The Turkish public began to boycott Italian commodities in response to this attitude and the Italian authorities announced that they would respond to the boycott; however, increasing pressure and Italy being seen as a country playing host to terrorism in the international community caused government to retreat. Although, Italy did not surrender Ocalan to Turkey, it had to deport him by refusing his demand for political asylum.
The icy relations between the two countries thawed shortly after and since that tense period, a great deal of progress has been realized. Italy currently ranks third in our countries exports and imports .They provide the greatest amount of capital inflow into Turkey for the last five years. We realized $4.6 billion in exports compared to $6.9 billion in imports last year. For the first five months of 2005, $2.9 billion in imports and $2.2 billion in exports were issued as well.
Telekom Italia Mobile (TIM), Fiat, Iveco, Merloni, Pirelli, Unicredito and many other companies have invested in Turkey. Activities of Italian funded companies occur mostly in the automotive field, the banking sector, communication and energy. Attention has been drawn to the rapid developments in the communication and banking sectors during recent years. Italian TIM, which is also the partner of Turkish GSM operator Avea, issued the highest offer together with Saudi Oger for the Turk Telekom tender that became the largest tender in Turkish privatization history. Additionally, another sector that Italian companies have been interested in is the heating sector. The spread of the natural gas distribution network across the country boomed along with the demand for boiler radiator and central heating systems.
The Italian heater and air conditioning manufacturer, Ferroli is one of the companies aiming to grow in this market. Ferroli increasing its turnover in Turkey from 8.5 to 20 million euros by increasing 133 percent staged its best performance in Europe last year. Gas boiler systems make up 90 percent of all its sales.
We went to the famous Po basin in the Northern Italy to see the company's headquarters and manufacturing plants. The district is the most developed region in the country. Since it is a gate to Europe, it is very industrialized and developed in many fields.
We visited the company's headquarters and plants covering over 200,000 square meters in Verona where radiators, gas boilers and air conditioners are produced. The area is both a production and technology center. The group produces almost all the necessary replacement parts within their own plants. Apart from Italy, they have a total of 10 production plants in Spain, Germany and China. Their turnover was 508 million euros in 2004.
Ferroli Turkey General Director Cetin Cakmakci determined that their Turkish sales target for this year is 30 million euros. Achieving stability, the growing market and increasing sales brought investment in Turkey to the issue as well. The products sold currently come from Italy; however, the company has also licenced two manufacturers in Denizli and Bursa to produce steel radiators. A significant number of these radiators are exported to Romania and Slovakia. Founder and Chairman of Ferroli Dante Ferroli said they evaluated various countires for investment and Turkey became one of them. Ferroli will pay a visit to Turkey in October after an absence of five years. He will probably clarify his investment decisions for Turkey during his visit.
The most significant reason for directing Ferroli through the different markets is the stagnation that the Western Europe and Italian economies have encountered. Negative growth is expected in Italy this year.
Ferroli with 50 years of history had taken the decision to grow by expanding production into foriegn countries 40 years ago. What it does today is to change the direction of that opening. Ferroli Exporting Director Maurizio Foglia determed that there was no opportunity to grow in Western Europe and they had to look towards eastern markets for growth, he said, "The future is in the East." Foglia who was born in Ferikoy district of Istanbul underlined that the sector faces serious troubles specifically in Britain, Germany, and France.
We encounter an active period in terms of Turkish-Italian relations. Italian firms in particular evaluate the emerging opportunities better. We wish that same will be valid for Turkish firms and that they find the same opportunities and ease deriving from visa transactions, to exporting and investment activities as well.
July 26, 2005
