Balnak plans labor force increase

Balnak Logistics Group is aiming to grow by 10 percent in 2010 and increase the number of its employees from 1,550 to 1,750.

The company expects to post 116 million euros in turnover this year and aims to increase that figure to somewhere between 125 million and 130 million euros in 2010. Balnak, meanwhile, is planning to invest 10 million euros next year.

Kosta Sandalcı, Balnak’s vice president, said the company expects to hire an additional 200 people in 2010. “The logistics industry is quite important in regard to employment,” he said. “Although it lacks effective initiatives, logistics is still a locomotive industry for Turkey’s economy.”

“Turkey expects a growth of 3.5 percent in 2010. We decided to triple that with our growth. With a growth rate of 10 percent, we, as Balnak, aim to increase the number of our employees from 1,550 to 1,750. That would be a 15 percent growth in the labor force,” Sandalcı said. “We entered the crisis with liquidity. Therefore, we had no cash problems. In 2010, we are planning to grow our fleet by 50 percent.” Balnak also has plans to go public next year, he said.

Balnak has been handling textile-related transport, storage and distribution businesses since its establishment. There have been noticeable changes in market trends, according to Sandalcı, thereby necessitating the development of alternative solutions.

An important portion of textile production has moved to Morocco, which is good news for Turkish fabric producers. But they have one obstacle to overcome, which is transport.

This is where Balnak has come into play, said Sandalcı. The company set up direct transportation lines from Istanbul, Adana and Bursa to Morocco. It takes about one week to ship the materials.

There has also been an 18 percent growth in Turkey’s export figures to the Middle East. The country’s exports to Africa grew by about 4 percent, according to a company statement. Turkish exports to these two regions are expected to grow further in 2010. Because of this, the company has been planning to open an office in Libya.