Wednesday, 11 May 2005 | Levent OZLER
Building Trends Take a Turkish Turn
Leading Turkish Ceramics company to showcase exclusive new Ottoman collection to capitalize on burgeoning Mid East projects
Top Turkish ceramics company Altin Çini has identified a growing demand for intricate Turkish and Ottoman designs in the Gulf's burgeoning commercial buildings industry and will capitalise on this by showcasing a unique new collection, at the upcoming "Made in Turkey" Exhibition.
Altin Cini, which has completed a number of projects in the region including three Royal Palaces in Oman, will launch a new range of tile designs, which has been exclusively produced for the Middle East market, during the show, taking place in Dubai in June.
Altin Çini expects to mirror this success in other large projects by targeting the regions' prestigious buildings and hotels projects with the launch of the new range.
"more and more architects and interior designers in the Middle East region are showing an interest in incorporating the traditional, colourful and intricate style designs that is synonymous with Turkey's rich cultural history and we are now listening to that demand and reproducing these designs in modern products suitable for commercial and large scale structures," said Sabit Acar, general manager of Altin Çini.
"Having successfully incorporated our designs into the Oman and Salalah Palace Libraries and the Nizwa Qasr, we are now keen to expand our business in the Middle East, especially through links with more up-market projects and the thriving hotel industry".
"Saudi Arabia is already an important market to us and we are currently in the final stages of signing an agreement with a Bahraini company. We hope this activity marks the start of bigger and better mutually beneficial relationships in the region."
Altin Cini 2
The ceramic tiles based on a 17th century Ottoman design have been specially created for the 'Made in Turkey' exhibition taking place from 4-6 June at Dubai's International Convention Centre. Organised by Expotim International Fair Organizations Inc., a Turkish events management company, the expo provides the first opportunity for Altin Çini to showcase its latest collection to new customers in the Gulf.
Dubai's re-export capabilities make it the perfect location in which to promote high quality Turkish goods which have enjoyed overwhelming success on home soil. The ceramics industry for example has a 99 percent share of the domestic market.
"Turkey's ceramic exports are worth over 800 million USD, making us the 3rd biggest player in this field in the world," said Acar.
Authorised and licensed by the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade, 'Made in Turkey' is the Turkish Government's first official trade fair aimed at generating business for the country's construction, fashion and machinery sectors. The exhibition attracted a record 150 participants from the outset, a figure which has now increased to 245.
Both the UAE and Turkey have spoken out about efforts to build on trade relations between the two sides, praising the 'Made in Turkey' exhibition in particular.
"It will provide the opportunity for Turkish companies to present their high quality, reasonably priced products to customers in the GCC region and I expect a large amount of contracts to be signed between the two sides," said Harun Kocak, Turkey's commercial attaché to the UAE.
Based in Istanbul, Turkey Expotim has been authorised and licensed by the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade of Turkish Prime Ministry to organise exhibitions abroad.
|
