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TURKEY - Industry

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Chairman, Atmaca Group

Bio

Adem Atmaca has been the chairman of Atmaca Group since 2013. Prior to this appointment, he worked in Atmaca Group’s foreign trade, production, and R&D units. Atmaca graduated from Marmara University with a degree in finance.

“We are in a highly competitive market and are focused on staying ahead of the competition.“

Why has Atmaca chosen to focus its future strategy around TVs?
For the past 40 years, we have been in the consumer electronics sector. We have a good understanding of consumer needs. Atmaca Group has made many different kinds of electronics, but today it is specialized in the TV segment. A TV is no longer just a TV. Now, it is capable of many things, much like how smartphones have become extremely versatile devices. We feel fortunate as a company to offer something that people need. We are in a highly competitive market and are focused on staying ahead of the competition.

What role does R&D play in Atmaca’s development of smart TVs?
Technology is getting cheaper every day and, in a few years, a smart TV will be a basic item. Our advantage is that we have our own R&D center, with around 40 engineers. There are 900 R&D centers in Turkey, and we are one of them. We do all types of designs, namely hardware, software, industrial, and mechanical. From the idea to the product, it is all done in-house. This gives us a great opportunity to cooperate with technology providers. We can easily develop the most up-to-date solutions and get them to the TV. We follow the latest trends and needs.

Atmaca is one of the largest Turkish exporters of electronics. What are the regions where you are most focused on expanding sales?
Most of our exports go to Eastern Europe. Our export business has been going well, especially since 2018. In 2017, around 5-7% of our revenue came from exports, but in 2018 it rose to 17%. In 2019, we hope it will be more than 25%. Exports are thus rapidly increasing. The main reason for this is that our quantities are increasing, which is giving us an edge on the competition.

How does the company account for tariffs when looking at potential markets?
There are high customs taxes for some countries. In those cases, the best approach is to find a partner or invest in a plant. It is easy, in theory, but not so much in practice. Entering a market by investing in a plant is not a simple decision to make. We tried to start a facility in Egypt, but scrapped these plans in 2014.

What investments have you been making in more efficient means of production?
We have an excellent maintenance and development department in our factory. We design and produce the majority of our products. We are also producing our own robots for our production lines and transportation. We have a great team focused on efficient production. There are ways to increase production, but it is important to make it ourselves, because we know our needs better than anyone else. When we design a TV, we are not only trying to make the best TV for the consumer, but one that is also most efficient to produce.

What are your goals and objectives for the year ahead?
We are trying to prepare our 8K TVs. That technology is on its way. The market is moving and we are following it. Success comes if you can follow the market and its demands. We are trying to apply the latest technology to the screen as soon as possible. We want to launch these products in 2019.

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