A first in Turkey from the industry-university-public partnership model

The Composite Technologies Center of Excellence is a first in Turkey from the industry-university-public partnership model. The Composite Technologies Center of Excellence opens with an investment of TL 100 million.

Sabancı HOLDING BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR AND SABANCI UNIVERSITY FOUNDING BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR GÜLER SABANCI: "TURKEY DESERVES THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, UNCLUDING DEMOCRACY. ... THE COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGIES CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IS A BREAKTROUGH AND EXEMPLARY MODEL FOR TURKEY"

The Composite Technologies Center of Excellence, under development in Istanbul Teknopark since December 2014 with the partnership of Kordsa Global and Sabancı University, was opened with a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Science Industry and Technology Dr. Faruk Özlü, Minister of Development Lütfi Elvan, Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Ahmet Arslan and Minister of Defense Fikri Işık.

The Composite Technologies Center of Excellence is the product of TL 100 million of investment, and will operate in the field of high-technology composite materials that have been spearheading a transformation in many industries from automotive to aviation. Sabancı University faculty members and students will work with Kordsa Global manufacturing engineers on the research and production aspects of composites - the technology of the future.

Kordsa Global and Sabancı University aim to draw on the power of synergy in research and production to become Turkey's next high technology hub. The Center will become one of the few test centers of the world and a leading composite manufacturer in Europe. 

The Composite Technologies Center of Excellence will consist of 15,000 m2 of indoor space and 3,350 m2 of laboratories, allowing for a wide range of services from fundamental research to the production of prototypes and semiproducts. The Center is expected to add even more value to Turkey with composite materials that will transform all industries that the Center serves. The Composite Technologies Center of Excellence has the best-equipped composite laboratories and production facilities in Turkey and will take on additional tasks such as graduate education in composite material technologies, fundamental research, applied research, product development, incubation services, semiproduct manufacturing, prototype part manufacturing, and commercialization. The Center will gather PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty members, incubation companies, researchers, manufacturing engineers and technicians under one roof.    

Speaking in the opening ceremony, Sabancı Holding Board of Directors Chair and Sabancı University Founding Board of Directors Chair Güler Sabancı said the following about the Composite Technologies Center of Excellence:
"Today we are proud to inaugurating the Composite Technologies Center of Excellence, a Kordsa Global and Sabancı University joint initiative.
I would like to thank you all for being with us here today. First and foremost, I would like to wish eternal peace on those who lost their lives during the heinous attempt onJuly 15, and a speedy recovery to all injured citizens. I would also like to wish eternal peace to the victims of terrorist attacks this week.
In the night of July 15th, Turkey ran into its greatest democracy challenge so far, and came victorious with the committed leadership of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the government, the support of the press and opposition parties, and most importantly, the unshakeable willing of our people.

In the night of July 15th, Turkey ran into its greatest democracy challenge so far, and came victorious with the committed leadership of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the government, the support of the press and opposition parties, and most importantly, the unshakeable willing of our people.     

This was followed by a first in Turkish history: on August 7, people from across the political spectrum united in heart to level a field for social agreement. We believe that we will need to maintain our unity in order to protect this platform and build a better, stronger democracy atop it. Statements of our Prime Minister reinforce our belief.

As the Sabancı group, we have been working for over 90 years with firm conviction that our country and our people always deserve the best of everything. We strive to be our best and achieve global standards in everything we do. We know that our Prime Minister is confident of this. We believe that our people deserve the most advanced democracy as well.

We think that Turkey just seized a great opportunity to establish rule of law, human rights, equality and freedoms once and for all, and to take decisive steps towards reinforcing the culture of coexisting in our differences.

They call us 'Turkey's Sabancı'!

So we recognize this responsibility with over 60 thousand employees and directors. Going forward, we will continue to focus on and dedicate ourselves to what we know best –efficient production, growth and investment– to help the economic and social development of our country, economic and social being the keywords here.

We are all aware that we need to aim for high-value areas of business if we are to achieve our 2023 objectives. One requirement is more effective and efficient partnerships between the industry, universities and the public sector.

The industry-university-public partnership is almost mandatory. We find this development positive. It is with such dedication that we inaugurate a first and an exemplary model in Turkey: the Composite Technologies Center of Excellence.

As Kordsa Global and Sabancı University, we took this bold step towards a new beginning with the courage you have given us.
We set out on a new path that will lead to Turkey making a difference in advanced technologies and even become a global player, competing in the top league.
This is not an investment for today; rather, it is an investment into the next two or three decades of Turkey. All of this has been possible because we have always believed in

Turkey, and we still do.

