World giant Boycelik continues to grow more in springs and wires

One of the most leading names in Europe, Boycelik excels in production of springs and wires for the mattress industry.

Located in Kayseri, Turkey, Boycelik is one of the affiliated companies of Boydak Holding, one of the leading industry conglomerates of Turkey. As one of the main suppliers of mattress and furniture manufacturers of Europe, Boycelik has been supporting the industry with its quality products and services. Operating on a covered area of 112,000 square meters of which 62 thousand part is covered, Boycelik has been producing steel wire, springs, and round and rectangular tubes by 450 personnel employed in its two establishments. To discover the success story of the company, Sleep Well editors asked various questions to Mr. Feridun Tosun, Chief Sales and Marketing Executive of Boycelik.

Could you brief us about yourself?

Feridun Tosun was born in Elazig/ Turkey in 1979. I graduated from Erciyes University, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences in 2005 and have been continuing my MBA (Master of Business Administration) in Meliksah University. I have been working as a sales & marketing manager for 7 years for Boycelik Company that is one of the affiliated companies of Boydak Holding.

Could you furnish us with general information about your company?

After 55 years of production and experience as a department of Boydak Group, Boycelik was officially formed as a stand-alone company in 2006 upon reaching a substantial capacity.Boycelik is one of the most leading investments of Boydak Holding, an industrial leader in Turkey and all over the world. It is a raw materials supplier of Europe’s largest mattress and furniture manufacturers and a forerunner in the manufacturing industry with quality products and on-time service. It has been operating on 112,000m2 total area of which 62,000m2 is covered and 50,000m2 is open. With complete and strict control at every stage of each process, Boyçelik complies with national and international quality control systems such as TSE -ISO-EN-9000 (QMS), TSE -ISO-EN-14000 (EMS), ISG-OHSAS TS18001, CE and TSE. Our company has always been providing service and products in conformity to these certificates of quality. Boyçelik derives strength from customer satisfaction upon quality service and products, continuing to be a manufacturing power of the past and the future.

Could you brief us about your production?

Boyçelik manufactures steel wire in a variety of diameters, springs and spring systems of numerous different specifications for the mattress industry and round and rectangular tubes of several dimensions for the furniture industry in 2 main facilities. We manufacture steel wire, bonnel, Pocket, SL, LFK, and offset springs for the mattress industry and round, rectangular and square tubes for the furniture industry. Our production range includes; Steel wire diameter: 1.20mm to 5,0 mm Pocket springs: 600 to 2200 coil counts with zone or without zone. Bonnel springs: 90mm to 178 mm height with 4,5, 6 turns. Tubes: 10mm to 114 mm tubes production.

Where and what kind of materials do you supply for the production of your products? Do you import?

Boycelik provides raw material (wire rod) from Turkey and Europe. In doing so, Boycelik’s first aim is to choose the highest quality raw materials from different suppliers. We believe that good quality raw materials help with good quality finished product. Can you inform us about your foreign trade, exports and imports? We export to more than 65 countries, with 250 different customers and our 2013 total annual export sales was USD 40 million.Our main markets are Europe, Asia, North America, Middle East and North African countries.

How much capacity do you have in production, export and domestic sales?

Boycelik has an annual production capacity of 62,000 tons of steel wire, 400,000 pcs pocket springs, 5,000,000 pcs bonnel springs, 820,000 pcs SL springs and 300 tons of zigzag springs. 58% of total production is sold in domestic market, and 42 % are exported.

Can you furnish us about your new investments?

When we compare production numbers of mattresses with last years, we realize that consumption and production numbers are increasing and growth is expected to continue in the following years as well. The demand for pocket spring mattresses is increasing compared to bonnel spring mattresses. The main reason for this is the change in consumer preferences and understanding of quality. That’s why we decided to make investment on pocket spring machines and increase pocket spring production in 2013. We also decided to increase production capacity of steel wire in 2013. This means additional investments in new machines.

Are there problems in the sector and do you offer any solutions for those problems?

A big handicap in bedding industry is in-competitive prices in international markets due to high transportation costs. R&D studies should be made to reduce transportation cost by shrinking the volume of packaging to be able to pack and load more goods in trucks or containers. Product designs are not sufficient and not effective enough. Expectations and needs of consumers should be pre-determined, which will enable the service of right product to the market at the right time. We, as Turkey, are not very well known in international markets, that’s why we must generate brand names to provide a competitive advantage.

How do you evaluate the development of the mattress industry in Turkey and in the world? What are your targets at this regard?

The volume of the world mattress industry is about twenty billion dollars. USA, China and Brazil are listed as top 3 in production and consumption. Production and consumption numbers are increasing and are expected to grow more. As stated above, the demand for pocket springs is increasing due to changes in consumer preferences and understanding of quality. This is valid for Turkey as well. On the other hand, According to analysis made in Turkey, the volume of the mattress industry has exceeded TRL 1 billion. Turkey has a total of 25 companies, engaged in the production of beds, which manufacture approximately 3 million mattresses a year. However, production capacity is 7 million mattresses a year. Unfortunately, a significant problem of the sector is that R & D is ignored. In addition, health awareness among Turkish people is not fully formed and most customers do not care about health issues and solutions. Consumers refuse to change their mattresses even when the product completes its useful lifetime. Sufficient awareness about the health effects of the right mattress should be established.

How was 2013 for your company? Could you brief us your review about 2013?

The beginning of 2013 was not good compared to 2012 because there were not enough demands in international markets. But after the third quarter of 2013 sudden situation of international markets changed, demands increased and our customers increased theirs demands day by day. The reason of that was the financial situation of final customers (Consumers) who became better and that affects theirs consumptions and consequently the cash flow increased which affects productions of industries. The other reason of this growth was because of currency rates. We do a lot of sales to European Countries and the EUR/USD ratio is very important for us. We always prefer Euro to be stronger than USD and especially in the 3rd and 4ht quarter of 2013 we used this advantage. That’s why we realized a good sales record in 2013 and growth up in reel terms 12% compared to 2012 in export sales.

What plans or targets do you have for 2014?

We already joined international exhibitions such as, ISPA-USA, Sleep Well-Turkey, Interzum China, and Evteks- Turkey. We target to reach 300 different customers and sell our products to 70 countries in 2014. Regarding 2013 record sales we decided to make investments to increase our capacity that’s why we target to grow up 10% in 2014 and to reach USD 45 million export sales.