Turkey’s leading defense company Aselsan signed over $450 million (TL 3 billion) worth of export agreements in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic that hit worldwide businesses and exports, the company chairperson said Friday.
Haluk Görgün said this figure is set to further increase in the coming years once the post-pandemic normalization begins.
He was speaking at a videoconference meeting organized by the Turkish Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association’s (MÜSIAD) branch office in northwestern Bursa province.
The leading defense company head said Aselsan continues to transfer its 45 years of engineering and system skills culture to the field in the best way.
Görgün said the company had a $1.4 billion turnover in 2017, noting that this increased to $2.3 billion in 2020 with export revenues of $331 million.
The company has so far sold its products to 70 countries, he said, noting that nearly every product of Aselsan is also being used by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
Görgün also spoke on the company’s products developed for civil use, a field in which Aselsan has been boosting its efforts in recent years.
“We spare some 7% of our turnover on research and development (R&D) activities each year. When we do not have a project, we have solutions that we have developed by investing,” he said, noting that signaling systems, smart transportation systems and health systems are some of those solutions developed for civil use.
Görgün reiterated that the company has also domestically manufactured ventilators during the pandemic, equipment that was commonly needed around the world as the COVID-19 disease caused breathing problems in advanced stages of the disease, especially for the elderly.
