With the experience of four quarrying companies behind it, Turkey's Maden Yapi is well positioned to capitalise on the country's future growth. Quarrying is in abundance in Turkey as the country tries to meet demand for aggregates and even the government is offering incentives to encourage this type of work. The reason for all the activity is part of the work needed to help towards Turkey joining the EU in 2015, which calls for development of an improved infrastructure. One company well positioned to benefi
With the experience of four quarrying companies behind it, Turkey’s Maden Yapi is well positioned to capitalise on the country’s future growth
Quarrying is in abundance in Turkey as the country tries to meet demand for aggregates and even the government is offering incentives to encourage this type of work. The reason for all the activity is part of the work needed to help towards Turkey joining the EU in 2015, which calls for development of an improved infrastructure. One company well positioned to benefit from this growing demand and the expertise to deliver is Maden Yapi. The joint venture company was established in 2005 by the owners of four separate quarrying businesses, each with more than 40 years’ industry experience.
Located close to Istanbul at Gebze, Maden Yapi’s 20ha limestone quarry produces raw aggregates for concrete and asphalt plants, and has its own crushing and screening facilities. The decision to join forces meant that the consolidated companies were no longer in competition. In addition, fewer people, and less construction machinery and other equipment were required.
The streamlined fleet includes three Hitachi Zaxis excavators – a ZX500LCH, a ZX350LCH-3 and a ZX520LCH-3 to break and load rock on to dump trucks at the quarry. Hitachi was selected as the brand of choice due to co-owner Cem Surek’s previous experience with Hitachi and its Turkish dealer ENKA Pazarlama.
“The potential annual output of the quarry is 5million tonnes,” explained Surek. “This year we expect to produce between 70 and 80% of this figure. This includes graded materials, semi-raw aggregates and rock. The law in Turkey states that limestone can only be sold within a 40km radius of the quarry, and as the area is famous for its quarrying activity, but we are all fighting over the same customers.
“We need to stay one step ahead of the competition and we believe that the machinery we use can help us to achieve this objective.
The Hitachi brand has made a name for itself in Turkey over the years.
“The Zaxis excavators offer excellent durability – which is important due to the hard ground – and have helped us to increase productivity and reduce overheads. As they work in a fixed position, fuel economy is better than when we used wheel loaders solely for this purpose.”
The relationship with ENKA Pazarlama and Hitachi is also one of Maden Yapi’s main reasons for selecting Hitachi construction machinery. “We are on very good terms with Hitachi’s dealer,” said Surek. “ENKA Pazarlama’s office in Istanbul is about 15 minutes’ drive away and we know that we can rely on its team. This peace of mind means we can all sleep at night.”
Maden Yapi is now looking to develop a basalt quarry and this will more than likely mean further investment in Hitachi equipment. However, the geographical spread of the ENKA Pazarlama network means that no matter where they decide to locate next in Turkey, first-class machinery, service and support will always be available.
