Naser Alim
Chairman of Alim Grup and Honorary Council of Montenegro in Edirne
We all know the effect of exports on achieving a healthy and sustainable growth, increasing employment and increasing national income per capita. The increase in trade between Turkey and the Balkan countries, which have geographical, cultural and historical proximity, is important for peace and stability in the region.
If Turkey is a bridge between the West and the East, the Balkans is a pillar of that bridge. Transportation and energy power lines pass entirely through that corridor. The Balkans also play a very important role in the activation of the historical Silk Road, which is being revived.
We laid the foundations of ALİM Group in Istanbul in 1998 in order to contribute to increasing the trade between the Balkan countries and Turkey, when I came to Istanbul from the city of Prilep in North Macedonia to study at university in 1994. We made good use of the effective communication advantage of knowing the language and culture of the region.
Our journey, which started with the export of wood-based panels (MDF, Particle Board, Laminate Flooring, Door Surface, etc.) for the furniture and construction industry to the Balkan Countries, continued in 2010 by incorporating Boyut Plastik, which produces edge bands for the furniture industry, to become an industrialist.
Today, ALİM Group, with its 400 employees, operates in 3 different sectors with 2 companies in Turkey and has 3 companies abroad.
In the face of the pandemic, which is uncertain when it will end, fluctuating exchange rates and increasing costs, we gave importance to providing healthy cash flow, close branding of the supply chain and timely supply of raw materials. We did not reflect the supply problems of finished products to our valued customers by keeping the raw material stocks at a sufficient level and due to the lack of raw materials. We delivered our orders on time.
Despite these negative developments, our furniture sub-industry sector has come to an advantageous position in the world with the right decisions taken by our state during the pandemic period. The fact that furniture manufacturers in Europe did not work in the first 6 months of the pandemic period led to an increase in exports. The demand for furniture in the domestic market, on the other hand, caused an increase in demand above the expectations, with the sale of accumulated housing stocks at very low interest rates, the start of house moving and weddings. Companies like us, which supply semi-finished products to the sector, were naturally positively affected by this demand explosion.
We have further increased our communication with our customers during the pandemic period. We have always tried to be closer to our customers by using methods such as video calls and effective social media management. And finally, with the reopening of the fairs that were interrupted during the pandemic period, we met with our business partners again at our Intermob stands in Turkey and Sicam Expo in Italy.
With our products that respect nature, are sensitive to occupational health and safety, attach importance to the continuous development and training of their employees, and add value to furniture, we continue our work by meeting the semi-finished product supply required for the furniture industry to gain competitive advantage at the highest level.
We provided the trust, which is the raw material of our success, with our superior performance. We enlarged our targets every day and became one of the rising powers of Turkey in the sectors in which we operate.
We aim to further expand our sales geography by exporting to new and profitable markets. As a company that tries to enrich its product range with our innovative approaches, we will continue to work with the goal of becoming an "Innovative and Reliable" global global brand.
We will continue to work in the field of commercial diplomacy by taking part in several NGOs, especially DEİK, for the development of relations between Turkey and the Balkan countries, and we will continue to offer opportunities in the region to our business people.
I wish healthy days to our valuable business partners with whom we are very happy to work together during the growth and development period.
Kind Regards,
Naser ALİM
Chairman of the Board / CEO