From H. Zafer Aral to Cahit Aral
My father Cahit Aral was a representative of the entrepreneur generation that paved the way for private sector. Thanks to him we got here. I really wish he could see the achievements of Samsun Yurt Savunma across the globe.
“Türkiye’s Industrialization Leap Started with My Father’s Generation” *
My dear father was among the first real industrialists in the Republic of Türkiye and he took part in the broadening of the vision of the young republic. I raise my kids in the same way my father raised me. I follow the footsteps of my late father, whose industriousness, fatherhood, and humanity I always take as an example.
Before talking about my dear father, I should give a quick run-down of the period. Before the Republic was proclaimed, production and trade were mostly in the hands of non-Muslims. The Republic opened a new page, however, this cultural background coming from Ottoman era stayed real for a while longer.
Revered Mustafa Kemal Atatürk started involving private sector in this process with the 1st Izmir Congress. Back then, families with enough capital and competence in Türkiye were rare. Therefore, this transformation was not as quick as Atatürk desired. In fact, names like late Vehbi Koç and Nuri Demirağ took the first steps much earlier, however, innovation picked up the pace after Democrat Party opened the floodgates for private sector. My father was in this generation.
Everyone knows the importance of this generation, with names like Şarık Tara, Eczacıbaşı, Sabancı, Bodur, Üzeyir Garih and my father Cahit Aral being a few select examples. People like them were less common in Anatolia, but there has been a concentration of people and capital in the Istanbul region. Nowadays these people and their descendants have become the extraordinary investors of Türkiye. They are extraordinary people as they had no one to take as an example for them nor they had any past experience in industrialization. They started Türkiye’s industrialization with what they learned about from abroad, and hence, they will always be remembered.
My father Cahit Aral was a representative of the entrepreneur generation that paved the way for private sector. Thanks to him we got here. I really wish he could see the achievements of Samsun Yurt Savunma across the globe. For an industrialist, becoming a “global brand” or even a “global enterprise” is an honor beyond description.
Patented the Anti-Roll Bar and Sold It to Americans
I think Türkiye has reached a pretty good, even excellent state regarding industrialization. The legacy of past generations contributed significantly for this, like my late father Cahit Aral and his legacy…
My father had engineer roots, graduating from Istanbul Technical University. He was working in the General Directorate of Highways for a period. Back then, Kayseri was within the 5th Region and had various highway service vehicles from America. The technology at that time was not too advanced for vehicles, they could roll if they took a corner a bit too fast. My father started applying prototype anti-roll bars on the vehicles, and the vehicles then stopped rolling over. Then some Americans came to Türkiye to purchase this patent. Therefore, Anti-roll bars became standard.
Then he produced “The First Turkish Patented Diesel Engine”, a pinnacle of his mechanical engineering skills. Said engine is on display in Istanbul Koç Museum at Golden Horn. Both patents were taken out between 1955-1960.
My father’s foresight regarding mission, vision and methods, his character and his honesty are very well known as his defining traits. All his friends and industry at large know them very well. My father was an exceptional engineer.
He Founded the First Frozen Foods Factory
My father continued his business life in 1955 as a free industrialist. Back then Türkiye was industrializing, without much consumer goods around. His efforts continued in Kayseri Industrial Zone for a while, until he took a great leap forward into the food sector in 1965-1966. He founded a fruit juice factory, the first in Türkiye named Meysu. In 1972-1973, he also founded the first Turkish frozen foods factory, Meybuz. This factory was followed by Ersu in Konya, Güneysu Fruit Juice Factory and Çoban Feed Factory.
Türkiye experienced a great economic crisis in 1980 and we were affected by that as well. We had to start again, make new investments, and reached the place we are in now. If you have the correct industrialist spirit, it becomes a part of your character, and you can pick up from where you left off no matter what. We saw this in my father.
