“We need to mobilize two universities and sports”
Volkan Özön, Owner of Özön Aluminum, which adds value to our city and our country with its services such as aluminum products manufacturing and assembly services, and composite exterior cladding, emphasized that two universities and sports should be mobilized in order to add more value to our city.
We had a pleasant interview with Volkan Özön, the Owner of ÖzönAluminium, which has been serving our city and country for years in the Sanayi District. Volkan Özön, the owner of ÖzönAlüminyum, which has become a company that adds value to Kocaeli and Turkey with its services such as aluminum products manufacturing and assembly services, and composite exterior cladding, has announced its targets in the sector. Listing the advantages and disadvantages of the sector, Özön also stated what needs to be done to revive the economy of Kocaeli.
Can we get to know you first? Who is Volkan Özon?
I was born in 1978 in İzmit. Primary, secondary and high school in Izmit; I went to university in Istanbul. I am married and have two children. We do business in the aluminum industry. We are trying to add value to İzmit.
I ENTERED AS PART TIME
How did you enter this industry? How many years have you been serving in the industry?
I entered this sector by working part time in Istanbul during my university years. I have been in this industry since 95-96 years. We worked elsewhere for a while. We have been doing our own business for a long time.
CAN FIND 70-80
How many people work in your company?
We have an average of 40 employees. 7-8 of them are technical staff consisting of our architects and accountants. We have as many manufacturers, we have twice as many assembly members. Of course, we increase the number of our workers from time to time. Our summer season starts like March-April and ends like September-October. After all, we are the side arm of the construction industry. When the construction industry accelerates, our business also accelerates. Because of this, sometimes the number of employees goes up to 70-80.
OUR MAIN TARGET IS ABROAD
Do you have any new goals?
Like every company owner, we have a goal. Our first goal is to become a brand in Kocaeli. How far we have come, we do not know. Our second biggest goal is to do business abroad. We have started to lay the groundwork for this. We do business in many cities such as Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Bursa, Sakarya, Yozgat within the country. Our main target is abroad. What will this mean for us? For one thing, it will be an economic support for the country rather than us. Apart from added value and employment, we will try to provide a foreign currency inflow to the country. We will bring the money that is not in Turkey into the country. At the moment, it may be Romania or Bulgaria first.
A SECTOR IN NEED
How do the economic crises we experience from time to time affect you?
There are three sectors affected by the crisis: textile, automobile and construction. We are also a branch of the construction industry. Since our work is based on visuals, we are affected very quickly. For example; You may not buy a luxury phone, but you have to buy bread. Our business is not bread. It may be a need, but we can describe it as a superior need. Our alternatives related to this are as follows: We try to enter more individual customers and close the contraction in the market from there. Does it close completely? At least, it creates good things for us in order to provide only doner and not to harm.
QUALIFIED STAFF AND VISA PROBLEM
Every industry has advantages and disadvantages. What are these in your industry?
We have a hard time finding qualified personnel. This is our biggest disadvantage. We also have difficulties in finding qualified personnel, and in raising personnel from below. Vocational high schools are very important in this regard. But vocational high schools have a certain situation. Families no longer send their children to vocational high schools. It's not as popular as it used to be. Of course, like every family, everyone wants their child to be an engineer, but someone has to be a master. That's why we have a hard time finding qualified personnel. We have a hard time keeping the staff we trained. We are currently paying fees that are not paid by many companies. But it does not grow from the bottom up. As an alternative to this, we are renewing the machine parks. We mostly think about what we can do without people, but of course, no work can be done without people. Apart from that, we encounter great difficulties while going abroad. Sometimes we also have to go abroad. We still have visa problems. Many medium-sized companies like me are trying to get a visa. Now that has gotten very difficult. They give in limited time. This prevents us from entering and exiting abroad. The way for companies that want to expand abroad needs to be opened up a little. When we look at it as an advantage, we have a price advantage. Our production is going faster because our machine park is good. Our technical staff is very good. We work solution oriented. We deliver a hassle-free job.
OUR MAIN PROFESSION
Have you thought about entering a different industry?
Actually, yes, we have different sectors in mind, but we wanted to act on this sector because it is our main profession.
