İsmail Erzurumluoğlu began making model vehicles for his grandchildren in Efeler, Aydın four years ago. But what started out as a hobby has morphed into an exporting business and established model gallery.
His craft attracted international attention after his children shared pictures of the vehicles on the Internet. Today, the 63-year-old retiree receives orders for the model trucks and buses from cities all around Turkey and the world.
Erzurumluoğlu spoke with Anadolu Agency about his pride in being a businessman, as well as the difficulties in meeting the sudden demand for his models. While trying to fulfill orders within Turkey, he founded a 400 square meter workshop in the local wholesale food market. Today he responds to orders to help contribute to the household budget and has enlarged his studio to meet demands.
He added that the models are attracting a great deal of attention abroad, "First we received an order from Romania for 30 buses, now we are receiving orders for models from the UK, Germany, Afghanistan and many other countries of the world."
However, it can be difficult to meet such demands, "We need help at the workshop," he said, "but no one sees us seriously. They do not see it as a sector. But our goal is to bring Turkey to a level that will compete with Europe and China."
Erzurumluoğlu has turned part of his workshop into a model car gallery that is open to the public.
