Turkey: a very promising market for intralogistics providers

• Turkey committed to massive investment in multimodal logistics centers

• Materials Handling EURASIA the leading intralogistics fair for the Eurasia region

It’s almost time for Materials Handling EURASIA, the leading intralogistics trade fair for Turkey and neighboring countries. It will be staged by Germany’s Deutsche Messe in Istanbul from 17 to 20 March as part of WIN EURASIA Automation, a multi-show synergy powerhouse that’s expected to feature over 1,500 exhibitors and occupy around 30,000 square meters (322,900 sq. ft.) of exhibition space.

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“Turkey is a country in transition – and as such, a very exciting market for international exporters, particularly providers of intralogistics solutions,” says Wolfgang Pech, Deutsche Messe’s Senior Vice President responsible for intralogistics events worldwide. “Factors such as innovation, process optimization and automation, not to mention environmental aspects and energy efficiency, are playing an increasingly important part in the Turkish economy.” According to Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), Turkey has embarked on a strategy to become a key regional freight hub. This involves building several multimodal logistics centers in order to enhance the country’s offering of state-of-the-art transport and warehousing services. It is envisaged that the integration of these centers into Turkey’s sea ports and airports will be primarily via the country’s rail network. Turkey’s state railway operator TCDD alone plans to build 20 such multimodal logistics centers by 2023. The centers will complement the country’s warehousing and transportation service offering by better integrating its road, rail, air and sea transport corridors. GTAI believes that these developments will generate strong Turkish demand for imported lifting and loading equipment. The logistics centers will be connected to Turkey’s sea ports and airports mainly via road and/or rail and so will have large dedicated areas for warehousing and loading and unloading operations. They will also have special zones for hazardous materials, customs, repair and maintenance services and social infrastructure. The Turkish state railway operator TCDD has announced that its 20 new logistics centers will generate 27 million metric tons of additional freight transport and 9 million cubic meters of additional warehousing capacity. They are also tipped to add around USD 40 billion to the Turkish economy and create about 10,000 new jobs for local people.

Highly promising new projects

“In Turkey, we’re seeing a sharp upsurge in demand for battery-powered trucks combined with declining demand for IC engine-powered trucks,” says Frank Müller, Vice President Sales CEE & Dealer Business at STILL GmbH Hamburg. “For example, Starwood, a leading Turkish chipboard and MDF manufacturer, is now using exclusively battery-powered trucks in an area of its Inegül operation that used to employ mainly internal combustion engine trucks.” Müller is referring to a fleet of seven-ton RX-60 electric forklift trucks and R 07 electric tow tractors which shift up to 4,500 metric tons of wood per day. STILL has also noticed that its Turkish customers are becoming more conscious of operating costs. “That’s why we’ve seen a marked increase in our hire business,” Müller says. “Added to that, more and more Turkish customers are asking us for integrated analysis and multi-process intralogistics solutions that range beyond the mere provision of individual trucks.” STILL’s consultants are, for example, already closely involved in the strategic planning of Starwood’s materials and information flows. Frank Müller believes that this holistic approach, which encompasses elements of IT and automation, is an important factor in differentiating STILL’s offering from that of its competitors.

Jungheinrich is another German-based industrial truck provider with a strong presence in Turkey. “From our perspective, the big growth areas in the Turkish market at the moment relate to horizontal order pickers with lifting load sections and vertical order pickers with lifting heights of up to 9,500 millimeters for use in large transfer hubs in the contract logistics sector,” says Managing Director Turkey, Wilfried Baur. “There is also strong demand for fleet management solutions, such as ISM Online.” Jungheinrich’s ISM Online system features a modular design, Baur explains, so it can be tailored exactly to customer requirements. Jungheinrich has also recently launched its “JungSTARs” 4-star refurbished used-truck offering on the Turkish market. Baur: “Our Jungheinrich JungSTARs stand for precision – both in terms of technical refurbishment and in terms of quickly providing customers with the right truck for their requirements.” The benefit for the customer lies in receiving a professionally refurbished truck that’s backed by the expertise of the original manufacturer. All JungSTAR used trucks are refurbished in accordance with Jungheinrich’s stringent 4-star quality standards and come with a Jungheinrich warranty.

Various other European logistics providers have also initiated a number of exciting projects in Turkey in recent times. The Turkish food manufacturer Sanset, for example, has commissioned the German intralogistics company SSI Schäfer to build a fully automated freezer warehouse that operates at -28 degrees Celsius. SSI Schäfer is the general contractor for the project, with overall responsibility for the construction of a four-aisle high-rack shuttle warehouse at Sanset’s Kirklareli plant with capacity for more than 11,000 pallets. The scope includes all the necessary materials handling equipment. Meanwhile, the Austrian-based TGW logistics group has just won a second contract for Turkey’s DeFacto fashion apparel company. TGW completed its first-ever project in Turkey for DeFacto in 2013 and has now been commissioned to expand the company’s existing site in Cerkezkoy. Designed to support DeFacto’s B2B and B2C business, the expanded site will be Turkey’s largest direct carton handling and automated apparel logistics facility.