Borçelik Exports 80% of Flat Steel Output from Its Bursa Plant

Approximately 80% of the flat steel produced at the steel plant in Gemlik, Bursa is sent abroad through indirect exports, generating significant foreign currency revenues for the country. Operating as a subsidiary of Borusan Group in partnership with ArcelorMittal, one of the world's largest steel producers, the Borçelik plant started production in 1994 on a 240,000 square meter site in Gemlik. The facility employs 1,100 people and produces approximately 1.5 million tonnes of flat steel per year across three main product groups.

A critical supplier of steel to Turkey's major industrial companies, the plant produces coils in three main categories — cold-rolled sheet, galvanized sheet, and pickled hot-rolled sheet — with widths of up to 1.5 meters, heights of up to 2 meters, and weights of up to approximately 15–20 tonnes.

"We are one of Turkey's strategic industrial players"

Borçelik General Manager Kerem Çakır stated that the company is one of Turkey's strategic industrial players.

Çakır explained that the cold-rolled sheet produced at the plant is used in radiators, refrigerators, and washing machines, while galvanized sheet is used primarily in the automotive industry for vehicle body panels. Highlighting that they have enriched their product range and quality with advanced steel grades such as commercial, deep drawing, dual-phase, bake-hardenable, rephosphorized, and HSLA (high-strength low-alloy steel), Çakır said:

"As Borçelik, we are today one of Turkey's highest-quality steel producers with a total flat steel production capacity of approximately 1.5 million tonnes. Of this, 600,000 tonnes consist of cold-rolled sheet and 900,000 tonnes of galvanized sheet. The 500,000-tonne steel service center capacity of our Kerim Çelik brand complements this production capacity. This way, we manage a processing, product, and delivery cycle of nearly 2 million tonnes through an end-to-end system based on advanced technology and a customer-focused business model."

Borçelik's flat steel finds a wide place in world markets

Çakır noted that the company directly exports to 36 countries, primarily to EU, Balkan, and North American countries: "The automotive, white goods, radiator, and heating-cooling sectors we supply in Turkey have an export rate of approximately 75%, so our products also indirectly reach a much wider geography through finished goods. For this reason, the global footprint of our products actually goes well beyond the 36 countries we directly ship to. When direct and indirect exports are considered together, we can say that approximately 80% of Borçelik products reach world markets. This makes Borçelik one of the flat steel suppliers with the widest international reach in Turkey and the region."

Çakır stated that Borçelik's mission is to provide flat steel to value-added manufacturers and exporters in Turkey, noting that their steel is used in 9 out of every 10 cars produced in Turkey and in all major white goods produced in the country.

"Solar and wind energy investments are on our agenda"

Outlining three main future focus areas, Çakır concluded: "Quality, digitalization, and green transformation. On the quality side, we have modernization investments to make our galvanized sheet lines more efficient and suitable for higher surface quality. On the digital side, we are advancing AI-supported quality control, energy optimization, and automation projects further. Our final strategic pillar is green transformation. Low-carbon production is no longer a choice but an inevitable necessity. In this context, solar and wind energy investments are on our agenda. We are also steadfastly continuing our work to improve energy efficiency and use lower-emission raw materials. Alongside these, we also see education, employment, and equal-opportunity social projects as an inseparable part of sustainability — because for us, sustainability means not only the environment but also people and society."