TIM President Gülle: ‘‘We have produced for our export until today, now we produce for our health’’
Turkey Exporters Assembly (TIM) began production mobilization along with the 61 exporters’ unions in order to support Turkey’s endeavor against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Turkey Exporters Assembly aims to meet the protective mask and disinfectant needs of the entire population, and particularly health care workers, through national and domestic production. Within the framework of the production operations that started with the following slogan; ‘‘We have produced for our exports until today. Now we are going to produce for our health,’’ 1 million protective medical masks and 100 thousand liters of disinfectant will be produced.
TIM President Ismail Gülle expressed the following statements regarding the situation: ‘‘As the Turkey Exporters Assembly, we are launching national and domestic ‘Production Mobilization’ campaign together with many major ready-to-wear garment, chemistry, and textile companies in order to overcome the supply shortage presently experienced in protective medical masks and disinfectants for the needs of our health care workers, and we rotate the manufacturing gears for our nation. Our target is to start with the production of 1 million protective medical masks per day and reach the capacity of 40 million masks per month.’’
Turkey Exporters Assembly (TIM), being the unique umbrella organization in Turkey for 61 exporters union scattered through 27 industries with their 90 thousand exporting companies, initiated a production mobilization campaign with the slogan; ‘‘We have produced for our exports until today. Now we are going to produce for our health,’’ in order to support Turkey’s endeavor against the Coronavirus pandemic. Within the scope of this production mobilization, which is aimed to prevent the high prices in protective medical masks and disinfectants and production under the counter after the first Coronavirus case in our country; 1 million protective medical masks and 100 thousand liters of disinfectant will be produced and delivered to the Ministry of Health.
TIM President İsmail Gülle, Istanbul Clothing and Apparel Exporters Union (İHKİB) President Mustafa Gültepe, Istanbul Chemical Materials and Products Exporters Association (İKMİB) President Adil Pelister, Istanbul Textile, and Raw Materials Exporters Association (İTHİB) President Ahmet Öksüz informed the public regarding the initiated production mobilization.
‘‘We will produce 1 million masks per day in 100 facilities’’
Istanbul Clothing and Apparel Exporters Union (İHKİB) President Mustafa Gültepe declared the following statements regarding the situation: ‘‘Mr. Mustafa Varank Bey, Minister of Industry and Technology, suggested the protective medical mask production to LC Waikiki to balance the market when prices went significantly up with the rapid increase in demand for protective medical masks. As LC Waikiki and TAHA Group, we decided to produce 3 million masks at the first stage and donate to the Ministry of Health. Through the motivation of this understanding, we decided to launch the campaign to manufacture protective medical masks under the leadership of Turkey Exporters Assembly. We declared mobilization in the production of protective medical masks needed by our physicians and all healthcare workers working day and night at all costs in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. Very quickly, we organized nearly 100 facilities around the country. As the sector, we will create a mask production capacity of 1 million pieces within a week. Our physicians and our people should never worry about the manufacturing of protective medical masks. We will be able to further increase the capacity according to the course of the pandemic and the need.’’
‘‘We will overcome these difficult days altogether’’
Istanbul Textile, and Raw Materials Exporters Association (İTHİB) President Ahmet Öksüz stated the following statements regarding the situation: ‘‘As the textile and raw materials sector, we fulfill all the responsibilities that we undertake in the course of this pandemic. Our companies proceed with their production 7 days and 24 hours without interruption in the manufacturing of protective medical masks, gloves and protective clothing, which are among the strategic product groups that our country needs most in combating the pandemic. We do not have an import dependency on the raw materials that our protective mask manufacturer companies may need. In this context, we mobilize all our capabilities for easy access by our companies to raw materials in the country. Our companies currently have a monthly mask production capacity of about 40 million pieces. We wholeheartedly support the measures taken by our ministries against firms engaged in stocking in this sensitive duration. In case of need, we can transform all our textile companies to protective medical mask and protective garment production facilities. We will overcome these difficult days altogether.’’
‘‘We will support up to 6 million Turkish liras for those companies which produce products such as disinfectants, masks, and gloves.’’
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said that ‘‘We will support up to 6 million Turkish liras through KOSGEB for those companies which produce products such as disinfectants, masks, and gloves. 4 million 200 thousand Turkish liras of this support will be soft loans.’’
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank announced the 3-pack protection package that will shield Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) against the new type of Corona virus.
Varank, indicating that they would support up to 6 million Turkish liras through KOSGEB for those companies which produce products such as disinfectants, masks, and gloves, further emphasized the following: ‘‘We will postpone debts owed to KOSGEB for three months. We will provide KOSGEB projects an additional 4 months duration.’’
Minister Varank said the following regarding the protection package offered to SMEs:
‘‘We added new products to our product range within the scope of the ‘TEKNOYATIRIM Support Program’ of KOSGEB. Our enterprises that produce products such as disinfectant, protective clothing, protective glasses, protective medical masks, and gloves through domestic facilities will be able to benefit from KOSGEB’s TEKNOYATIRIM Support Program. They will be able to take advantage of this program until the public announcement that the risk of the pandemic is eliminated.’’