GEMOLOGY LABORATORY AND SETTING HOUSE OPENED

Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank inaugurated the Gemology Laboratory and Setting House, which will determine the classification and setting of gold and similar jewelry, and the Design and 3D Modeling Center, which will ensure branding in this field.

The opening of the facilities within the framework of the Competitive Sectors Program carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Technology within the framework of the financial cooperation between Turkey and the European Union was held with the participation of the Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank and the Head of the European Union Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut.

THE DYNAMO OF PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT

In his speech at the opening of the Gemology Laboratory and Adjustment House in Kahramanmaraş, Minister Varank stated that the city has an exceptional place in their hearts with its history, culture, industry and potential. Stating that they bring together these ancient lands with investments that will be the dynamo of production and employment, as they do in every corner of the country, Varank reminded that they opened a group of 105 works in the city on the occasion of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit in September last year.

10 THOUSAND EMPLOYMENTS

Varank stated that one of them is Kahramanmaraş Altınşehir Jewelery Specialized Industrial Site, which was established with the support of its ministries, and continued as follows:

"With this project, we have increased the competitiveness of our companies, which are trying to produce with insufficient opportunities, by improving their production conditions. The industrial site, which currently employs 6 thousand people, will be able to offer 8 thousand, even 10 thousand people the opportunity to work under one roof when it operates at full capacity. We aim to act together, share experience and achieve efficiency in production in this industrial site, which is one of the production centers, which we have established with a clustering understanding.In addition, by offering internship opportunities to students studying at universities, vocational high schools and vocational high schools, we will train qualified workforce here. "We conduct consultations with you in order to accurately determine the potential of each of our cities with the understanding of regional development. Then, as a ministry, we develop and implement projects that will activate this potential, using national and international resources."

GOLD AND JEWELRY MANUFACTURING

Stating that Kahramanmaraş has great knowledge and experience in gold and jewelery manufacturing, Varank said that the city ranks second after Istanbul in terms of its contribution to employment and processing capacity in this field. Stating that they saw the need for two things to make this experience of the industry even more competitive, Varank said, "The first is keeping up with technological developments and the other is being able to produce final products that meet international standards. For this, we rolled up our sleeves as the ministry. First, it will create global value for our city and then for our country. "We have completed another investment that will contribute to building a gold and jewelry manufacturing ecosystem. We are at your presence on the occasion of the opening of Altınşehir Jewelery Specialized Industrial Site Gemology Laboratory and Adjustment House, which will be a very valuable actor in terms of the ecosystem." said.

LAST YEAR, WE PRODUCED 39 TONS OF GOLD

Minister Varank stated that there are two countries that have regularly increased their market share in the world jewelry market for 10 years, one of them is Turkey and the other is China.

"Jewelry culture, which has been a part of the civilizations in the Anatolian geography for centuries, also has a very important place in our country's economy. Turkey is one of the five largest markets in the world in terms of size, along with India, China, the USA and Russia. Thanks to the investments we have made, we are today a manufacturer and exporter. We can compete with China, India and Italy in Turkey. We know that our country ranks 12th in the world in terms of proven gold reserves. However, despite this potential, there is almost no direct gold production in this country until the 2000s. Despite the pandemic last year, our country has 39 "We produced tons of gold. So now we started to use our mines. Our jewelry exports exceeded $6.8 billion. When we add the inward processing regime and free zones to this, the figure reaches 11 billion dollars. Of course, the main task here is the processing of the extracted mineral and its conversion into a value-added final product." We, as the Ministry of Industry and Technology, We had set out to make Kahramanmaraş a leading center in the world in the manufacture and export of gold and jewellery. Therefore, we did not just set up an industrial site and leave it."

GOLD AND JEWELRY CENTER

Stating that design is the most important stage in the product life cycle in the jewelry industry, Varank stated that they established a "Design and 3D Modeling Center" within the body of Sütçü İmam University in Kahramanmaraş with the support of the Development Agency, and later on "Kahramanmaraş" within the scope of the Competitive Sectors Program, which they financed with the European Union. Gold and Jewelery MerPointing out that they have provided approximately 3.5 million Euros of support for this project, which was developed in cooperation with the Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Jewelers, Sütçü İmam University, Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Eastern Mediterranean Development Agency, Varank said, "With this project, the existing Design and 3D Modeling Center We developed the machinery, equipment, computer and software infrastructure and turned it into a design center with advanced technology design capability. Thanks to the project, we have brought technologies to our city that will enable us to make original designs and turn these designs into final products. Now, our companies will be able to produce models of their own designs in a much shorter time, in a much different variety, with less cost and more safely."

WE WILL INCREASE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF COMPANIES

Stating that the Gemology Laboratory and Adjustment House, which they opened today, will be a new ring that creates value for the jewelery ecosystem they are trying to develop, Varank said:

"Gold and jewelery valuation services will be provided with precision, accredited and high-tech instruments in the gemology laboratory. Thus, we will increase the competitiveness of companies by ensuring that precious stones can be certified according to international norms. Now, all kinds of transactions related to gold and precious stones can be done in Kahramanmaraş. Qualification and certification services will be provided. "Our SMEs, who have to procure from abroad, will save both time and money. In the adjustment house, control will be ensured from the beginning to the end of the production processes, low-adjusted products will be prevented from being released to the market, and possible customer grievances will be prevented in this sense. Our citizens will now know." If I buy gold from Kahramanmaraş, and if I buy jewellery, I can trust this product and believe that the setting is perfect.' Of course, the completion of this project does not mean that our work is finished. We are aware that maintaining these established structures is at least as important as carrying out the project. Therefore, it is extremely important that the projects we support are not idle, and even their success continues. Our beneficiaries have important responsibilities in this regard. Project stakeholders I believe that they will fulfill these responsibilities.”

WE ARE AMONG EUROPE'S MOST INVESTMENT COUNTRIES

Minister Varank emphasized that on the one hand, they are supporting entrepreneurship, on the other hand, they are mobilizing all opportunities for the domestic and national production of critical technologies and, in parallel, for the digital transformation of the industry:

"The continent without Turkish entrepreneurs, the market where Turkish products do not enter is almost gone. On the other hand, we are among the countries that receive the most investment in Europe with direct investments to our country. We will continue on our way with determination with our new economy model that we have built on investment, production, employment and export. At this point, Of course, it is of great importance that all our cities contribute to the country's economy at the maximum rate. Hopefully, Kahramanmaraş will be one of the cities that have a say in the production and export of gold and jewelry. The only integrated facility in the world. Now I would like to share with you a good news that will reinforce these initiatives. We have recently launched the Producing Cities Program through development agencies to further support our cities in areas where they can be competitive. As a ministry, we have decided to support the Gold Recovery Facility project application made to our agency by our Chamber of Jewelers. Hopefully, we plan to complete this facility by the end of the year. Thus, we will bring another innovation to the gold and jewelery production ecosystem in Kahramanmaraş. Good luck."