"Common Sense Meetings" Held at BALOSB

The 21st "Joint Wisdom Meeting" organized by Turkishtime and Halkbank in organized industrial zones was held at Balıkesir Organized Industrial Zone (BALOSB). At the meeting moderated by journalist Şeref Oğuz, industrialists from Balıkesir and the potential, challenges and necessary measures for BALOSB were discussed. The Joint Wisdom Meeting was attended by: Şeref Oğuz (Turkishtime Meeting Moderator), Mehmet Volkan Sayım Halkbank SME Marketing Department Head, Hasan Ali Eğinlioğlu (BALOSB Board Member / Eğinlioğlu Group Board Member), Alper Akça (İşbir Elektrik R&D Manager), Barış Sağlam (Milano Ağaç Kaplama Board Member), Ferudun Çelik (Fer-Çelik Ambalaj Board Member), Gökhan Ünlü (Dericioğulları Yapı Malzemeleri General Manager), Gürsel Ötegengil (İşbir Sentetik Dokuma General Manager Deputy), Hüseyin Bekki (Beksan Çivi Tel Makine Board Member), Hüseyin Finiş (Tınaz Tarım ve San. Mak. Board Member), Kaan İhsan Sarıbekir (Sarıbekir Ambalaj Executive Board Chairman), Sami Ünal (Kalekim Kimyevi Maddeler Balıkesir Operations Manager), Selçuk Savaş (Savaşlar Tesisat Board Member), Sinan Yırcalı (Balıkesir Elektromekanik Board Vice Chairman), Yasin Çakar (Ekosinerji Elek. Ür. General Manager), Yılmaz Sarıhan (Anar Metal Board Member), Mehmet Ali Aşuk (Industry and Technology Provincial Manager), Gökhan Sümer (Halkbank Balıkesir Regional Coordinator), Mesut Eray (BALOSB Regional Manager), Koray Urgun (Balıkesir 2nd Industrial Zone Manager) and Filiz Özkan (Turkishtime Board Member). Balıkesir, located in the center of the Aegean and Marmara regions, which are the locomotive of Turkey's economy and trade, has been positively affected by public transportation investments, particularly in recent times, and investor interest in the city has increased accordingly. The Istanbul-İzmir highway and the 1915 Çanakkale Strait Bridge projects have made Balıkesir the most important city in the Marmara commercial network.

99% of BALOSB's current 570-hectare area is used by participating companies, and there are no vacant plots at this stage. For this reason, expansion studies have been initiated at Balıkesir Industrial Zone.

Following the expansion process, 776 hectares of new land will be added to the existing 570-hectare area, bringing the zone's total size to 1,346 hectares. Thus, sufficient industrial space will be created for new participants planning to establish production at BALOSB due to industrial saturation and higher investment costs in surrounding provinces such as Gebze, Kocaeli and Bursa. Upon completion of the process, total employment in the industrial zone will rise to approximately 30,000 people. The expansion of Balıkesir Industrial Zone will also affect all industrialists in the Marmara and Aegean regions and the workforce living in these areas. BALOSB, with its substation facility of 162.5 MVA capacity, continues to provide uninterrupted and secure energy, while serving its participants with its wastewater treatment facility with 3,300 m³/day capacity. Considering new factories coming to the expansion areas, the design for a new treatment facility with 10,000 m³/day capacity has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Technology. A Vocational and Technical Education Center has been established to meet the skilled personnel needs of factories in the zone. With its five workshops and five classrooms, the center will meet the workshop needs of BALOSB Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School students and serve as a Professional Competence and Certification Center. A children's daycare facility with 75-student capacity, established as part of corporate social responsibility, prioritizes admission of children of female personnel working at the industrial zone.