Hakan Oktay, General Manager of Mağdenli Transport, We Trust In Our Country, So We Continue Our Investments

“NEW TRADE HABITS WILL CONTINUE THE RISING TREND OF ROAD TRANSPORT”

“IT IS BENEFITS TO MAKE THE YYS CERTIFICATIONS OF COMPANIES MORE FUNCTIONAL TO SPEED THE GATE TRANSITS”

Evaluating the past year, Oktay states that his new plans for 2022 include both crane, tractor and trailer investments. Oktay also points out that the logistics industry has to switch to green logistics and digitalization.

Stating that Mağdenli Nakliyat was founded in 1969 by Mr. Mehmet Mağdenli, Oktay states that they have been providing services in all areas of the transportation and logistics sector for more than 50 years. Stating that they provide services on different platforms such as road, sea, rail, air, project, transit, fair transports and heavy transport, as well as insurance and agency services, handling, storage, customs clearance and crane services, Oktay said that; “We are the first transport company in Turkey to receive ISO 9002 quality certificate in 1994. We also have TS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System, TS EN ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and ISO 27001 Information Security Management System certificates. We provide both tarpaulin trucks and heavy transport services from England to Mongolia. We have a serious crane and lifting equipment park. Most of our current works are on wind turbine transports. Apart from transportation, we also carry out unloading, lifting and additionally wind turbine assembly operations with our own subsidiary Tork Check. We have approximately 250 personnel in our organization, most of our personnel have been working with us for many years. We maintain our principle of working as a family with our personnel in our company.”

“Our Preference in Heavy Transport is MAN”

Explaining the details of the vehicle parks, Oktay continued his words as follows: ““We have more than 100 vehicles in our fleet, consisting of 8x4, 6x6, 6x4, 4x2 tractors and modulated trailers that can carry loads of up to 1000 tons at once. Most of our heavy haul trucks are MAN, some are IVECO; The majority of our tarpaulin trucks for road transport are Renault and some Ford. The reason why we prefer MAN especially in heavy transport; We preferred our strongest 8x4 vehicles from the MAN brand. Since we were satisfied with both the serviceability and the quality of service, we thought it would be right for the entire fleet to be the same brand. The reason why we prefer Renault and Ford in our road vehicles is that they meet our needs in the quality price index.”

“We Have an Investment Plan Regarding Our Cranes, Tow Trucks and Trailers in 2022”

Stating that they added new crane equipment from Europe to the crane services group within the company in 2021, Oktay said: “It is now necessary to provide heavy transport and combined services in Turkey. In other words, when the person carrying and downloading or both uploading and installing is the same, you provide a faster, higher quality and sustainable service for the customer. Since you manage the whole process, you can develop and grow with the process. At this point, we mainly invested in our crane department in 2021. Within our 2022 plans, we have an investment plan for our tractors and trailers both in our crane department and in our fleet that transports to Europe. All of our trailers were Tırsan brand, and we think of our new trailers as Tırsan. Regarding our tractor trucks, we will again choose one of Renault or Ford. Looking at the conjuncture, we are considering adding another crawler crane to our crane department in 2022. However, we need to see a little more of 2022. We trust our country, so we continue our investments.”

“It Is Beneficial To Make The YYS Certifications Of Companies More Functional To Accelerate Gate Transitions”

Stating that one of the main reasons for the congestion problem they encounter in Kapıkule at the point of European transportation is the lack of additional channels, Oktay said: "Of course, in addition to this deficiency, some difficulties in the Authorized Economic Operator Certificate also cause problems at the gates. At the YYS point, there are some demands, such as having a weighbridge in the warehouse or warehouse of the company that has received the authorization certificate. Since this is not always ubiquitous, it gives us difficulties at some points. It is beneficial to make the YYS certifications of companies more functional in order to speed up the gate transitions. Apart from very large-sized logistics companies, small or medium-sized companies cannot benefit from these transactions, so there is a backlog at the border gates.”

“Europe is an Inseparable Market for Turkey”

Emphasizing that another important issue they are having trouble with is visas, Oktay mentioned that Europe is an important market for Turkey and said: “Even our personnel who have been able to obtain visas for years are not given visas for various reasons. In this regard, UND also has studies that we support. We believe that this issue will be resolved soon. Europe is an insurmountable market for Turkey. We think that maybe the Customs Union agreement should be updated again. Because the volume here has increased to 140-150 billion dollars.”

 “The Return of Heavy Transport Vehicles from the Commonwealth of Independent States is a Big Problem”

Emphasizing that another problem is the transit document, Oktay says that there is no Dozvola left in some periods, and that Kazakhstan in particular poses great difficulties at this point. There is a serious shortage of Dozvola. Another problem we see in these regions is digitalization and the lack of a common language. While your first vehicle with the same document will not have any problems, your second vehicle may be fined. Therefore, it would be beneficial for countries in those regions to integrate within themselves. It is a big problem for heavy transport vehicles to return empty, especially from the Commonwealth of Independent States countries. It is a very big market, we cannot withdraw from this market. In this direction, both UND and relevant Ministries have serious studies. There are mutually established commissions in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. From time to time, they also ask us for our opinions. At this point, we monitor that the relevant institutions and organizations are working correctly and that will pave the way for the sector.”

