Turkish Standards Institute and Şişecam Group Join Forces

Şişecam and TSE sign landmark strategic cooperation agreement

A protocol concerning strategic cooperation between Şişecam Group, one of Turkey's oldest establishments, and the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), the national standardization and conformity assessment body, was signed at a ceremony held in Istanbul. TSE President Sebahittin Korkmaz stated in his speech at the ceremony that as an institution, they have taken an important step together with Şişecam Group to strengthen Turkey's quality infrastructure, increase information sharing among industrial establishments and develop cooperation in technical fields. "As part of the cooperation, Şişecam's active participation in standardization activities will mean that the requests and demands of our country's glass industry will be properly addressed at international standardization organizations," he said. Şişecam Group Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of the Board Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman pointed out that they have achieved a first with their comprehensive cooperation with TSE, which plays a key role in Turkish industry's international competitiveness, saying, "In the sectors where we operate, particularly glass, we are combining our strengths with TSE in a wide range of areas from determining standards to inspecting our production processes in 13 countries including Turkey.

As a Group that laid the foundation of the glass industry in our country and has a voice in the world, we believe this strategic cooperation will guide all market players towards branding and standards-compliant production, thereby further raising quality," he said.

A protocol concerning strategic cooperation between the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), the national standardization and conformity assessment body, and Şişecam Group, a global player in all major glass sectors such as flat glass, glassware, glass packaging and glass fiber, as well as in soda and chromium compounds, was signed at a ceremony held at Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus. TSE President Sebahittin Korkmaz stated in his speech at the signing ceremony that they have taken an important step together with Şişecam Group to strengthen Turkey's quality infrastructure, increase information sharing among industrial establishments and develop cooperation in technical fields. Korkmaz said: "Our Institution, which has provided services in the fields of standardization and conformity assessment for 62 years in our country, is the key to Turkish business world producing high-quality goods at lower cost, continuing R&D activities, playing an active role in the creation of international standards, and providing products and services in compliance with these standards. So far, we have worked in close cooperation with our industrialists, particularly in the automotive sector, as well as in construction, chemicals, machinery and many other sectors. We believe it is of great importance for efficiency and effectiveness to link these efforts to a roadmap as we have done in the protocol signed with Şişecam, and we invite other businesses operating in our various sectors to cooperate with TSE," he said.

Glass industry demands will find international recognition

Korkmaz stated that standardization, which is TSE's primary mission, is foremost among the cooperation topics they will carry out with Şişecam, and continued as follows: "TSE is the sole representative in our country of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). TSE has been a full member of ISO since 1955, IEC since 1956, and CEN and CENELEC since 2012. Thanks to these memberships, TSE can participate through Mirror Committees in Technical Committees, Subcommittees and working groups established within these organizations to conduct standard-setting work. Our country's industrialists, academics and all interested parties can participate in Mirror Committee work and have the opportunity to shape standards in accordance with national interests while they are still in draft form. Şişecam's active participation in standardization activities as part of the cooperation will mean that the requests and demands of our country's glass industry are properly addressed at international standardization organizations. " Within the framework of the protocol, in addition to standardization, Korkmaz noted that they will take steps to develop cooperation with Şişecam in conformity assessment, certification, inspection and surveillance, testing and calibration, determine common working areas, create work programs and implement them. "Another cooperation area of importance to our Institution is the organization of training programs. We aim to implement training programs in areas within our Institution's scope of activities and in fields agreed upon by the parties," he said.