For BLG, Turkey means
For BLG, Turkey means growth GUEST COMMENTARY At the beginning of 2015 BLG expanded its reach by opening a branch office in Istanbul. Turkey’s geographic location holds great advantages for logistics. Istanbul is of great importance as a logistics hub. In Turkey we offer services in the automotive sector. In addition to managing the logistics for export and import vehicles, coordinating automobile transport via vessel, rail and truck, vehicle storage and vehicle handling, we also perform terminal management, customs clearance, freight forwarding and logistics consulting for our customers. A look at 2014 shows that we often have to be flexible and innovative here. For the first time in the history of automobile transportation via rail we ran two block trains with 408 vehicles from European production plants to the Asian part of Turkey. Prior to that, the colleagues at BLG AutoRail had developed rail concepts for automakers regarding transport to and from Turkey. In February 2014 snowfall and sleet had blocked access to Slovenia and the planned port of shipment in Koper. We needed to find an alternative since we had received a specific inquiry about running two trains to the Asian part of Turkey at short notice. Thanks to the rapid approval processes in the Eastern European countries of transit, we were able to speedily meet our client’s request. Our BLG AutoRail colleagues used two block trains for BLG is very well prepared for Turkish automotive market transport and they covered the route to the Turkish port of Tekirdag in only four days. Last year we moved 13 block trains for one of our customers from Germany and Hungary to Turkey, Köseköy and transported 2,650 units with these trains. We plan to continue this business in 2016 with even more customers. A look further back in the past additionally shows that the Turkish car industry recorded linear growth in the last 15 years. And a look into the future also paints a positive picture as we expect this growth to continue in the coming years. The carmakers based in Turkey already plan for this year a significant expansion of their production capacity. This means over 2.3 million vehicles will require handling for import and export – a challenge that BLG is ready to tackle. The challenges are also mounting on another level. The level of production quality is rising and with it the expectations of customers for more and more sophisticated logistics solutions. This is where BLG comes in with the perfect know-how, personnel and the appropriate infrastructure to meet its clients’ expectations. The growing Turkish automobile industry is increasingly looking for logistics specialists like us since it needs partners who can provide innovative logistics solutions. To this extent, the Turkish market is a growth market for us. There is another additional factor that makes the Turkish automobile market interesting for multinational logistics providers. Export and import are very balanced. In the year 2014 Turkey imported a total of 552,842 units and exported 885,180 units while the local production figures came to around 1,170,445 units. Automakers like Hyundai, Ford, Fiat and Renault, to mention just a few, have production plants in Turkey. They are all both exporters and importers. They produce large numbers of a few models in Turkey. To complete their model range for the domestic market, they have to import the lacking models from other countries. This advantage makes it possible for logistics specialists like BLG to plan transports efficiently since in most cases they are able to provide transportation in both directions. Another important point is the proportion of car owners in Turkey. Compared to the US or Western Europe, the number is very low. While 933 of 1,000 persons in the US and 612 of 1,000 persons in Western Europe own cars, the proportion of car owners in Turkey is substantially lower at 164 of 1,000. This number is significant for a high growth potential in the domestic market and is supported by an increasing GDP as well as economic growth. Even though we cannot take a look into the crystal ball, we expect the market to continue to develop well in the coming years. Mustafa Kapan, Director Representative BLG Office in Turkey
Efficient Warehouse Systems As a full range supplier of warehouse and logistics systems we support our customers in a comprehensive and straightforward way. Irrespective of whether you decide in favour of a manual, partially or fully-automated solution. For more than 75 years, we have been designing concepts for all kinds of industries. We customize every solution to the particular requirements of our clients in a cooperative partnership. Using our many years of experience to your advantage, we will demonstrate how to make your processes more efficient. www.ssi-schaefer.com