Today, we are commissioning an investment of TL 100 million. We want this to be only the beginning!

We are convinced that this center, with the added value it will generate and the example it will present, will net returns to our universities, businesses and country that are far beyond its initial investment cost.

Mr. Prime Minister,

Esteemed Guests,

The trust we have in the future of our country motivated and encouraged us to make this investment. At the heart of this trust is the clear priority and tangible support given to research and new technologies recently.

The support given by the government, the Ministry of Development, Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, Ministry of Economy, Undersecretariat of the Defence Industry, TÜBİTAK and all other authorities to innovation and entrepreneurship spur us forward.  

I must repeat that we need to regain the speed we have lost. The government has been increasing its support in innovation over the last decade.

Most recently, the positive changes to R&D and investment legislation last month provide an incentive for the development of innovation-based industry in Turkey.

We owe thanks to our Prime Minister, esteemed Ministers as well as all other institutions that contributed to this change and people who have played a part in it. We must remember that the groundwork needed to make great products is provided by technology parks. Today, we are in Teknopark Istanbul.

The main partners of Teknopark are the Undersecretariat of the Defense Industry and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, and the facility focuses on the aviation, defense and maritime industries.  This is why we have chosen to be here.  The contribution of TAI-TUSAŞ proved to be of outstanding value for this partnership.  I believe that our productive cooperation with TAI-TUSAŞ and all other institutions will continue into the future. Kordsa Global is a company that understands the wants and needs of its customers perfectly, offers leading brands, technologies and products in reinforcement, and creates value out of high technology. Specifically, Kordsa Global was the "champion" among all industries in the R&D Center Performance Assessment by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology last year. It was number one in the Innovation Strategy category of the TIM Inovalig assessment, it is in the top 10 in the Turkish patent league, and has over 50 million dollars of sales in new products.  

Sabancı University is also our pride with its innovative and entrepreneurial approach, a foundational philosophy of "common reason", and being home to many firsts in Turkey.

It is ever so strong in its pioneering role.  These two pioneering institutions now create a new model to empower the future of Turkey. Different cultures, namely students, researchers, faculty members, entrepreneurs and engineers, will work together in the same ecosystem, understand their issues better, and reach more effective solutions faster by leveraging the common reason. Our President Nihat Berker, the Sabancı University faculty and my colleagues in Kordsa Global have a lot of work and great responsibilities ahead of them. This is also a responsibility for Sabancı - that of being in the lead.

This new model will be an example and encouragement to all. It must succeed and bring forth wave after wave of successful results. The Composite Technologies Center of Excellence will be the vanguard of industry-university partnership in Turkey and will produce one successful project after another to carry Turkey towards its 2023 objectives.
In a few weeks, we will be happy to announce the beginning of a great project in this Center, made possible with the great contributions of the Ministry of Development and Sabancı University.  Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to thank you on behalf of not only the owners of this project, Sabancı University and Kordsa Global, but also of the Sabancı Group as a whole, and everyone else working diligently to help Turkey to reach its 2023 objectives, and of all our universities for being here and giving us your valuable support. Esteemed ministers, undersecretaries and bureaucrats: We are grateful for all that you have done. I would also like to thank my colleagues, faculty members and everyone else in Kordsa Global and Sabancı University for their dedicated efforts to make this center a reality.

I hope that this hub of advanced technology provides a boost to Turkey on the international arena and propels us to better days in the future.

About Sabancı University

The Sabancı Group decided to establish a "global university" under the leadership of the Sabancı Foundation in 1994, and designed a new and unique model. Sabancı University started education 1999, bringing a fresh look to higher education in Turkey as the first "university without departments" in the country. Sabancı University fosters a culture of participation, respect for differences and freedom, and uses an innovative and interdisciplinary teaching system that is sensitive to the needs of all stakeholders to generate and disseminate original and breakthrough knowledge, ultimately becoming an international point of reference in research and education.

About Kordsa Global

Kordsa Global is a global player in the tire, composite and structure reinforcement technologies market. The company is the world leader in the tire reinforcement technologies market. Kordsa Global has production facilities across the world from the US to Taiwan, supplying the globe with its reinforcement technologies. The company holds 290 patents worldwide. R&D and innovation are at the heart of how Kordsa Global views work. It is through this perspective that the company was affirmed as the Leader in Innovation with a number of awards in 2015. Also known as "The Reinforcer", Kordsa Global was chosen "Innovation Strategy Champion" in the Improve InovaLig Awards given by the Exporters' Assembly of Turkey in 2015, and received the "Best R&D Center" award among all industries by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology in 2014.