The solid progress of the Turkish woodworking machinery industry, which has undertaken significant investments and projects throughout the year to further strengthen its presence in the global woodworking machinery industry, increase export figures and diversify its markets, continues.
The woodworking machinery sector, which has turned into an industry over time from handicraft craftsmanship in regions where forest and wood usage areas are intense in Anatolia, has achieved a very important development over the years by combining the experience it brought from the past with technology. The sector, which first responded to the need for machinery in furniture manufacturing, which is its main sector in the domestic market, and became the driving force for its development, has now become a company that sells machinery not only to the domestic market but also to many countries of the world through its imports, production and trade.
Although its history dates back to ancient times, the real industrialization process of the woodworking machinery sector started in the 1980s. Until the early 1980s, the industry was dominated by stationary machines and manual labor processing solid furniture. However, over time, the use of different raw materials and materials in furniture production also led to the production of different machines for woodworking. The widespread use of panel manufacturing using tree branches, today known as chipboard and MDF, created a “revolution” effect in furniture in the early 1980s.
Great contribution to the Turkish machinery industry
In the 2000s, with the support of the sub-industry and international manufacturing companies starting to produce in Türkiye, the sector started to produce value-added products with high kilogram value. At this point, the contribution of the woodworking machinery sector to the Turkish machinery industry is increasing every year with its developing technology, increasing production and exports.
Transition from importing to manufacturing
The machinery industry, which has made significant developments during this century, has moved from importing to manufacturing. Türkiye’s strategic geographical location at the intersection of Europe and Asia, combined with its qualified workforce, contributed to the growth of the machinery industry. Over the years, Turkish machinery manufacturers have focused on modernizing their production processes and adopting advanced technologies. The sector has diversified its product range to include industrial machinery, construction equipment, textile machinery and more, and has competed successfully, especially with its European rivals.
An assertive player in the global industry
The production, export and import figures of the sector, especially in the last 10 years, serve as sufficient evidence of this development. Industry representatives, who tried to gain a place in the sector with export figures not exceeding 10 million dollars in the early 2000s, have become important and assertive players in the global sector today. These successful developments were realized thanks to the significant investments made by the sector stakeholders in technology and a series of studies carried out with the determination to show themselves more clearly in the international arena.
A record was reached in exports in 2017
The woodworking machinery sector, with 95 million dollars’ worth of exports in 2013 against 208 million dollars’ worth of imports, continued to increase the figures by accelerating its efforts to increase exports in the following years. In 2016, where there was a 10.36 percent increase in production and a 9.25 percent increase in exports, imports decreased by 22.83 percent. In this 10-year adventure, 2017 has a special importance. For the first time in 2017, the export figure of the sector exceeded imports. In this regard, the woodworking machinery sector achieved a production of 210 million dollars, exports worth 84 million dollars, and imports totaling 68 million dollars in 2017. In the said year, the ratio of exports to imports was 124 percent and the sector managed to achieve a foreign trade surplus for the first time.
Sales of machines labeled “Made in Türkiye” to 150 countries
The Turkish woodworking machinery industry, whose commercial volume increased to 520 million dollars by the end of 2023, left behind a successful year despite the inflationary structure and a series of economic difficulties that increased its impact all over the world. There was an increase in the import figures of the Turkish woodworking machinery sector in 2023, when the presence of China in both production and exports, which remained closed for a long time during the pandemic period, was felt in almost all sectors. However, despite all the events, the sector did not pause its export-oriented investments. The sector, which achieved a 5.3 percent increase in exports compared to the previous year, sells machines labeled “Made in Türkiye” to 150 countries. The Turkish woodworking machinery industry, which exports over 1 million dollars to 40 countries, exports to 150 countries in total.
Local furniture companies are opening up to the world with Turkish machines
Domestic woodworking machines, which increase their presence in the country along with their recognition in foreign markets, are frequently preferred by the furniture industry today. Turkish machines are preferred by local furniture companies for their product quality, short delivery times and especially for the after-sales services. Thus, domestic furniture companies are expanding abroad with the products they produce with domestic woodworking machines.
Turkish woodworking machinery sector in the Covid-19 pandemic
In 2019, when the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the whole world in a short time and brought with it a new world order that had not been experienced before, was first seen in China; While there was a small decrease of 4.38 percent in exports in the Turkish woodworking machinery sector, import rates decreased by 21.42 percent compared to the previous year. In the same year, the sector achieved production of 218 million dollars and domestic sales of 168 million dollars. In 2020, when the effects of the pandemic were felt most clearly in Türkiye and trade almost came to a halt all over the world, the sector successfully passed a difficult test. While machine production and sales were reduced to a minimum level in many countries that dominate the sector, manufacturers in Türkiye began to make new investments in the field of production and increase capacity in order to respond to the demand shifting to Türkiye from other countries.
Türkiye’s trade with the world is increasing every year
Looking at the world in general, the total exports of the sector have reached 9.6 billion dollars in 2023. China and Germany which ranked in the top three, exported 2.1 billion dollars, and Italy 1.3 billion dollars. These countries accounted for approximately 60 percent of total exports. In line with this information, Türkiye ranked 10th in the world and with its exports of 160 million dollars in 2023. We see that there was 8.2 billion dollars of imports worldwide in 2023. The top three importing countries are America with 1.5 billion dollars, Germany with 456 million dollars and Russia with 340 million dollars; These countries accounted for almost 31 percent of total imports. In this context, Türkiye ranked 24th in the world with an import of 114 million dollars in 2022. When the import figures as of the end of 2002 are examined, Türkiye imported goods from China, Italy and Germany, which are the most important players in the sector.
Turkish woodworking machinery sector closed 2024 with 150 million dollars of exports
Sector exports were recorded as 150 million dollars in 2024. At the end of 2024, when imports amounted to 101 million dollars, production to 370 million dollars and domestic sales to 322 million dollars, the foreign trade balance was recorded as 48 million dollars. In addition, the ratio of exports to imports at the end of the year was 148 percent. The Turkish woodworking machinery sector continued its efforts throughout the year in line with its goal of diversifying its export markets despite a series of economic negativities in both domestic and global markets. At the end of 2024, the most important export market of the sector was the Russian Federation with 13.4 million dollars. The USA, which emerges as the world’s most important market in many sectors, was the second country to which the Turkish woodworking machinery sector exported the most in 2024. Machinery exports to the USA during the year amounted to 7 million dollars. Kosovo followed the USA with 6 million dollars. The other countries to which Türkiye exported woodworking machinery throughout the year were as follows; Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Poland. At the end of 2024, the countries that Türkiye imported the most woodworking machinery from were China, Italy and Germany, respectively.
