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Kale Group of Companies, a Turkish manufacturer of tiles and sanitary ware is a recent overseas investor in the country. The group has recently opened its first flagship showroom in DHA Lahore and is a leading industrial giant in Turkey that deals in ceramics; it also has other products in its portfolio like equipment and machinery manufacturing, aerospace, energy and defense.
Zeynep Bodur Okyay is Kale Group President and CEO. She is also the head of Assembly at Chambers of Industry of Istanbul, and also part of executive committee and member of Turkish foreign relation board. While talking to BR Research, she shared how the group has made a couple of export attempts to Pakistan back in 1970s and 80s under her father's leadership, and has now come forward as a full-fledged tile and sanitary ware showroom in the country.
The group was formed in 1957 as Canakkale Ceramic Factories Corporation; since then it has been involved in areas of construction and materials and gradually built on to producing tiles, sanitary ware, building chemicals, insulation materials, machinery, equipment, etc. The group enjoys the advantages of being a pioneer in the construction and building material business with its strong distribution channel. While sharing the rich legacy of the group, Zeynep Bodur highlighted that the group's tiles and sanitary ware brand - Kaleseramiks enjoy being the third largest manufacturer in Europe, and ninth rank globally.
Some key figures shared by the CEO were the company's tile production capacity, which is around 52 million; the group's turnover of over $1.1 billion; workforce of over 5000; ceramics business revenues exceeding $100 million; exports to over 100 countries; and products being exhibited in over 400 points out of which 26 are exclusive including the Lahore showroom.
When questioned whether Kale would be establishing a manufacturing facility in Pakistan, Zeynep Bodur Okyay was of the view that the group will assess the market potential in deliberation with its dealer in Pakistan before taking a decision on establishing a plant in the country. "Pakistan has had a long-lasting friendship with Turkey, and its 200 million population makes it very dynamic. If there is a real potential for us, we would definitely go ahead with it. It's a possibility that we enter manufacturing here as this part of the world needs good quality products, and here our local contacts and the business plan will play the key role." The Kale Group President named Pakistan as one of the leading emerging global economies around the globe, next to India, Turkey, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Russia due to its market size and income levels. Her comment that the country is on its way to become an important global player in the near future is a fillip of hope for business activity in the country.
The group already has plants in seven different locations of Turkey with Istanbul as the Hub. Overseas, it also has a facility in Italy and Russia, and it plans to expand with some of its products to Iran and Kenya. And besides many projects in Turkey, Dubai, and Korea, the group has plans to open flagship stores in Karachi, Islamabad, and Marrakesh (Morocco) this year after Lahore.
Right now there is heavy under invoicing in the tile and sanitary industry in the country, so it becomes difficult to gauge the total size of the market. However, the construction sector has seen a lift in recent times. And this has helped Kale acquire some major contracts for Packages Shopping Malls, Nishat Emporium and Coca Cola head office.
While responding to the query about the target market, Zeynep Bodur Okyay accentuated that Kales products are at par in quality Italian and Spanish products - the most sought after products worldwide in this category. "Our products are energy efficient, ecological, and are ergonomically fit." She further emphasised that while the quality of Kale products will be equivalent to the leading exporters worldwide, they will be 40 percent cheaper. In Pakistan, the products in this category range from imports from Italy, Spain and China to local products, and as per Zeynep Bodur, Kale's products pricing would lie somewhere between Chinese and Italian/Spanish brands.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2016

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