WE MUST MOVE TWO UNIVERSITIES AND SPORTS
As a businessman, what would you like to change in Izmit?
There is a lot missing in Izmit. For example, Kocaeli
We had a pleasant interview with Volkan Özön, the Owner of ÖzönAluminium, which has been serving our city and country for years in the Sanayi District. Volkan Özön, the owner of ÖzönAlüminyum, which has become a company that adds value to Kocaeli and Turkey with its services such as aluminum products manufacturing and assembly services, and composite exterior cladding, has announced its targets in the sector. Listing the advantages and disadvantages of the sector, Özön also stated what needs to be done to revive the economy of Kocaeli.
Can we get to know you first? Who is Volkan Özon?
I was born in 1978 in İzmit. Primary, secondary and high school in Izmit; I went to university in Istanbul. I am married and have two children. We do business in the aluminum industry. We are trying to add value to İzmit.
I ENTERED AS PART TIME
How did you enter this industry? How many years have you been serving in the industry?
I entered this sector by working part time in Istanbul during my university years. I have been in this industry since 95-96 years. We worked elsewhere for a while. We have been doing our own business for a long time.
CAN FIND 70-80
How many people work in your company?
We have an average of 40 employees. 7-8 of them are technical staff consisting of our architects and accountants. We have as many manufacturers, we have twice as many assembly members. Of course, we increase the number of our workers from time to time. Our summer season starts like March-April and ends like September-October. After all, we are the side arm of the construction industry. When the construction industry accelerates, our business also accelerates. Because of this, sometimes the number of employees goes up to 70-80.
OUR MAIN TARGET IS ABROAD
Do you have any new goals?
Like every company owner, we have a goal. Our first goal is to become a brand in Kocaeli. How far we have come, we do not know. Our second biggest goal is to do business abroad. We have started to lay the groundwork for this. We do business in many cities such as Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Bursa, Sakarya, Yozgat within the country. Our main target is abroad. What will this mean for us? For one thing, it will be an economic support for the country rather than us. Apart from added value and employment, we will try to provide a foreign currency inflow to the country. We will bring the money that is not in Turkey into the country. At the moment, it may be Romania or Bulgaria first.
A SECTOR IN NEED
How do the economic crises we experience from time to time affect you?
There are three sectors affected by the crisis: textile, automobile and construction. We are also a branch of the construction industry. Since our work is based on visuals, we are affected very quickly. For example; You may not buy a luxury phone, but you have to buy bread. Our business is not bread. It may be a need, but we can describe it as a superior need. Our alternatives related to this are as follows: We try to enter more individual customers and close the contraction in the market from there. Does it close completely? At least, it creates good things for us in order to provide only doner and not to harm.
QUALIFIED STAFF AND VISA PROBLEM
Every industry has advantages and disadvantages. What are these in your industry?
We have a hard time finding qualified personnel. This is our biggest disadvantage. We also have difficulties in finding qualified personnel, and in raising personnel from below. Vocational high schools are very important in this regard. But vocational high schools have a certain situation. Families no longer send their children to vocational high schools. It's not as popular as it used to be. Of course, like every family, everyone wants their child to be an engineer, but someone has to be a master. That's why we have a hard time finding qualified personnel. We have a hard time keeping the staff we trained. We are currently paying fees that are not paid by many companies. But it does not grow from the bottom up. As an alternative to this, we are renewing the machine parks. We mostly think about what we can do without people, but of course, no work can be done without people. Apart from that, we encounter great difficulties while going abroad. Sometimes we also have to go abroad. We still have visa problems. Many medium-sized companies like me are trying to get a visa. Now that has gotten very difficult. They give in limited time. This prevents us from entering and exiting abroad. The way for companies that want to expand abroad needs to be opened up a little. When we look at it as an advantage, we have a price advantage. Our production is going faster because our machine park is good. Our technical staff is very good. We work solution oriented. We deliver a hassle-free job.
OUR MAIN PROFESSION
Have you thought about entering a different industry?
Actually, yes, we have different sectors in mind, but we wanted to act on this sector because it is our main profession.
WE MUST MOVE TWO UNIVERSITIES AND SPORTS
As a businessman, what would you like to change in Izmit?
There is a lot missing in Izmit. For example, Kocaeli
