ASAŞ, the only Turkish aluminum company producing for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), is setting up a production and logistics facility in Neuwied, Germany. ASAŞ will build a 600-unit housing project in Neuwied in collaboration with Tabanlıoğlu Architecture, according to a report by Hürriyet published on Saturday.
ASAŞ is an industrial company producing aluminum profiles, aluminum panels, composite panels and aluminum flat products on an area of 800,000 square meters in Akyazı, Sakarya. Having made a difference in its field with its investments in research and development, ASAŞ exports 47% of its production to Western countries, particularly the U.S., crowning its activities in the region with an investment in Germany last year. At the request of the local municipality in Neuwied, ASAŞ will also realize a 600-unit housing project in the region.
Explaining that ASAŞ was a family-owned company established in 1990 by three cousins, ASAŞ CEO Derya Hatiboğlu said the family has a business history of 150 years. "When one of the cousins saw the gap in the aluminum field, they decided to make an investment and established ASAŞ," he said. "They started a company from scratch and became a pioneer in the field with products that supplement each other."
Recalling that he previously worked in the U.S. and Belgium as a professional manager, Hatiboğlu said his path crossed with ASAŞ through the family. "ASAŞ is a leading company in its field, working with different distributors and manufacturing for different sectors such as the automotive industry, construction, and packaging. It is a major supplier of foreign companies, making 75% of its production in the industry," he added.
Elaborating on value-added production in the field, Hatiboğlu said their export was about $3,000 per ton, corresponding to $3 per kilogram, stressing they were striving to focus on value-added areas. Hatiboğlu said North America and Germany took the lead in exports, indicating that the use of aluminum in Europe was 25 kilograms per person, while this figure was around 10 kg to 11 kg in Turkey.
He further stressed that as part of the Shift to Rail program supported by the European Union, they received a grant from the EU with the Mat4Rail project for the first time in Turkey. "We are working on innovative exit door design. We have international patent applications," he continued. "ASAŞ has also been manufacturing products for rail systems for more than 15 years. We are Turkey's first aluminum producer with an IRIS certification. ASAŞ also supports the development of the axial corrugated heat pipe used in the cooling of electronic circuits in satellites as part of aerospace studies in Turkey. It is the first and only producer in the country."
Hatiboğlu noted that they were the approved manufacturer of Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier, Caf and Hyundai Rotem in rail systems. "Up to now, we have exported more than 1,000 tram sets with five to seven cars per set. Trams produced from ASAŞ profiles continue to be used in Paris, Lyon, Nice, Tours, Dijon, Sidi Bel Abbès, Casablanca, Dubai, etc.," he said.
Touching on the company's new investment in Germany, Hatiboğlu said they purchased an area of 880,000 square meters with a closed area of 70,000 square meters in Neuwied. "From there, we will be able to provide direct services to Central and Western European countries," he said. "It is a very important region for us in terms of logistics. The municipality of Neuwied asked us to do a 600-unit housing project where we bought the land." He also added that even though it was not their field of activity, the area was in a complete transformation, highlighting that the project carried out in collaboration with Tabanoğlu Architecture would be architecturally striking as well.
Hatiboğlu also explained ASAŞ's activities within CERN. "ASAŞ, which won two tenders as part of a project carried out by the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the first and only Turkish company of CERN in the aluminum sector," he said. "ASAŞ manufactures specially-designed aluminum pipes to be used in the lines between radio frequency coaxial cable sets and power amplifiers in the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), the second largest accelerator of CERN.
Aluminum panels to be used as part of the Imaging Cosmic and Rare Underground Signal (ICARUS) project conducted by CERN were also produced and delivered to CERN by ASAŞ."