In the same class with the men who decided the fate of Türkiye
My father was the Minister for Industry and Technology in his classmate Turgut Özal’s cabinet. The same class had names like Üzeyir Garih as well, while their upperclassmen included Süleyman Demirel and İdris Yamantürk among others. Late Necmettin Erbakan was an assistant in the faculty as well. I get very sentimental when I consider names like these, the great men of Türkiye, studied together in the same hallways, in the same classrooms. Imagine, three Prime Ministers, two Presidents and many ministers rose from the same classes and hallways. When I think of my father and his great works, I cannot help but to feel tears in my eyes. I always commemorate my father with respect and longing. One of his greatest sides was his knowledge. Whatever I asked, he answered and explained. He never gave up on honesty and he always treated his employees with fairness and cherished them. These are the greatest values I inherited from my father. If we reached the place we are now, all of it resulted from these important traits.
We are an industrialist family for 70 years. Now the 3rd generation is at work. I started working with my father in 1967. Even though I was in secondary school he took me to business trips. In my university age, I was involved heavily in the business. After my graduation from Istanbul Technical University Department of Mechanical Engineering as the 3rd top student, I started working at our factories. Having a father like Cahit Aral and working side by side with him made me proud. Even now what he taught guides me. If we have such a big company, it's all thanks to my father's hard work and his teachings.
Definitely, he was a master… If Samsun Yurt Savunma is a global brand, his teachings and values are at the root of that. We are exporting our products to 69 countries, enjoying $100,000,000 of export revenue every year and we are proudly showing our Turkish flag in every single continent. We are establishing a factory in Florida, as its construction continues. We have investments in the United Kingdom. Therefore, CANiK will move beyond being a global brand, become a global enterprise that produces goods in Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. I wish my father could have seen this and our successes. I know he would be proud too, for sure.
My father took part in broadening of the vision of Türkiye… I raised my kids in the way he raised me. I followed his footsteps and guided my kids along this path. I involved every one of them in the business after their education and intelligence reached a certain threshold. They could only learn the business like their father, and they have learned.
Cahit Aral’s Briefcase
While we live in Kayseri, my father always had me in his business meetings. I have a memory, that we would visit Istanbul with my father, me accompanying him. A friend of my father’s, Lori Burla started calling me “Cahit’s Briefcase” because of that. I was my father’s little assistant in every way. This nickname then started getting popular among my father’s friends and became a true nickname. Together with my family, I follow the footsteps of my late father, whose industriousness, fatherhood, and humanity I always take as an example.
* An excerpt from “İz Bırakan Babalar” (Legacy of Fathers” book prepared by Mustafa Kemal Çolak and published by Dünya Newspaper)
My dear father was among the first real industrialists in the Republic of Türkiye and he took part in the broadening of the vision of the young republic. I raise my kids in the same way my father raised me. I follow the footsteps of my late father, whose industriousness, fatherhood, and humanity I always take as an example.
Before talking about my dear father, I should give a quick run-down of the period. Before the Republic was proclaimed, production and trade were mostly in the hands of non-Muslims. The Republic opened a new page, however, this cultural background coming from Ottoman era stayed real for a while longer.
Revered Mustafa Kemal Atatürk started involving private sector in this process with the 1st Izmir Congress. Back then, families with enough capital and competence in Türkiye were rare. Therefore, this transformation was not as quick as Atatürk desired. In fact, names like late Vehbi Koç and Nuri Demirağ took the first steps much earlier, however, innovation picked up the pace after Democrat Party opened the floodgates for private sector. My father was in this generation.
Everyone knows the importance of this generation, with names like Şarık Tara, Eczacıbaşı, Sabancı, Bodur, Üzeyir Garih and my father Cahit Aral being a few select examples. People like them were less common in Anatolia, but there has been a concentration of people and capital in the Istanbul region. Nowadays these people and their descendants have become the extraordinary investors of Türkiye. They are extraordinary people as they had no one to take as an example for them nor they had any past experience in industrialization. They started Türkiye’s industrialization with what they learned about from abroad, and hence, they will always be remembered.
My father Cahit Aral was a representative of the entrepreneur generation that paved the way for private sector. Thanks to him we got here. I really wish he could see the achievements of Samsun Yurt Savunma across the globe. For an industrialist, becoming a “global brand” or even a “global enterprise” is an honor beyond description.
Patented the Anti-Roll Bar and Sold It to Americans
I think Türkiye has reached a pretty good, even excellent state regarding industrialization. The legacy of past generations contributed significantly for this, like my late father Cahit Aral and his legacy…
My father had engineer roots, graduating from Istanbul Technical University. He was working in the General Directorate of Highways for a period. Back then, Kayseri was within the 5th Region and had various highway service vehicles from America. The technology at that time was not too advanced for vehicles, they could roll if they took a corner a bit too fast. My father started applying prototype anti-roll bars on the vehicles, and the vehicles then stopped rolling over. Then some Americans came to Türkiye to purchase this patent. Therefore, Anti-roll bars became standard.
Then he produced “The First Turkish Patented Diesel Engine”, a pinnacle of his mechanical engineering skills. Said engine is on display in Istanbul Koç Museum at Golden Horn. Both patents were taken out between 1955-1960.
My father’s foresight regarding mission, vision and methods, his character and his honesty are very well known as his defining traits. All his friends and industry at large know them very well. My father was an exceptional engineer.
He Founded the First Frozen Foods Factory
My father continued his business life in 1955 as a free industrialist. Back then Türkiye was industrializing, without much consumer goods around. His efforts continued in Kayseri Industrial Zone for a while, until he took a great leap forward into the food sector in 1965-1966. He founded a fruit juice factory, the first in Türkiye named Meysu. In 1972-1973, he also founded the first Turkish frozen foods factory, Meybuz. This factory was followed by Ersu in Konya, Güneysu Fruit Juice Factory and Çoban Feed Factory.
Türkiye experienced a great economic crisis in 1980 and we were affected by that as well. We had to start again, make new investments, and reached the place we are in now. If you have the correct industrialist spirit, it becomes a part of your character, and you can pick up from where you left off no matter what. We saw this in my father.
In the same class with the men who decided the fate of Türkiye
My father was the Minister for Industry and Technology in his classmate Turgut Özal’s cabinet. The same class had names like Üzeyir Garih as well, while their upperclassmen included Süleyman Demirel and İdris Yamantürk among others. Late Necmettin Erbakan was an assistant in the faculty as well. I get very sentimental when I consider names like these, the great men of Türkiye, studied together in the same hallways, in the same classrooms. Imagine, three Prime Ministers, two Presidents and many ministers rose from the same classes and hallways. When I think of my father and his great works, I cannot help but to feel tears in my eyes. I always commemorate my father with respect and longing. One of his greatest sides was his knowledge. Whatever I asked, he answered and explained. He never gave up on honesty and he always treated his employees with fairness and cherished them. These are the greatest values I inherited from my father. If we reached the place we are now, all of it resulted from these important traits.
We are an industrialist family for 70 years. Now the 3rd generation is at work. I started working with my father in 1967. Even though I was in secondary school he took me to business trips. In my university age, I was involved heavily in the business. After my graduation from Istanbul Technical University Department of Mechanical Engineering as the 3rd top student, I started working at our factories. Having a father like Cahit Aral and working side by side with him made me proud. Even now what he taught guides me. If we have such a big company, it's all thanks to my father's hard work and his teachings.
Definitely, he was a master… If Samsun Yurt Savunma is a global brand, his teachings and values are at the root of that. We are exporting our products to 69 countries, enjoying $100,000,000 of export revenue every year and we are proudly showing our Turkish flag in every single continent. We are establishing a factory in Florida, as its construction continues. We have investments in the United Kingdom. Therefore, CANiK will move beyond being a global brand, become a global enterprise that produces goods in Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. I wish my father could have seen this and our successes. I know he would be proud too, for sure.
My father took part in broadening of the vision of Türkiye… I raised my kids in the way he raised me. I followed his footsteps and guided my kids along this path. I involved every one of them in the business after their education and intelligence reached a certain threshold. They could only learn the business like their father, and they have learned.
Cahit Aral’s Briefcase
While we live in Kayseri, my father always had me in his business meetings. I have a memory, that we would visit Istanbul with my father, me accompanying him. A friend of my father’s, Lori Burla started calling me “Cahit’s Briefcase” because of that. I was my father’s little assistant in every way. This nickname then started getting popular among my father’s friends and became a true nickname. Together with my family, I follow the footsteps of my late father, whose industriousness, fatherhood, and humanity I always take as an example.
* An excerpt from “İz Bırakan Babalar” (Legacy of Fathers” book prepared by Mustafa Kemal Çolak and published by Dünya Newspaper)
