“Our fundamental vision, as a Turkish brand, is to have a say in the world”
AES Group Chairman İsmet Toktaş AES Group, which has made a name for itself in Türkiye and around the world with the machines it puts on the market, its dealer network that expands every year and its after-sales services, introduces Turkish quality to the whole world. Stating that their main vision as a Turkish brand is to have a leading position in the world, AES Group Chairman İsmet Toktaş said: “As AES, we are not just trying to sell machines. We strive to create a usage experience and satisfaction that will last for years, from pre-sales processes to machine sales and from there to after-sales processes. We believe that the collaborations that will be formed in this way will be more solid and long-lasting.”
The AES brand, which has a dealership network in approximately 80 percent of the world and expands the kilometers it touches every day, makes a name for itself with the innovations it brings to the sector. Speaking about the vision, future and future goals of the brand, AES Group Chairman İsmet Toktaş pointed out that they attach great importance to the technological investments necessary to keep the production processes constantly dynamic and up-to-date.
First of all, how was 2023 overall for AES? What are your expectations for 2024?
The year 2023 was a year in which a number of economic difficulties were experienced both in our country and in the global markets. Despite all these difficulties, I can say that we have left behind a successful year. We declared 2023 as the investment year for AES and we have introduced many innovations in this direction. We spent the whole year working to realize our new investments at home and abroad. We opened our two new factories as of 2023. One of these two factories is located in Bursa and the other is in Eskişehir. Our factory in Bursa has a closed production area of approximately 3 thousand square meters, and our factory in Eskişehir has a closed production area of 8 thousand square meters. Apart from this, we opened the AES UK Showroom of approximately 1,500 square meters near Manchester. We have also entered into a new formation in Spain. Our company establishment continues in Spain and we have a staff member working there. Its formation in Spain; We did this to serve Spanish-speaking countries. 2024 will be a year in which we will actively continue our investments and marketing processes. In this context, we first opened our second showroom in America in Charlotte, North Carolina, in January. In March, we will hold the Open House event of our showroom that we opened in England. Additionally, this year we will continue to promote our brand by participating in major fairs of the sector in Poland, France, England and America.
“We are making the necessary technological investments to keep our production processes up to dat.”
Can you give information about the production capacity and facilities of AES?
Founded in 1989, AES has shown a stable growth performance over the years and expanded its production capacity significantly. As AES, we currently have a total of six factories in Türkiye. Five of these factories are in Bursa and one is in Eskişehir. We have a total of 40 thousand square meters of closed production area with our six factories. With our approximately 400 employees, we try to meet the needs and demands of both the domestic market and the global market. For this reason, we make the necessary technological investments to keep our production processes dynamic and up-to-date.
“We have dealerships in approximately 80 percent of the world”
In which geographies do you have dealerships?
As a company, I can say that we have dealerships all over the world. We are not very active in China and neighboring countries due to China’s competitive prices. But apart from that, we have dealerships in Australia, South American countries, North America and Europe, that is, approximately 80 percent of the world.
What is your company’s main vision?
AES’s main vision is to cover all segments of the industry with our quality products, to respond to all demands by producing products that are competitive in price, and to have a leading position in the world as a Turkish brand.
“As a Turkish brand, we have many goals”
What are your company’s future goals? Can you share your short, medium and long term goals?
As a Turkish brand that grows every year and expands its export rates, dealership network and production areas, we of course have many goals. We continue to work with great dedication together with our entire staff to achieve these goals. One of our primary goals is to expand our product range to provide all products in panel processing machines and to establish complete factories for customers. In addition, another goal of ours is to produce the necessary equipment for the application of automation systems in furniture factories and to offer a one-stop solution.
We know that Turkish companies participate in many international fairs throughout the year. At which fairs will we see you as AES in 2024?
As AES, I believe we are very good at participating fair organizations effectively. As a company that has turned its face to exports, we try to show and explain to all stakeholders of the sector our brand, our products and how good we do in machine production by participating in many fairs throughout the year. In 2024, we will participate in different fairs both with our dealers and as AES. Especially the WoodTech Fair, which will be held at Istanbul Tüyap Fair and Congress Center between 12-16 October 2024, and the IWF Fair, which will be held in Atlanta, USA, between 6-9 August 2024, are the most important fairs of 2024 for us. We will also take our place at the All4Wood Fair, which will be organized by Tüyap in Poland this year. This fair has a participant profile consisting entirely of Turkish machinery manufacturers, so it is a valuable organization for our industry. Apart from these, we will also participate in the Drema Fair, which will be held in Poland. We will take part in four different fairs to be held in Russia with our dealers. As AES UK, we will attend the Materials & Finishes Show 2024, which will be held in England in May. Finally, we will participate in approximately seven-eight more fairs in Europe with our dealers. Most of these fairs will take place in France, Italy and the Balkan countries.
Can you give information about your after-sales services? In this sense, what kind of investments and work do you do?
AES employs 40 technical support personnel. Regarding technical support, as AES, we provide quick response to all our customers’ questions by providing both remote and on-site support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition to the expertise of our staff in after-sales processes, we also enjoy the advantage of being able to support our customers in their own language. AES technical team can currently serve its customers in Arabic, Russian and Spanish, as well as Turkish and English.
“Our work on artificial intelligence continues rapidly”
As AES, which technological developments have you invested in in recent years? What difference did these investments make in the industry?
As AES, we believe in the power of technology. Since the first day we were founded, we attach great importance to keeping up with the new world created by technology, and in this sense, we constantly make investments to improve our processes. Approximately six years ago, AES established the industry’s first R&D center. Our center continues its activities successfully. We are currently working on four new patents in the industry this year alone. In addition, we have patents on different subjects. As is the case all over the world, artificial intelligence is an important agenda item for us. We closely follow the development of artificial intelligence technology and try to integrate our production capabilities with it. Our own software team continues work on artificial intelligence in machines. This project has been going on for a long time. Our artificial intelligence work on machines being smart and making decisions on their own continues rapidly.
“We strive to create a user experience and satisfaction that will last for years”
What are your company’s outstanding products and services? Can you explain the place of these products and services in the industry and your competitive advantages?
Rather than approaching this issue specifically as a matter of machine and product, we can say that AES’s biggest advantage in the industry is its culture. As you know, when it was founded in 1989, It started to specialize in automation systems. By switching to CNC machine production from here, our brand brought this expertise to the sector and started to create a corporate culture for AES itself. At this point, it has an advantage over its competitors with the brand image created by its culture. In addition, AES now has the machinery and software power to meet all the machinery needs of a mass-manufacturing wood processing facility under its own roof. This is one of the important strengths of it. As AES, we are not just trying to sell machines. We strive to create a usage experience and satisfaction that will last for years, from pre-sales processes to machine sales and from there to after-sales processes. We believe that the collaborations that will be formed in this way will be more solid and long-lasting.
