Logitrans Istanbul has opened for the 10th edition, with attendance remaining strong despite recent problems in Turkey and the region.
The show opened at 13.00h on 16 November with welcome note speeches by Messe Muenchen member of the management board, Gerhard Gerritzen, and EKO MMI managing director, Ilker Altun, who spoke about the importance of logistics and of having a tradeshow to bring companies together.
Gerritzen says: “I am proud to announce this is the 10th edition of Logitrans, and the sixth organised by this joint venture. It is always a fruitful show, giving visitors the chance to meet top companies.”
Altun adds though there were some cancellations, attendance has remained strong and he believes Logitrans is the most important show for the Eurasian region.
He says: “It’s no secret that the situation in the region is tense. MMI considers the Turkish market to be an interesting one and once all the difficulties are solved things will pick up again. Irrespective of circumstances Turkey remains a logistics hub of the region.”
German government minister, Dr Gerhard Schulz joined them, speaking of the importance of logistics in Turkey, and the trade between Germany and Turkey. He says Germany is the largest foreign investor in Turkey, and says: “There are difficult times in Germany but this is a great opportunity to improve relationships. Germany and Turkey have close economic relations.”
After this, a panel session took place discussing Turkey’s international supply chain and potential for the future. The session was moderated by BVL International chairman of the executive board, Dr Thomas Wimmer, who was joined by International Transporters’ Association president of the executive board, Fatih Sener, Association of the International Forwarding and Logistics Service Providers president, Turgut Erkeskin, Advantages Austria head, Georg Karabaczek, and German-Turkish chamber of industry and comment secretary general, Jan Nother.
Erkeskin says Turkey has a number of large infrastructure projects including the new Istanbul airport. He says: “There are so many great projects such as the airport construction, it will be a huge facility, one of largest in airport. There is also huge investment in rail, road and ports, transport has great opportunities.”
Karabaczek says it is impossible to do logistics in the region without Austria, and was a neighbour during the days of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. He says: “The business community see Turkey as an important market. Austrian companies invest in Turkey more than in Scandinavia or France or China.”
