
FISRT LIFTS International Co.
ÜMİT CURA - OPERATIONS MANAGER
Dear Mr. Cura, first of all, we wish your new company to be beneficial to you and elevator industry. Could you give us brief information about the establishment stages, structuring and development process of FIRST LIFTS International Co.?
FIRST LIFTS International Co. (FLIC), headquartered in Rome, started its exporting activities in Turkey in 2021. Thanks to more than 30 years of international knowledge and experience gained by its founders in the elevator industry, it has accelerated its exporting activities in two years. FLIC has exported elevator components of Turkish origin to many countries, especially Italy and Saudi Arabia. FLIC, which started its production activities in Turkey in October 2022 by allocating a significant investment budget, started to offer employment opportunities in Turkey and succeeded in increasing its contribution to export at a high rate. In 2023, we aim to further increase our production capacity and diversity. We strive to offer products with economic and international certifications to the national and international markets that meet the needs of our suppliers and users.
What are the product range and solutions of FLIC for the elevator industry?
FLIC works with many business partner companies in the national and international markets. We keep satisfaction at the forefront by supplying the most suitable elevator products for the needs and demands of our suppliers that we export. We produce elevator pit rubber buffers with spring or non-spring, and cabin, machine and rope bottle wedges and present them to the national and international markets in our production lines that we carry out in a closed area of 1.000m2 in Konya, Türkiye. We are expanding our product range day by day in line with the demands of our suppliers. Especially in Turkey, we are one of the few companies that can produce the elevator pit buffers with spring. In line with the demands of our suppliers, we started the production of elevator control panels last month. We manufacture control panels suitable for synchronous, asynchronous, single speed and double speed elevator motors in accordance with +A3 and EN81-20 standards.
Could you tell us about the features that will make the FLIC stand out in elevator industry?
FLIC is proud of being one of the few companies engaged in production activities in Turkey, exporting approximately 80% of the products. Thanks to the 30 years of international knowledge and experience we have gained in the elevator industry, we are able to provide the most appropriate technical and economical answers to the needs and demands of our suppliers. We offer solutions to our suppliers by analyzing the products produced in the international industry, the technical features of these products, the conditions under which they can be useful and in what kind of markets they can compete with the brands.
How do your business processes work with your customers? Could you inform us about your pre-sales and after-sales services?
In line with the demands of our customers, we analyze the brands, technical features, mounting and usage conditions, images and prices of the products they need. We recommend that customers choose the product that best suits their needs. FLIC closely follows the developments in elevator industry and give them detailed information about innovations and ease of use. We provide technical support with our technical team before and after sales of the products we manufacture and supply. We share the feedback we receive from our customers with our R&D team and suppliers, and we attach importance to continuous development and innovation. We provide on-site solution services at home and abroad in order to provide technical controls and technical support for my products after assembly and use.
Are there any projects in your investment plans that FLIC will implement in the near future?
FLIC is planning to increase our production area and capacity in Konya and expand our product range. In addition, our efforts to establish a production facility with an indoor area of approximately 2,000m2 in Rome are continuing. In the near future, we will continue our research and development activities without slowing down in order to realize these goals.
There is an export-oriented focus throughout the elevator industry. How do you deal with this issue as FLIC?
FLIC exports approximately 80% of our production and the products we supply from our business partners to different countries. Our goal is to reach suppliers in existing and other countries. In this context, we will participate in “Asansör Istanbul” which will be held in Istanbul in March 2023, “Lift Expo Morocco” which will be held in Morocco in May 2023, and “Interlift” which will be held in Germany in October 2023. In addition, we also plan visit programs to supplier companies in different countries. Our aim is to contribute to Turkey’s having a say in the elevator industry by promoting and selling elevator components produced in Turkey in the international market.
What kind of developments are taking place in the world elevator market? Which regions or countries is the market density shifting to? Which products are in greater demand?
The Turkish elevator industry is growing every year. This is a source of pride for us. In particular, the fact that our industry had a foreign trade surplus of approximately $150 million is a great success. However, when the values are analyzed in general, it is an important disadvantage that domestic assembly companies still prefer to import, although we have domestic production capacity or supply in elevator components and parts. Our responsibility, as manufacturers, is to produce new solutions for the needs of domestic assembly companies serving in the national market. When we consider the issue in the international elevator industry, we see that there are many elevator components and parts manufacturers in Europe and the Far East countries. I think that we should determine our tactics and strategies by considering the technical features, quality standards and costs of the products we produce and will produce. Another important problem we experience in exporting activities is that freight charges in international trade are lower than in Turkey, especially in the last year. I am of the opinion that international transportation services should address this issue and determine balancing price policies.
Finally, what would you like to say to our readers?
FLIC is deeply saddened by the earthquake disaster that occurred in 10 cities. May Allah have mercy on our deceased citizens, we express our condolences to their relatives. We wish our injured a speedy recovery. We believe that as the Turkish Nation, we will get through these difficult days together as soon as possible and heal our wounds.
We would like to thank our business partners in different countries for sharing our sorrow by calling us and conveying their regrets and offers of assistance during this process.