Auto maker Toyota pins high hopes on its new C segment sedan planned to enter into production in its Turkish plant by 2013. The Japanese company currently runs its 150,000-vehicle/year capacity Adapazari, Sakarya factory at a reduced production rate but the new “C segment” sedan to replace the popular Corolla model will enable the plant to reach its peak output, according to Toyota Turkey CEO Ali Haydar Bozkurt.

“We expect the new C segment sedan to roll out in June, 2013. The Adapazari plant will reach its maximum capacity with the introduction of this model,” Bozkurt told the press, following a high-level visit by a Turkish delegation to Toyota’s main production plant in Nagoya, Japan. Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Nihat Ergun paid a visit to Japan last week to meet with the executives and CEOs of the nation’s prominent companies to discuss Turkey’s new incentive system and investment opportunities. Accompanied by the Toyota Turkey CEO, Ergun suggested that Toyota produce a new vehicle model called “Sakaria”, named after the province that hosts the Toyota plant. The suggestion aroused interest among company executives, it has been reported.

The company will invest about EUR 150 million in the plant for the production of the C segment vehicle, creating 400 new jobs. The Adapazari plant in northwestern Turkey currently produces the Verso family car and the Auris hatchback. Toyota Turkey exports more than 90 percent of its production.

Source : Sabah

Japanese electronics giant NEC is eager to take part in one of the most ambitious public education projects ever put into action, as company officials told Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Nihat Ergun in Tokyo. The Turkish Minister is on a visit to Japan to hold high-level meetings with the executives and CEOs of the nation’s prominent companies about Turkey’s new incentive system and investment opportunities offered.

“NEC expressed strong interest in the Fatih Project and is considering investing in Turkey for it,” Ergun said, after having met with his Japanese counterpart Hirofumi Hirano and NEC CEO Kenichiro Yamanichi in the Japanese capital. The home base of some of the world’s most prominent technology companies, Japan has a lot to gain from the Fatih Project. “The Fatih Project can serve as a springboard for technology companies with the potential it creates and also with its ease of portability to other countries. NEC is aware of this potential,” the Minister told the press.

Turkey’s Fatih Project seeks to integrate high-tech education equipment into the country’s public education system, equipping millions of students with tablet PCs and classrooms with electronic boards.

Source : NEC

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis relies on Turkey for easy access to markets in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Turkey will be the regional base for the drug maker, which is planning to establish a production plant in the country, according to company officials on a visit to Ankara.

A delegation from Switzerland, consisting of the country’s Minister of Economy Johann Schneider-Ammann and representatives from leading Swiss companies met with Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Nihat Ergun in the Turkish capital. In the meeting, Novartis Board of Directors member Alexandre F. Jetzer Chung said that Turkey has the potential to become a healthcare center for North Africa, replacing Egypt. Stating that Novartis has plans to invest in a production plant in Turkey, Chung added that the country is considered as a gateway to the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.

The visiting Minister Schneider-Ammann also praised Turkey’s gateway status to other markets, noting that there are over 600 Swiss companies operating in the country.

Source : Hurriyet