“Stating that Türkiye has become one of the brand countries in the ceramics sector with its product variety, quality and design power, Isvea Seramik Board Chairman Erdem Çenesiz said that they have become competitive with Italy with their product range and quality.
Isvea Seramik Board Chairman Erdem Çenesiz said that Türkiye has become one of the brand countries in the ceramics sector with its product variety, quality and design power, and that they have become competitive with Italy with their product range and quality.
Stating that he sees that Türkiye cannot survive with price competition, Çenesiz said, “Investments in special products are increasing in the sector; products that consume less water, offer newer washing features and are much more different in terms of hygiene are being developed. Turkish brands are now seen as equal to European players in this field.” Çenesiz said, “We have become a country that turns raw materials into high-quality, high-added value products,” and added that Türkiye is no longer only on the economic side of the added-value chain, but has begun to produce expensive products by presenting its powerful technology.
We are opening up to new markets
Çenesiz, who stated that they witnessed this interest at ISH Frankfurt, the most important fair of the vitreous china sector, which they attended last week as Isvea, said that thanks to this, they increased their exports by opening up to many new markets from the Far East to South America. Çenesiz, who said, “Isvea is a company that exports in the true sense. It exports in the middle and upper middle group segments,” stated that Isvea has a place in the future of Europe and said, “Both the conditions of our country and Isvea’s own special product range brought us to this goal. We really achieved serious export growth last year. In 2024, a period when our country’s export figures did not grow much, we grew by around 10 percent in ceramic sanitary ware exports, with a growth above the sector average. We started this year well and continue to grow.”
Çenesiz said that they made new agreements that will increase exports and that there were positive developments, especially with the US. Stating that US President Trump's rhetoric and actions provided an advantage to Turkish companies, Çenesiz said, "After the stagnant 1-1,5 years, we expect a 2-2,5 year period in which it will rise very linearly. We are ready to meet the increasing demand with the investments we have made in the last two years."
We completed our investments
Stating that they have made a lot of investments as Isvea in the last two years, Çenesiz said that they have completed modernization investments in all five production facilities in Çorum and continue their renewable energy and environmental investments.
Stating that they continue their green transformation efforts, Çenesiz said that they have put some of their investments in this area into operation and that they will complete the investment that will provide Isvea's entire energy consumption from green energy this year.
It will be a first in the world
Çenesiz, who announced that they have established a very serious recycling facility in order to consume less natural resources, said, “We will establish a facility that will be able to use all our products and industrial waste in production and we will use this in a way that will reduce our own raw material, that is, our natural resource consumption. This will immediately bring us to a very different position.”
Çenesiz continued his words, “Our R&D studies, which will make dramatic reductions in carbon consumption, are ongoing. We will proudly share this with you in the coming days. Because it will be a first in the world.”
We will feel growth in the second half of the year
Drawing the sector’s year map, Çenesiz said, “The next three months will be a balancing period, and the second half of the year will be a period in which we will feel growth both domestically and internationally.”
According to Çenesiz, one of the biggest drivers of this growth will be housing projects. “We think that a housing movement is necessary throughout Turkey, that the private sector should also be supported in this regard, and that our country should produce housing quickly in order to break the back of rental inflation by finding solutions especially in land production,” said Çenesiz, adding that a similar situation is also the case for Europe, and that the need for growth in the European Union and the similar rent increase problems experienced in them have created a housing supply in all countries of Europe.
However, according to Çenesiz, the only way to make exports sustainable and preserve Türkiye’s competitiveness is for the exchange rate to rise in parallel with producer inflation. Çenesiz warned that if the exchange rate does not rise in parallel with the PPI, not only will exports decrease, but imports will also increase.
