For the first part pls click Alkım : Vestel is Performing R&D in Many Areas-1
Where are the R&D centers of Vestel in Turkey and abroad? Why do you have R&D centers abroad?
İhsaner Alkım : As you know main production centers of Vestel is in Manisa. We produce about 15 millon TVs anually in Vestel City, which is one of the biggest TV production centers of Europe. Works carried on in our Manisa centers are development of existing technologies and new TV technologies. We work on laptop technologies which addresses teenagers and other people, at our new Digital R&D center as well.
In Manisa, our Vestelkom group makes R&D on settop-box satellite receivers and dvd-players. A successful company, Cabot in UK is a R&D center which works on digital broadcasting technologies. Our work group in Izmir, Urla is a part of Cabot. R&D center, Vestek had been founded in Istanbul to determine where the market goes toward and to do R&D activities on future technologies, there are lots of researches carried on at Vestek like Pixelence project which aims to enhance image quality on flat-panel TVs and wide-area networks and communications.
Besides, at R&D center in San Diego, global market and developing technologies are fallowed to contribute Vestel’s product competition. Our USA R&D guides the R&D works which is in Vestel products fan.
As you know, rivals of Vestel are all consumer electronics producers in Europe and in the world. We care to found R&D centers near to our competitor’s centers and the places where we can fallow the market easily. It doesn’t seem to get better for companies which stay local in a globalizing world and which can not go beyond their boundaries.
Besides all these, I should agree that having R&D centers in all these countries has lots of contributions on improvement of our marketing opportunities, and that makes us well known.
Where do you manufacture your products and which products do you manufacture? Can we learn your strategies like Iran?
İhsaner Alkım : Our products range include a range from Flat Panel (LCD and Plasma) TVs, CRT TVs, PCs, Notebooks, DVD-players, recorders, digital and analogue satellite receivers, home entertainment systems to white goods. Most of them are manufactured in our facilities of Manisa Vestel City. Besides all, we have also got a TV manufacturing facility in Russia.
We have also objectives to establish manufacturing centers in the Middle East and Middle Asia which are very strategic markets for us. In this context, we plan to establish more sales centers and give after sales services in countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Morocco and Libya.
turk-internet.com : What is the status of Turkey at digital broadcasting? Can you tell us by comparing with Europe or the world from technical and legal aspects?
İhsaner Alkım : As you know, on 30 March 2007 we arranged “International Digital Broadcasting Summit” with the attendance of Minister of Communication/Transportation Mr. Binali Yıldırım, TRT, RTUK, Telecommunication Association, TV Broadcasters Assembly and European and Turkish Representors in order to determine the road map of Digital Broadcasting of Turkey and to discuss concerning issues. Currently, Anten A.S., in which TRT, RTUK, Telecommunication Association and broadcasters take part, started test broadcasts in 13 provinces of Turkey.
In this context it planned to have digital broadcasts in 95% of Turkey by the year 2014. In the summit, Minister of Communication/Transportation Mr. Binali Yıldırım announced that a considerable amount of signal noise will be eliminated by the 2008 in Istanbul.
This process will be spread all around Turkey by providing Digital Terrestrial Broadcast to other regions. We, as Vestel, with our experience in UK, have focused on being the pioneer technology company in order to create the infrastructure in the process of transition to Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting in Turkey. We are ready to take the responsibility about this issue.
As I mentioned, the only thing required to initiate this transition in the complete manner is to get government institutions involved in this issue. Vestel will carry on pioneering with the responsibility of leadership.
For the following chapter of this interview, pls click Alkım : Vestel has the 60% of Digital Broadcasting Market in UK – 3
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