The Türk Loydu Foundation organized the “Conformity Assessment in Industry: Türk Loydu 2030 Strategy Workshop” with the aim of creating a roadmap that will shape the future of industrial conformity assessment activities. The workshop, which was attended by executives, experts, and academics on the subject, was moderated by the Chairman of the Board, Prof. Dr. Oral Erdoğan.
The board members of the Türk Loydu Foundation and Türk Loydu UDH Inc. who spoke at the workshop contributed to the strategy process by sharing their own experiences and expertise.
Prof. Dr. Oral Erdoğan, Chairman of the Board of the Türk Loydu Foundation, emphasized that the workshop represented a historic moment for Türk Loydu and stated that, due to its foundation structure, Türk Loydu is an organization that represents the stakeholders of many sectors. Regarding the foundation structure and corporate responsibility, Erdoğan stated that the delegates of the Türk Loydu Foundation represent Turkey’s largest corporate structures, including the Chamber of Naval Architects, TOBB, IMEAK DTO, GİSBİR, TMMOB, the Insurance Association, and some engineering chambers. He emphasized that Türk Loydu is an institution of the nation and that its duties and responsibilities must be fulfilled correctly, transparently, and ethically.
Highlighting Türk Loydu’s position in the international classification community, Erdoğan stated that after its IACS membership in 2023, 110 ships switched from other classification societies to Türk Loydu in just two years. Furthermore, he mentioned the size and international standing of the Turkish maritime fleet and stated that Turkey should support its own institution more.
Regarding the industrial growth target, Erdoğan explained that Türk Loydu aims to grow its industrial activities fivefold in real terms by 2030, and if possible, up to tenfold, and also to increase the diversity of its fields of activity. He noted that some major classification societies derive more than half of their revenue from the industrial field and emphasized that Türk Loydu has serious potential in this area.
Erdoğan touched upon Türk Loydu’s railway and defense industry projects, stating that the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure wants to see Türk Loydu involved in railway projects and that Türk Loydu has recently gained significant authority in this field. Regarding defense industry projects, he conveyed that Türk Loydu works directly and is strongly integrated with the navy and shipyard structures. Erdoğan drew attention to the strategic importance of railways for the middle corridor and global freight transport and stated that Türk Loydu’s involvement in conformity assessment processes is critical for Turkey’s security and strategic objectives.
Prof. Dr. Oral Erdoğan stated that the workshop was critical for shaping the growth targets on the industrial side together and concluded his speech by expressing that everyone’s contribution is valuable.
Atilla Çiftçigüzeli, a Member of the Board of the Türk Loydu Foundation, also emphasized the importance of the workshop for participants to share their experiences and views. He referred to the experiences he gained through his board membership, which he has carried out for three terms via the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, and wished for the workshop to be productive and successful.
He pointed out that the studies are critical for shaping strategy development and industrial growth targets.
Yılmaz Onur, a member of the Turkish Lloyd Foundation Board of Directors, emphasized in his speech that, based on his two terms as a board member and his own experiences, sharing the experiences gained in the maritime and industrial sectors is of great importance for the workshop.
Hasan Tahsin Tuğrul, Member of the Board of Turkish Lloyd UDH A.Ş. and President of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry Assembly, shared his over 45 years of industrial experience with the workshop participants. He stated that evaluating Turkish Lloyd’s competencies in industrial projects is important. Tuğrul mentioned the importance of the workshop’s contributions to the strategy setting process.
Bülent Alnıaçık, Chairman of the Board of Turkish Lloyd U.D.H. A.Ş., addressed the challenges and competitive conditions in the industry and maritime fields. He emphasized that the importance given to quality creates cost and numerical challenges in some jobs, but Turkish Lloyd will not compromise its understanding of prestige and reliability. He stated that the results from the workshop will shape strategic decisions in the future.
Lütfü Savaşkan, General Manager of Turkish Lloyd UDHAŞ, emphasized the importance of the effort for Turkish Lloyd’s IACS membership, stating that progress is being made at a certain pace on the maritime side, and significant achievements are also targeted in the industrial sector in the near future.
Hasan Uğur Aykaç, Director of the Industry and Certification Sector of Turkish Lloyd UDHAŞ, also detailed the activities on the industrial side of Turkish Lloyd. He explained the conformity assessment and certification activities carried out in areas such as lifting equipment, dangerous goods transport equipment, storage tanks, and fire protection systems. Additionally, he drew attention to non-destructive testing, personnel certification, system certification, and sustainability verification activities.
Aykaç illustrated Turkish Lloyd’s role in major projects over the last five years, such as the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Sakarya Gas Field, various industrial facilities, stadium projects, and defense industry productions, with examples. He stated that the diversity of services and turnover growth on the industrial side have increased significantly.
While the industrial turnover increased 10-fold in the last five years, the growth in dollar terms was 3.13 times. In the upcoming period, it is aimed to increase service diversity and growth and to respond more effectively to the demands from the sector. He emphasized that the opinions and contributions of the participants are of critical importance in this process.
Common Mind, Strategy and Action Plan
Within the scope of the workshop, participants discussed the necessary strategies to reach the 2030 targets in tables and developed proposals. The strategies formed at each table were then evaluated with a common algorithm, and the ranking of common priorities was shared in the session held in the afternoon. At the end of the workshop, action plans for the determined strategies were created.
In a statement from Turkish Lloyd, it was said, “Within the framework of the workshops we organize with the goal of strengthening our position among international class societies and the collaborations we carry out with sector stakeholders, we extend our thanks to the public and private sector representatives and experts who contributed valuable input to this workshop.”
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