“The Market Share of Vehicles with Foreign Plates Increased Significantly in Turkey in 2021”

Expressing that they should minimize costs especially in countries such as Azerbaijan and Georgia, Oktay emphasizes that they cannot compete with vehicles with foreign license plates when the costs are high. Emphasizing that they are also not competitive in terms of price, Oktay said: “The vehicles coming from Uzbekistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan can enter and leave easily without paying any of the extra cost items and without any Dozvola problems. This, of course, causes some transportation and logistics companies to open branches in these regions. As long as we are the company of this country, we will carry our country's plate. However, of course, in order to balance the competition even more here, it is necessary to work quickly to reduce the extra fees received from vehicles with Turkish license plates, especially in neighboring countries. At the same time, there is a serious vehicle entry into our country from Ukraine. In Turkey, the market share of vehicles with foreign license plates increased significantly in 2021. Of course, our customers will prefer the most affordable transportation, but we expect support from our customers in areas where we will be a little higher in price.”

“New Trade Habits Will Continue the Rising Trend of Road Transport”

Pointing out that Mağdenli survived the process without being affected by the price increases in the last quarter of 2021, Oktay states that the increased freight prices in seaways due to the container crisis during the pandemic period increased the volume on the highways even more. Oktay said: “However, I do not think that this rising volume is due only to the crisis. Because there has been an increase in e-commerce at the same rate in the world and a serious distribution network has emerged as a result of e-commerce. With the pandemic, people's shopping habits have also changed. There is a very serious market. If we used to provide logistics to three points, now we have to provide it to 23 points. There is a serious demand here. This crisis will certainly be resolved in the sea routes, but I do not think that it will return to the old point again. Because I think there will be an increasing demand in road trade as shopping habits change. There are small nuances related to the new emission standards at the green agreement and Paris Climate Agreement that will affect this demand.” is in its assessment.

“Logistics Industry Has to Switch to Green Logistics and Digitalization”

Emphasizing that the logistics industry has to switch to green logistics and digitalization, Oktay states that both the investments and the industry have to adapt to this with the way of doing business and working models. Oktay continues his words as follows: “We also have to adapt to this situation. In the first place, we took a step by taking the energy needs of our own facilities from the solar power plants that we built with our own investment, at least using the resources in renewable energy systems for the expenses of our fixed areas. Our second step was to expand our vehicle fleet, which transports especially to Europe, with vehicles close to the new emission standards. Considering the requirements of the age, we have a new ERP software made by our company. In this software, we are working on systems that will ensure the efficiency of our operations, while reducing our carbon footprint and tracking our vehicles. Therefore, we are doing our best to be among the first companies to realize this adaptation.”

“We are assertive in Intermodal Transportation”

Talking about the fact that they have been working together for many years and they have railway, maritime and airline agencies, Oktay states that they are assertive in intermodal transportation with their 50 years of experience. Oktay said: “Besides this, we also have IATA and FIATA memberships. We believe that we are among the first companies to provide the best service in Turkey in terms of transportation, since we have been serving not only in tarpaulin truck transportation but also in all operations, in all areas of transportation services for 50 years. At this point, we have worked with both Turkish and foreign investors on the biggest projects in Turkey from past to present. Mağdenli also has a contribution in all the projects that we can describe as 'Turkey's signature'. In particular, intermodal transport will become a key. Because if you want to reduce the current emission values ??by around 90 percent, many modes such as green port, green logistics, electric vehicles and increasing the carrying capacity of rail systems must be combined. Since the world is moving in this direction, it is necessary to adapt to it; but we have already adapted to it for years.”

“We Trust Our Country, Our Industry and Our Drivers”

Mentioning that the logistics industry has gained momentum and that there are very high quality departments and educators newly opened in universities in terms of white collar and technical personnel in the industry, Oktay finally said that; “It is clear that there are efforts to improve and direct the policies of our state in this way. Turkey is a hub point. We stand in the middle of a geography where the world is actually the most consumed and demanded. If you put Turkey in the center and draw a thousand-meter circle around it, the largest cities in the world in Europe, North Africa and West Asia remain inside the circle. Therefore, we are at a point where we can reach anywhere. Today, as Turkey bases its growth strategy on exports, the ratio of logistics will increase even more. The diversification of exporters in Turkey also means the growth of the logistics sector. This growth in a healthy and controlled way; In order to achieve technology, digitalization, environmental awareness, sustainability and quality, the contributions, guidance and leadership of industry representatives and industry associations are of great importance. It will also be beneficial to increase female employment in the sector.”