Miller Magazine Issue: 115 July 2019

70 TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM MILLER / JULY 2019 has been serious competition in Turkey and abroad. What kind of global picture do we face with when we examine the grain processing sector? What do you think about Turkey’s place in this global picture? Turkey comes in second place following China in grain processing sector in terms of exports. Figures prove this. This is a good thing. However, when we examine the added value per ton on the other hand, although we are above China, we are way behind the European countries. What we manufacture do not have high add- ed value. What should be done to increase this? In order for this, we have to carry out R&D and shift to high-tech. We need to carry out some works in this regard. However, there has been a negative perception that has become widespread in this sector for our coun- try. Recently, Turkey started to be mentioned in a similar fashion to China which is known for its imitation prod- ucts. Unfortunately, we need to change our strategy in this regard. Many colleagues have to do this. What lies in this is training. We should be in the process of brand- ing but branding cannot happen overnight. This is a matter of culture and education. If we accomplish these changes as a country and then if we possess this under- standing, Turkey can realize these targets easily. As a company, we move in this direction. This approach has been entrenched in our in-house training and produc- tion system. Regardless of which sector we are talking about, those companies that can capture and interpret data will survive. Failing this, companies will disappear. In Turkey, many companies have been active in this sector. However, I don’t believe that these companies know and analyze their costs very well. We perceive this. They sell machines with unbelievable prices. It is not possible for a company to sustain like this. Yes, the export is impor- tant. We should do this. Our sector does not have a chance other than manufac- turing and selling abroad. However, if the export is not profitable and we export at a loss, this does not have any meaning. If there has been a sale at a loss, it means the exporting the capital to abroad. This is not a sustainable situation. This con- tributes neither to companies nor to our country. What do your customers demand from you? What are their expectations? There are various customer profiles from many parts of the world. Some customers are price-oriented. It is not possible for us to do business with such customers. Some customers are quality-oriented. They expect to have a quality product and quality after-sales service. As a company, we focus on this type of customer profile. What makes Selis different from its competitors in the sector? Any company that manufactures a product of poor quality cannot continue to work and be sustainable. In fact, all investors want quality products. However, they eye on how cheap they can purchase this quality. As I just told you, some consumers pretend to be quality-ori- ented although they are price-oriented. There are many examples of this. Many of the factories established based on this understanding no longer work. What hap- pens then? We have a bad reputation as a country. Un- fortunately, a “Turkish products are of poor quality” im- age has been spreading. High quality is a must. You can be competitive in the world trade by producing quali- ty, high technology and R&D oriented new generation products. Turkey cannot have a future in which the price is low but the weight is too much. You can do this only via high value-added products. Only in this way can we compete and earn more comfortably. It is not possible to compete while producing the very same products for years. We believe that raising awareness by introducing new and innovative products to the market will take us even further.