YEAR 1968, Konya... Seyit Usta, a gasket, lining and washer manufacturer, made an important decision about İsmail Acar, who worked for him:
- İsmail, from now on we are partners.
This decision laid the foundations of Yıldız Pul Otomotiv, which today produces 11 thousand kinds of parts for heavy commercial vehicles under the “Vaden” brand in Konya.
İsmail Acar became a company as his business grew, adopting the name “Yıldız Injector and Record Stamps” at the first stage. While initially producing in a workshop-sized area, the company started mass production in 1990 in a 1000 square meter area in Konsan Industrial Zone.
İsmail Acar never separated Seyit Usta from his side while expanding the business, cherished him and chose to work together. He also named his eldest son after his master:
- Seyit Acar...
Seyit Acar started working for his father during his middle school years. He did not continue his education as he quickly became busy with work. His brother Sedat Acar, born in 1980, also graduated from secondary school and joined Yıldız Pul Otomotiv. Semih Acar, born in 1985, started working during his student years, but graduated from a 2-year vocational high school.
When we went to the city for the “2nd Industrial Green Transformation and Sustainability Summit” organized by the Konya Chamber of Industry in cooperation with EKONOMİ Newspaper, we visited Yıldız Pul Otomotiv under the guidance of our representative İbrahim Çiçekçi and toured the facilities.
Seyit Acar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yıldız Pul Otomotiv, and Semih Acar, Vice Chairman, told Şeref Oğuz, Didem Eryar Ünlü, Handan Sema Ceylan and me about the company's journey from 1968 to the present day in their rather large production facility in Konya OSB.
Seyit Acar went back 20 years:
- 20 years ago, we were producing with 13 people in our facility in Selçuklu. Our turnover was 238 thousand Euros...
He stated that they moved to Konya OSB in early 2023:
- When we came here, our turnover had reached 86 million Euros. We closed the year with a turnover of over 100 million Euros.
He recalled that they took their first steps into the fair in 2006 in Istanbul:
- “Compressor gaskets were in high demand, followed by sheet metal parts and washers.
He noted that they decided on “Vaden” while looking for a brand name that was catchy and easy for foreigners to say:
- We invested 2 million dollars in our brand...
He stated that they attach importance to R&D:
- We allocate 3 percent of our turnover to R&D. For 10 years, we have been benefiting from R&D supports. For 4 years, we have been within the scope of Turquality brand support.
We asked the investment cost of the current facility and he shared it:
- We spent 45 million Euros on the first part. The second part will cost 55 million Euros. Over time, we will increase to 4 factories on an area of 350 thousand square meters.
During the conversation, he returned to a problem they experienced on October 31, 2019:
- On October 31, 2019, we experienced a “hacker” attack. We could not produce for a week. We invested 2 million dollars in IT, 300 thousand of which was security.
At this point, he took an interesting approach:
- “I give the hacker his due.” With his attack, he showed us that we were on the edge of the cliff.
He complained about the IT manager at the time:
- I don't do justice to our IT officer at the time, and we parted ways with him after that incident.
As we left the Yıldız Pul Otomotiv facilities, Şeref Oğuz and I shared the same impression:
The dynamism of entrepreneurs and the production power achieved in industry are enough to overcome any crisis...
EXPORT REVENUE PER KILO 20-25 DOLLARS
Seyit Acar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of YILDIZ Pul Otomotiv, stated that they have brands registered in 4 classes in 145 countries:
- 80 percent of our turnover is exports. We have been among the “Top 1000 Exporters” for 5 years. Our exports, which were 54 million dollars in 2022, reached 70 million dollars in 2023.
We asked about export revenues per kilogram, and he answered:
- We have an export revenue per kilo of around 20-25 dollars.
He stated that “valve steel” and “rubber-coated sheet metal” stand out among their imports:
- We import raw materials worth 10 dollars. We process it and export 100 dollars.
He underlined this point:
- We make 2 percent of Konya's exports.
SOLAR ENERGY PAYS FOR ITS INVESTMENT IN 24 MONTHS
YILDIZ Pul Otomotiv Chairman Seyit Acar stated that there is a 6.5 MW solar power plant (SPP) on the roof of the facilities:
- We spent 3.2 million dollars on the SPP. It paid for itself in 24 months...
He then added:
- We don't need energy from outside. We can meet it all by ourselves. We are also preparing to increase our rooftop SPP installed capacity to 15 MW.
Semih Acar, Vice Chairman of the Board of Yıldız Pul Otomotiv, intervened:
- We also take care to protect our water in the facility. Rainwater is collected through separate channels.
WE DO NOT TAKE ANY REFUGEES, WE TRANSPORT PERSONNEL FROM 100 KILOMETERS
Seyit Acar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of YILDIZ Pul Otomotiv, recalled that when he returned from military service in 1995, 3 people were working in their workshop at that time:
- Our goal is to reach employment of 2-3 thousand people.
He emphasized that they do not employ any refugees in the factory:
- We transport personnel from the districts. We have personnel coming from 100 kilometers away.
When the subject of personnel came up, he shared his plans for training:
- A vocational high school will be built on the campus of Yıldız Pul Otomotiv.
