Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Stars of Kayseri Award Ceremony, where 36 awards were presented to 27 Kayseri-based companies in the ISO 500 and TIM Top 1000 Exporters lists, was hosted by Ömer Gülsoy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kayseri Chamber of Commerce, Recep Bağlamış, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kayseri Commodity Exchange, and Mehmet Büyüksimitçi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kayseri Chamber of Industry and TOBB Board Member. In addition to TOBB President M. Rİfat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Kayseri Governor Gökmen Çiçek, Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Memduh Büyükkılıç and AK Party Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitaş were also present at the ceremony.

In his speech at the ceremony, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that Kayseri is the role model and source of inspiration for the entire geography and said, “Approximately 4,000 industrial products are manufactured in Türkiye. 904 of these are produced in Kayseri. And Kayseri ranks in the top 3 in Türkiye in the production capacity of 208 products. We have made a name for ourselves not only in industry, but also in education and tourism. We have become a brand in winter and cultural tourism as well as gastronomy tourism. In short, Kayseri is a true brand city with its land, people and economy. And we have achieved all this with the labor and efforts of our own entrepreneurs and philanthropists from Kayseri.”

- The power of countries and cities is entrepreneurs

Hisarcıklıoğlu congratulated all the companies that received awards and said: “Everyone should know the value of our companies. Because now the source of the power of countries and even cities is their entrepreneurs. If your entrepreneur is strong, your country will be strong and your city will be strong. Therefore, I see you as the apple of Kayseri's and Türkiye's eye and the pride of Kayseri's business world. The architects of this organization also deserve special praise. I congratulate our Kayseri Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Industry and Commodity Exchange for their unity and solidarity. I would like to thank our Presidents Mr. Ömer Gülsoy, Mr. Recep Bağlamış and Mr. Mehmet Büyüksimitçi for their exemplary attitude. When we join hands, work together, consultation and common sense prevail, there is nothing we cannot achieve. As long as we do not marginalize each other. Let's not exclude anyone as the other. I believe Kayseri will reach much better levels in the future.”

Referring to the creation of a Central Anatolian Production Basin, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that there is a need to both reduce density and accelerate urban transformation in the Marmara region due to the earthquake risk.