One of Turkey's leading defense contractors is seeing increasing overseas and domestic orders. With this renewed interest, Nurol Makina is looking for more domestic partners to produce various pieces of equipment for its armored vehicles.

Nurol Makina officials had bilateral talks with 40 companies, which are members of the Defense and Aviation Cluster (OSSA) of the Middle East Industry and Trade Center (OSTİM).

OSSA has been operating since 2008 to increase the share of domestic production in supplying the needs of the defense and aerospace sectors. It also has small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in these industries to be competitive in the international market.

Particularly in the fields of defense and homeland security, Nurol Makina continues its domestic and overseas activities and plays an important role in meeting the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the General Directorate of Security.

As the number of 4x4 armored combat vehicles in the security forces' inventory increases, the number of countries preferring the company's vehicles, such as the Ejder Yalçın, Yörük and Ejder TOMA, is on the rise as well.

The share of exports to Africa, Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries in Nurol Makina's turnover has increased 11-fold since 2012, standing at 75 percent last year.

Nurol Makina Planning and Supply Manager Tüzün Süsveren told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the vehicles they produce are in high demand at home and abroad, pointing out that the performance of armored vehicles has paved the way for new orders.

"Our teams are returning with a new order from almost every test they take part in. We believe that we must support the domestic industry to meet this demand," Süsveren said.

The Turkish defense industry has gone through a profound transformation over the last 16 years to domestically manufacture a series of military platforms, reaching up to 65 percent in domestic defense products as opposed to just 20 percent in early 2000. Turkish defense firms also sell major land, air and marine platforms to foreign militaries.

"Turkey's dependency on imported military hardware has been reduced from 80 percent to some 35 percent over the last 16 years," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had previously said.

Moreover, as a result of accelerating efforts, the defense industry's exports recorded a 17 percent rise compared to 2017 and surpassed the target of $2 billion last year, hitting a record high level of $2.04 billion.

The U.S. was the top export market for the aviation and defense industry sectors with $726.7 million, up 5 percent from a year earlier. It was followed by Germany with exports worth $226.1 million, an 8 percent increase compared to 2017.

Suggesting that they need to find new suppliers for their new projects, especially in the second half of this year, he said they need new companies to do electrical, electronics, cabling, dashboard, cutting, twisting, welding and painting work in this regard.

Noting that countries want to include vehicles they have ordered in their security forces inventories in a very short time, Süsveren said they need very fast suppliers to catch up with the demand and high quality is a must at the same time.

"We also monitor the vehicles we have supplied after delivery, and our after-sales teams work very effectively," he continued. "We want to minimize the after-sales workload with high quality vehicles. In terms of cost, we take orders under very competitive conditions as well. Under these conditions, we are open to all companies who can contribute in terms of quality, delivery performance and cost."

Süsveren added they are planning on giving additional work to the auxiliary industry in the coming period.