Wealth of markets to explore beyond the EU’s borders

enthusiasm and welcoming attitude that demonstrates a thirst to do business with the UK.

There is a lot to learn here about the change in attitude many UK businesses need to adopt. It may need a see-change in many SMEs’ attitude to exporting that might dismiss a country like Turkey.

Make no mistake, here is a country that has a get-up-and-go attitude that businesses in the UK could well adopt.

There is surprise among business leaders here that UK companies do not appreciate the need to reach out to and explore markets like Turkey.

I was accompanied on the trip by, among others, Chamber president Paul Kehoe, the Chamber’s chief operating office Russell Jeans and Alex de Ruyter, director of the Centre for Brexit Studies from Birmingham City University.

We met numerous businesses who gave the overriding impression of huge enthusiasm and determination to drive Bursa forward as a place to do global business.

We visited a textile manufacturing giant, Ilay Textile, which is planning to open a UK office to cope with a growing market here, currently running at $10 million annually.

Part of those sales is a yearly contract to supply Marks & Spencer with dress materials.

We also visited Durmazlar, established in 1987 as Turkey’s first sheet metal company now employing 1,500 people with lazar-cutting machines and the complete production of trams, largely for the city of Bursa but with world-wide ambitions. We went on to Yepsan, an archetypical metal-basing company that supplies components to Fiat, Bentley, VW, Audi and Volvo among others.

It also has a huge defence and aviation division based in Turkey’s capital Ankara with customers like Boeing and Airbus. It also specialises in manufacturing helicopter simulators and seats.

The whole experience was eye-opening and when you examine the sort of support these businesses get from the government via the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, you begin to realise why.

Admittedly, membership of the Chamber is compulsory for all businesses in Turkey, unlike the UK where membership is voluntary with the Chambers largely independent.

I do urge Greater Birmingham businesses to start to look at Turkey’s potential with an open mind.

Just a short visit drives home

Here is a country that has a getup-and-go attitude that businesses in the UK could well adopt

the massive potential here for co-operation and business.

Turkey is a huge bustling country with drive and enthusiasm thirsting to do business with the UK.

In the post-Brexit world, UK business will ignore these less obvious markets at their peril.

Starting on November 29, Bursa will underline its importance as a manufacturing centre by hosting its own industrial summit, where up to 1,000 companies will gather to discuss business opportunities in the region.

We will be returning to Bursa for the summit and leading a delegation seeking to explore opportunities around future trading relationships.

To join us, or for more information about the summit or the Turkish market in general business, contact the Chamber’s International Hub via www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com Paul Faulkner is chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers

of Commerce