartal Milling Machines started its produc- tion life in 1973 and expanded its product range more and more every day. Our areas of activity are R&D, engineering, flour mills, corn flour mills, semolina mills, feed mills, flour silos, grain storage systems, transport-loading-unloading equipment and drying systems. We offer turnkey mill plant projects with quality-oriented products ranging from 30 to 1000 ton/day capacity. In our 15.000 m² closed area factory, we produce the required mill ma- chines with our modern manufacturing technology in or- der to obtain flour which is one of the most important products of the food industry. Cift Kart is a company that has been active in the sec- tor for more than 45 years, exported to 80 countries, re- alized more than 600 flour facility projects, improved its product range continuously, and aimed at new markets. We gave great importance to know-how. Cift Kartal aims to be a prominent company in the sector. You mentioned that the company exports to 80 countries. Can you tell us how this adventure started and evolved? We started exporting 35 years ago. Particularly we started with countries that geographically close to Tur- key, especially Central Asia and African countries. Now, we export to 80 countries and feel the excitement in our heart. Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Botswana, Mo- zambique, Kazakhstan, Palestine, Iran, and Russia are among these countries. Our company is at a position to give confidence to our customers with skillful and devo- ted understanding and its organizational structure that has a high value on the global scale. However, we didn’t come to this point very easily. Until we formed this structure, we aimed to keep ourselves in the top position by using intense brand awareness. Of course, in the world market, where there are many alter- natives and the sector is competitive, your most impor- tant qualification must be to find a balance between high quality and reasonable price. I think we achieved this. The biggest headache for the Turkish machine manu- facturer is that although the production industry has an intense added value and quality in Turkey, it lacks this awareness in the European markets. Although Turkish origin products must have a higher share in the European markets, unfortunately, this share is very low. In our sector, we have great rivalry against a serious company operating under the Swiss-German partners- hip. In this competitive environment, it is not enough for your company to have a high quality. Turkish companies