TürkTraktör Makes a New Investment in Erenler Factory
TürkTraktör, the long-established manufacturer in the Turkish automotive industry, continues its investments in the Erenler Factory, which is the largest tractor production center in Europe. In addition to tractor production and the already existing cabin assembly production, the company is commissioning a cabin skeleton production facility, one of the main components of tractors, with an investment of approximately EUR 29 million.
Koç Holding Automotive Group President and TürkTraktör Board Member Haydar Yenigün stated that TürkTraktör, which celebrates its 70th anniversary, is taking steps to further enhance its world-class production quality. Yenigün said, “As the most established manufacturer in the Turkish automotive industry, TürkTraktör continues to grow in line with its heritage and the future vision of Koç Group. Alongside the technological advancements required by the modern era, the company also sustains its investments in domestic production. I believe that the new cabin skeleton facility will further strengthen TürkTraktör’s production capabilities.”
TürkTraktör Company Leader Matthieu Séjourné stated that the Erenler Factory, which opened 10 years ago, has made significant progress since then. Séjourné said, "The year 2024, marking TürkTraktör family’s 70th anniversary, is also a significant milestone for our Erenler Factory. Operating with approximately 900 employees, including the field and office staff, Erenler is Europe's largest tractor production center in many aspects, including production capacity, technological infrastructure, energy resources and sustainability. It stands out among the competition with its diverse tractor production, which ranges from 48HP to 170 HP."
Séjourné stated, “We will continue to accelerate our efforts to reduce energy consumption in line with our sustainability goals in 2025. We are achieving significant savings in our operations in line with our sustainability criteria.”We achieved a 15% improvement last year by continuously reducing our energy consumption per product with the ISO 50001 energy management system. The rooftop solar power plant commissioned in 2023 now meets 52% of our electricity needs with solar energy. This has resulted in a 58% reduction in electricity consumption in 2024. Our natural gas consumption has decreased by 13%.
Stating that they continue to invest in the factory, which is a first in the sector with its eight-robot paint shop, Séjourné said, "We produced the 5,000th cabin this year on our cabin assembly line, which started operations in Erenler two years ago, and we continue to strengthen our infrastructure for cabin welding, paint shop and cataphoresis processes. In this regard, we are preparing to commission a new cabin skeleton production facility, which will feature robotic welding and robotic paint shop processes, with an investment of approximately EUR 29 million by the end of the first quarter of 2025. The new 8,000 m² welding, cataphoresis, and paint shop facility will enable us to produce cabin skeletons in-house. This will allow us to incorporate welding into our production operations for the first time, thereby enhancing our production capabilities
Regarding the new facility’s technological infrastructure, Séjourné said, “We continue to advance our operations toward Industry 4.0 by using image processing and artificial intelligence technologies. This enables us to achieve high quality in our production processes and products while gaining flexibility to meet customer demands." By utilizing AMR robots in the cabin assembly line, we have successfully implemented a flexible and non-stop AMR assembly line, which is a first in its field in Türkiye. We will achieve even higher standards of quality through 100 percent robotic control on the highly automated, 12-robot welding line. The cabin skeletons transported by AGV from the welding workshop will be coated on the newly establishes, fully automated cataphoresis line and delivered to the assembly line after reaching Class V paint standard through 100 percent robotic powder coating.”
18 Years of Uninterrupted Market Leadership
Emphasizing that they continue to be the driving force in the industry in terms of production, exports, and R&D, Séjourné said, "We have been maintaining our leader position in the Turkish tractor market for 18 consecutive years, as we strive to prepare agriculture and cities for the future. In the first ten months of this year, we accounted for 61% of Turkey's tractor production and 77% of its exports. During this time, we produced 37,781 tractors, sold 26,929 tractors to the domestic market, and reached 11,500 units in exports. Our New Holland brand ranks first in the market, and our premium brand, Case IH, ranks second. As we approach the end of the year, we believe that we will conclude our 70th anniversary by maintaining our leadership position.”
