Guney Celik, which has become one of the strongest companies in the iron and steel sector with its production and investments since its establishment in 1992 and exports to 72 countries in 6 continents, has stopped production as a result of the problems it has experienced in the last two years.
The number of employees of the company, which employed around 800 people two years ago at its facilities in Adana Hacı Sabancı Organized Industrial Zone (AOSB), has continuously decreased and has fallen to 250-300 people. The company, which has not paid salaries to its employees for two months, is reportedly experiencing financial problems due to loans recalled by banks and has stopped production.
Ranked 387th among Turkey’s 500 largest industrial enterprises in 2020, 298th in 2021 and 314th in 2022, Guney Celik is part of the Istanbul-based Arsan Group, which operates in various sectors. Guney Celik, which has recently added nail production to its products such as steel mesh, flat and ribbed bars, galvanized wire, is known for having the first R&D Center approved by the Ministry of Industry and Technology in its sector.
Banks recall loans
After Mehmet İrfan Cengiz, the founder of Arsan Group, which operates in sectors such as construction, natural gas, iron-steel, agriculture, bioenergy, food and tourism, handed over his business to his son Can Cengiz due to health problems about 3 years ago, there was a change in the management of Guney Celik. In addition to the claims that the problem in Guney Celik, which is currently managed by 3 siblings, two of whom are women and one of whom is a man with a controlling stake, is caused by ‘disagreements between the siblings’, it is also claimed that the fact that the group companies are ‘guarantors’ for each other financially has led to problems with the loans received from banks.
Unpaid workers protest
The workers of Guney Celik, which has stopped production at this point, are trying to make their voices heard by protesting in front of the factory. The workers, who say that they have not received their salaries for two months, say that they and their families are in a difficult situation and that they want the problem to be solved and they want to return to work.
