02 Şubat 2021,KIRIKER METAL ELEVATOR, Elevator Vizyon Magazine, All What You Are Looking For is On This Site

KIRIKER METAL ELEVATOR

Mustafa Kırıker, Chairman of the Board of Kırıker Metal Elevator, by saying that as Kırıker Metal Elevator, they currently export to around 30 countries with their DOORLIFE and LIFTOR brands and that their products are used in around 60 countries with dealer sales at home and abroad, he stated that, ‘‘With the impact of the pandemic, we had the opportunity to find new markets for ourselves in some countries. Especially, we are working on the South American and Indian market. We target a sustainable success at these locations.  We want to compete with the quality of Turkish products, not with price’’. 

Mr. Kırıker, could you give information about your export activities for 2020?
As Kırıker Metal Elevator, we are exporting to around 30 countries with the DOORLIFE and LIFTOR brands, and our products are used in around 60 countries with our dealer sales at home and abroad. Our company, which started 2020 with a rapid export momentum, inevitably started to decline with the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed more impact in the world in March 2020. With the closure of the borders of the countries in March and April, the breakdown of the supply chain and the deterioration of the world economy, we, as a company, had to suspend some of our exports. With the opening of other countries' borders in exports in June, we have gained momentum again. With the impact of the pandemic, we had the opportunity to find new markets for ourselves in some countries. Especially, we are working on the South American and Indian market. We aim for a sustainable success in these geographies. We want to compete with the price but with the quality of Turkish products. We supported our machine park with a machinery investment of around 3 million TL in order to increase our production and quality with new markets. As a company, we aim to represent our country in the best way through our products at any location, by investing more in R&D investments and producing high quality products that shall meet customer needs.

As a company that has been operating in the sector for many years, what have you determined for a sustainable export policy for 2021?
As Kırıker Metal Elevator, we think that it is more sustainable to work on a country-based dealership with quality products and after-sales service support at the point of sustainable export. And we take our steps accordingly. In the meantime, taking joint steps with the partner we work with in the country and standing behind that dealer at the technical service point by sending products on time is sustainable for both the customer and the company. We have been working with dealers with whom we cooperate with this policy for a long time. Thus, we can provide a healthier service to the end user, both at the price point and at the point of reaching the material.

Which regions or countries is the market density shifting? Which products are in more demand?
As the export market, we sell products mainly to the Middle East and North Africa markets. However, we have recently focused on the Balkans and South American countries. As Kırıker Metal Elevator, our principle is to sell only the products we manufacture. We have been producing semi-automatic and kramer doors under DOORLIFE brand since 2003 and automatic doors under the brand of LIFTOR since 2017, and we only sell these products. Our most demanded product is our semi-automatic and kramer doors, which have been in the sector for a long time. LIFTOR automatic door, which we started to produce in 2017, also started to take a strong position in the market and according to our forecasts  as LIFTOR brand producing automatic doors, we shall get to a much better position in the market in 2021.

When you assess your company data for this year compared to the same period of the previous year, what are your 2021 export forecasts?
Compared to the last year, our exports improved by around 25 percent despite the pandemic.

We think that in 2021, the exports shall increase due to the rise in the exchange rate, the competitive exchange rates and not stopping production by the strong Turkish industry during the pandemic. As Kırıker Metal Elevator, our goal is to increase the share of exports by 50 percent in all sales in 2021 and to diversify the location of the markets.

What can you specify as the main developments and events affecting our sector that you consider important in terms of the elevator sector in 2020?
The most important event of 2020 is the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the Covid-19 pandemic negatively affected production and sales in the second quarter of the year, European buyers turned their direction to our country by breaking some of the stereotyped habits due to the problems in production in Europe. For this reason, we observed both an increase in export demand from different countries in the third quarter. Especially in the Middle East market, some brand habits were broken during this period. Another important event for the sector was the revitalization of the construction sector with the support of our government through the housing loans due to the pandemic.

Revitalization in construction industry reflected positively on our industry.