Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Addressing the workers, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed his delight at being with laborers in an establishment so deeply rooted, belonging to a distinguished family, and went on, “The Termikel Group is the pride of Ankara and our whole country. Founded in 1960, it has come to be compromised of over 25 companies, 2,000 workers. With a turnover of over a million, it is earning and benefiting, paying taxes and bringing prosperity. I congratulate the authors of this success story from the bottom of my heart. I present my gratitude.”

- Underlying the success is the worker-employer harmony

Stating that they had first heard of ‘Kaizen’ on their trip to Japan with the President of the Republic, Abdullah Gül in 2008, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that during their meetings with Japanese businessmen had named this as the cause of the Japanese miracle.

Saying that they had always though increase in production and quality would be achieved through new investments, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Turns out, the method focuses on the most important part of production: the workers. Japan, decimated in WWII, has become the world’s second greatest economy by listening to the views of its laborers.

Our laborers, given the same education and approach accorded to their Japanese counterparts outperform even the Japanese miracle. Our laborers are of such high intellect and quality. Underlying the success is the worker-employer harmony. There is a sense of working as a family.”

Reminding that he had seen this sort of solidarity back in the 2001 crisis, the TOBB President said that the syndicates had greeted them warmly.

“Birds fly with their flocks,” said Hisarcıklıoğlu and went on, “That is why I congratulate all of my worker brothers who have brought Termikel to where it stands today with the sweat of their brow and efforts.

You will see, tomorrow, the efficiency of this factory will increase immensely! Because the way to success is through common sense, which now lies at the heart of this endeavor. The boss who says, ‘I know best!’ is the one who will lose, as will the worker who says the same thing. Because together, we possess more knowledge than we do individually. This new approach will bring the Termikel family great fortune.

- Today, every employee is a potential employer

Stating that today, every employee is a potential employer, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “9 out of every 10 Domino’s Pizza shops in the USA are owned by former delivery or kitchen staff. That is the kind of time this is. Equality of opportunity. You need only do your job well, know it well and do it smartly. And work hard… There is no success without hard work, I am the President of TOBB and I work 16 hours a day.

Work hard, learn your job well and do it well. Hopefully there will emerge from among you entrepreneurs like those of the Kaya family. Those with big dreams and goals can achieve this. I put great importance on entrepreneurship. If a thousand of my brothers here become entrepreneurs, Turkey will be the richer for it.”

- The source of prosperity

Stating that the source of prosperity in Turkey is entrepreneurship, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “I travel all over Anatolia, over 365,000km a year. I encounter many of my brothers and they tell me ‘We have the enterprising spirit but not the funds’. The single most important requirement for entrepreneurship is to have a new idea. Facebook was created by a 19 year old youth. The only capital he had was 1 computer. If you do something everyone needs in a new way, that is revolutionary and you can change the world with it.”

- Enterprising spirit

Hisarcıklıoğlu, stating that they learned about entrepreneurship and that, after 1980 along with foreign expansion, they discovered together that they had a great enterprising spirit.

Saying that Turkey has become a country which exports a total sum of 130 billion Dollars each year in comparison to the 3 billion Dollars it used to, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on, “92% of this is industrial goods. The country which used to export 300 million Dollars’ worth of industrial goods has come to export over 100 billion Dollars’ worth of industrial goods. 15% of that is high tech goods. We have come to the point where we are exporting high tech goods to the world.

This is the point where we have come to since my grandmother’s rattling washing machine: One of every three home appliances used in Europe are Turkish products. This is a great success story. This was written by people who did not know the way or speak the language. The ones who accomplished this are sitting in front of me today. They did it together, we did it together. And we will continue to do so.”

- “Turkish workers are more qualified than any other workers in the world”

Stating that they plan to be among the top 10 economies of the world in 2023, Hisarcıklıoğlu said in closing, “I believe in the workers and laborers of this country. I think that we will achieve our goals easily while working together. Turkish workers are more qualified than any other workers in the world. They can do everything better. Our entrepreneurs will catch up to any entrepreneur in the world and surpass them. We have always kept our ships afloat in the most turbulent seas together and today we will bring it into the most beautiful port we’ve found. We have the crew, the captain and the destination. I wish you all the best in this great journey, god speed. May Allah aid you all in your endeavors.”

Afterwards, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu presented Termikel workers with their awards and toured the factory. Hisarcıklıoğlu also toured the art gallery inside OIZ.

Also attending the ceremony was Ankara Chamber of Industry Board President Nurettin Özdebir.
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