The market for used equipment is booming which can be seen at the occasion of the USETEC, the world’s largest fair dedicated to used machinery that takes place every year in Cologne. During the 2014 edition, a country distinguished itself both in terms of exhibitors and vistors. Indeed, Turkey seems to be the next country to watch as it is gaining ground, but also a lot of customers.
An attractive market
Turkey is a country which not only shows a stable inflation rate for already 10 years, but also in the process of economic restructuring.Turkey stands firm resisting to the economic fluctuations in Europe and does not hesitate launching promotion programs for the industry, including 18 points of concentration that were recently announced. For sellers of used machinery, Turkey represents an undeniable opportunity as the demand for used equipment steadily increases. Turkish companies have also shown a growth of between 5 % and 10 % in 2013, since the industrial machinery industry experiences steady growth of 20% for 10 years. The country, being himself producer of machinery still imports more than it builts with a budget for the import corresponding to 24.5 billion dollars for 2013. Consequently, Turkey has become one of the best partners of Germany in terms of machinery trade. The two countries already have very strong historical and sociological bound, therefore this cooperation was already mapped out , especially due to the mixing of cultures that has followed the call for Turkish labor force from Germany, which at the time did not have enough skilled labor. Moreover, German machinery dealers and other resellers have a thorough knowledge of the specific business processes and Turkish standards which are essential to carry out the transactions.
Specific conditions to be respected
Indeed, there are some things to know before entering the Turkish machinery market. At first, you should know that the EU and Turkey have a common customs agreement that took effect in 1996 and allows the country to exchange products with Europe on an equal level. However, the export of used industrial machinery to Turkey has been regulated since 2011, as well as the export of many products considered second hand. Indeed, there are three customs tariff codes that involve different regulations, and for instance for used equipment or modified for maritime and aviation sectors that require an authorization from the secretary of state or from the management general import. There is also a list of industrial equipment which are allowed to be imported, which should be over the age of 10 years and meet compliance requirements for each type of product. However, coordination with Europe has not yet allowed the CE marking to be admissible by the Turkish government, thus a certificate of compliance will often be required, since there is nearly 90 Turkish technical standards comparable with international standards such as ISO , CEN , ISE , CENELEC , and ETSI. Another issue is the relationship with the customer: to carry out a transaction with a Turkish client, he should be treated as a 1st class client and a potential friend, which means Turkish rather expect a close and loyal relationship built over the long term than a basic partnership. Therefore, we noticed that the Turkish companies reply to only 10% of applications received from unknown companies. Good contacts are therefore essential to do business with Turkish companies.
Used machinery trade with Turkey should therefore keep on increasing, not only with Germany but also with all member countries of the EU, since potential was clearly noticed and is an harbinger of forthcoming sustainable economic relations.
