BUILDING STEEL NETWORKS
The most important success of the young Turkish Republic in the early decades was to build an iron network around the country. The rail network was even praised in anthems. The first steel plant in Turkey was established in the capital Ankara in 1932, which was among the first arc furnaces in the world. Seven years later, a more modern and bigger one was built in Karabuk. Both not only helped the rail network grow but also built the industrial plants of the young republic. The steel plants built other industrial plants, in short.
The establishment of Erdemir in 1965 - as the largest industrial investment the young nation had made up to that point - is a good summary of Turkish industrialization efforts. One of the first and the most comprehensive on the ground sociological studies of Turkey was also conducted at this industrial complex by professor Mubeccel Kiray. It explains how an industry facility changes a city.
The steel industry in Turkey was primarily established by the state and the first private investment came in the 1960’s. Almost 30 more have been established since then. Now, Turkey has a strong and competitive private steel industry that exports its products to the world. Tosyali Holding leads the pack. It has shown fast growth in the last decade as it has gone global. It has plants in Montenegro and Algeria and is looking to grow in Senegal and Angola, where chairman Fuat Tosyali believes opportunities lie. His bet could elevate the company to the top tier of global steel producers. You can read the details of the company in our cover pages.
There are three Turkish companies in the top 100 steel manufacturers globally, according to The World Steel Association data. They are Erdemir, Habas and Tosyali Holding. The global leader is Arcelor Mittal with an annual capacity of 97.3 million tonnes.
Turkey manufactures 37 million tonnes of steel annually, placing it 8th on the global listing and second in Europe after Germany. Turkish producers are now making an effort to build a steel network around the world.