Nikel Paslanmaz CTO Kemal Yalgın Evaluated the Future of the Sector at the Metal Expo Steel Transformation Conference
Nikel Paslanmaz CTO Kemal Yalgın made evaluations at the Steel Transformation Conference held within the scope of Metal Expo 2026 on the future of integrated stainless steel production in Turkey, the sector's foreign dependency, and the economic value that domestic production can create.
Held at the Istanbul Expo Center between September 16–18, 2026, the Steel Transformation Conference, organized in cooperation with Metal Expo and SteelOrbis, brought together leading representatives of the sector.
The panel titled “Is Turkey Ready for Integrated Stainless Steel Production? How Should the Stainless Steel Ecosystem Strategy from Liquid Steel to Final Product Be Designed?”, held within the scope of the conference, was moderated by PASİD General Secretary Hanife Videberg. During the panel, Nikel Paslanmaz A.Ş. CTO Kemal Yalgın, Bahru Stainless Turkey & MENA General Manager Barış Yılmaz and Elit Danışmanlık Company Owner Ömer Alpay Akdeniz shared their assessments regarding the future of the sector.
Kemal Yalgın: Stainless steel investment must be handled strategically
Speaking at the panel, Kemal Yalgın drew attention to Turkey's foreign-dependent structure in stainless steel, stating that a potential integrated stainless steel investment should not be evaluated solely through investment cost and financial returns. He emphasized that the added value such an investment will provide to Turkish industry, supply security, and the economic impact it will create in various sectors must also be evaluated.
Pointing out that Turkey's annual stainless steel consumption exceeds 800 thousand tons, Yalgın stated that a strong domestic market constitutes an important potential for integrated production investment.
Yalgın’s evaluations highlighted that an integrated stainless steel production structure that could be established in Turkey can support a wide ecosystem, not only the steel sector, but ranging from chromium and nickel mining to sectors where stainless steel is intensively used, such as white goods, industrial kitchens, and process equipment.
A strong ecosystem from liquid steel to the final product
One of the main agendas of the panel was the opportunities that could be created by Turkey having an integrated production model extending from liquid steel production to the final product, rather than being limited only to final processing and intermediate production activities in stainless steel.
Kemal Yalgın stated that establishing integrated production capacity could contribute to reducing Turkey's foreign dependency in the stainless steel sector and support the development of high-value-added industrial production.
The Metal Expo Steel Transformation Conference provided an important platform for evaluating the current situation of the sector, the role Turkey could undertake in stainless steel production in the future, and the required strategic investments.
As Nikel Paslanmaz, we continue to support information sharing that will contribute to the development of our sector, technological investments, and efforts that will increase Turkey's global competitiveness in stainless steel.