Our first host in Konya was Genel Değirmen Makine (GDM). We had a pleasing conversation about the industry with Mehmet Nuri Özşahin, the Deputy General Manager of Genel Değirmen Makine. Özşahin, a young businessman, has a substantial level of knowledge and experience about the sector and technical processes and we can say that he has a wise head on young shoulders. After all, he is the son of Mehmet Özşahin and he was also an apprentice of his father who is the founder of a company that manufactured the first air rollers in Turkey. When you speak to Mehmet Nuri Özşahin you can easily realize his strong character which is the driving factor for his company’s cautious but robust and steady growth.
The company is manufacturing complete turnkey plants and machinery at its 16-thousand-square-meter plant in Konya Organized Industrial Zone. The company does not have an aggressive growth perspective but it chooses to go forward step by step with high-quality tailor-made projects that are customized to meet the specific need of its customers.
Mehmet Nuri Özşahin allowed us to see his manufacturing plant. More than 100 personnel are working in the plant which is operated by the industry 4.0 technology. Furthermore, they have recently installed solar panels on the top of the plant and started to use green energy.
GDM Deputy General Manager Özşahin also underlines the importance of specialization when talking about the need for qualified technicians for the sector: “I always bring forward this issue in sector-wide meetings. All companies try to perform all aspects. But it will be a wise approach if one of us specializes on rollers, the other on aspiration and so on... As a result, each firm will be the best in its very specialized area and Turkish milling machine manufacturers become a global brand. We can grow as a whole sector. We can have a competitive advantage. But unfortunately, I could not achieve to convince them.”
Mehmet Nuri Özşahin is a fan of the Miller Magazine. He has archived nearly all issues of the publication. One of those issues contains another interview with him which was done many years ago. Ozşahin makes us proud with his kind words about the magazine: “I have been a follower of Miller Magazine for many years. I was very young when I started to work in this sector and I have been following and archiving the magazine since then.”