Established as Turkey’s first heavy industry in 1937 under the directive of the Founder of the Republic, Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Karabük Iron and Steel Factories (KARDEMİR) have been contributing added value to the country’s economy for 87 years.
Karabük On April 3, 1937, the foundation of Turkey’s first heavy industry was laid in Karabük, by the then Prime Minister İsmet İnönü, upon the instruction of the Republic’s Founder, Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The first blast furnace was fired on September 9, 1939, and the first Turkish iron was produced on September 10, 1939, one day later.
Over the years, KARDEMİR, which began to be known as the “factory that builds factories,” ranks 27th among Turkey’s top 500 industrial enterprises.
With its affiliated institutions, the factory, which employs approximately 5,000 workers, aims for an annual production of 3.5 million tons of liquid steel.
“KARDEMİR has historical significance” Ismail Demir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KARDEMİR, told AA that the factory was established in 1937 as Turkey’s first iron and steel plant and started its production in 1939.
Stating that the factory is a school for the iron and steel sector and Turkish industry, Demir said, “It is an important school that everyone interested in metallurgy and iron and steel sector passes through. Therefore, it has a historical significance. With this historical significance, it has a place that plans to open new horizons in the iron and steel sector in Turkey with the initiatives it has made and will make.” he said.
Demir expressed that they aim for KARDEMİR to be a center both in mass production of products such as billets and in entering niche markets, stating, “In the research we conducted in the defense industry, we determined that there are certain gaps in Turkey in terms of qualified alloys, iron and steel, and other alloys. We have developed certain strategies and roadmaps to fill these gaps. We will complete some of these strategies and roadmaps together with KARDEMİR, KARDÖKMAK, and KARÇEL.”
Stating that they have over 5,000 employees with their affiliated partnerships, Demir noted that they hire 300-400 workers every year.
Demir mentioned that 2.5 million tons of liquid steel is produced annually in the factory, saying, “Our aim is to reach 3.5 million tons and then increase it to 4 million tons. Along with increasing our production capacity, one of our goals is to increase our production quality, that is, the quality of our final products.”
Demir emphasized that investments will continue in KARDEMİR to increase both production capacity and the quality, variety, and added value of the final products, saying, “In this sense, we have plans both in our steelworks, rolling mill, and blast furnace technologies. A new blast furnace investment is planned to increase our capacity. We have raised awareness among our colleagues about closely monitoring the studies conducted worldwide. For this reason, we have established R&D offices in Istanbul and Ankara. We will conduct our studies in cooperation with Karabük University. We closely monitor what the ongoing studies are worldwide, what the researches are, and there are also new pilot applications. We have an agenda to carry out some of these pilot applications similar to what is being done here and even to conduct the pilot application of some practices ourselves.”
Stating that KARDEMİR is the pride of the region, Demir concluded his words by saying, “I congratulate the 87th anniversary of the establishment of KARDEMİR, one of the valuable industrial heritages of our Republic. Here’s to many more April 3rds.
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç