Didem ARAL, Foreign Trade Manager and Member of Board of SYS

Samsun Yurt Savunma (SYS) and its brands and subsidiaries like CANiK, UNIDEF, and UNIROBOTICS had an intense year regarding fairs, exhibitions and similar events in 2022. Didem Aral, Foreign Trade Manager and Member of Board of SYS, shared the strategy behind their intense schedule and the goals they have achieved with their participation in these events.

 

SYS attended many international fairs, exhibitions and similar events with its brand CANiK and its subsidiaries like UNIDEF and UNIROBOTICS during 2022 as a whole. Could you first share some numerical data on these events?

Didem ARAL: We have attended over 20 events spanning four continent; North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Some of these events were held in the same month in different continents. There also have been times where we needed to set up two different booths simultaneously in two different fairs and continents due to concurrent schedule of events. We were able to face all these challenges with a staff of around 50 people, working hard and intense. I can proudly state that every single one of our event participations is a success story of their own.

 

Why did SYS focus on fairs in 2022 with such a intense schedule? Could you share what were your aims with this decision?

Didem ARAL: COVID-19 period lasted for around two years with its onset and aftershocks and I can safely say that we have used this period very effectively, especially regarding our R&D and production activities. We successfully completed the qualification tests of our CANiK M2 QCB 12.7 mm heavy machine gun at the end of this period and started mass production. CANiK M2 QCB passed the toughest qualification tests in the world, all in its first try. The machine gun also offers many superior features compared to its international competitors, like being ITAR-free or a 25,000-round barrel life. We planned our intense 2022 fair schedule with the aim of presenting our game-changer products like CANiK M2 QCB to the current and potential CANiK users across the globe.

As expected, CANiK M2 QCB saw great demand. The solutions from UNIDEF and UNIROBOTICS that are developed for integrating this gun to various land, sea, and air platforms made a significant difference as well. We held talks with many procurement authorities, end-users and platform producers from different countries and continents regarding our CANiK M2 QCB and its integration to various platforms.

 

Were you able to reach your goals regarding event participations? How would you evaluate your successes?

Didem ARAL: I can safely say that all our aims, especially “getting together with potential users” and “raising awareness on SYS, CANiK, UNIDEF, and UNIROBOTICS” were achieved with this year’s intense event schedule. We saw we have achieved a significant market penetration and brand awareness in many countries and even continents. We are still in touch with relevant organizations even after these events.

Our exports have reached $90,000,000 between 2021-2022. Our products have been delivered to 52 countries in 2022 and we achieved our sales and production targets.

We met with land vehicle and naval platform producers in various countries regarding weapon integration, especially Czech Republic and Bulgaria, and some of these meetings bore fruit, greenlighting various projects.

 

What kind of effects do you think your 2022 fair schedule will have for SYS, CANiK, UNIDEF and UNIROBOTICS’ activities in the future? Could you share your forecasts?

Didem ARAL: We will see significant increases in our exported product numbers and the share of exports in our revenue. We also forecast our brand recognition will take a great leap forward in the long term.

Working together with various procurement authorities, end-users and platform producers gives us diverse experiences and increases our know-how. We put great emphasis on this, the more procurement authorities, end-users, and platform producers we contact and cooperate with, the faster and greater we develop.

 

What do you think SYS pushing through an intense fair schedule like this says about corporate achievements of the company?

Didem ARAL: SYS and its group companies have the financial resources and human capital to handle this intense tempo and even more. We consider having a vision like ours much more important. We built up the correct and qualified human capital under our department of business development. We increased our representation capabilities many times over with our fairs and events section as well as our sales and marketing section. We are able to advance on this front further every single year.

 

Can you share some information on SYS’ 2023 fair schedule?

Didem ARAL: Our 2022 schedule has guided us regarding the markets and fairs we should focus on. In addition, we will be thinking about our fair participation decisions more strategically, as we have moved to a more centralized model regarding our strategic planning activities and our business planning.

International fairs are usually held biannually, and the fairs we plan to focus on are mostly held in even years. As such, our 2023 fair schedule will be a bit more relaxed.

 

Would you like to touch on any more points?

Didem ARAL: We determined our vision as being the number one company in small arms sector around the whole world. We continue our efforts with strategies we developed in line with this vision.

 

We would like to thank Didem Aral, Foreign Trade Manager and Member of Board of SYS, on behalf of our readers for taking the time to answer our questions, and for providing us with such valuable information.

 

-- KUTUCUK –

The List of Fairs Attended by SYS, CANiK, UNIDEF and UNIROBOTICS in 2022

·       DSA

·       ADAS

·       FIDAE

·       ADEX

·       AAD

·       SHOT Fair

·       INDO DEFENCE

·       IDEAS

·       HuntEX

·       AUSA

·       ENFORCE TAC

·       IWA

·       MSPO

·       Eurosatory

·       IDPA CHAMPIONSHIP

·       EFES Exercise

·       ATH Cup

·       SEDEC

·       TEKNOFEST Karadeniz

·       DLSS

·       SAHA EXPO

 

List of Fairs SYS, CANiK, UNIDEF and UNIROBOTICS Plan to Attend in 2023

·       SHOT SHOW

·       IDEX

·       ENFORCE TAC

·       IWA

·       NRA

·       HuntEX

·       IDEF

·       Wilderness Athletic Cup

·       CANiK Summer Festival

·       MSPO

·       DSEI

·       AUSA

·       DEFENCE & SECURITY

·       INTER OPS