Ahmet Hatem, board chairman of AMCO Marble, talked about Turkish stones…
INTERVIEW: Hasan ERCAZİP
The Turkish natural stone sector has grown a lot taking huge steps over the past 20 years. We agree with the ideas of people who have contributed to the success of this sector of Turkey. However, the medallion has another side. What are Turkish stones’ buyers think about it? We asked board chairman Ahmet Hatem, who has been a close friend of ours for a long time, to tell us about it. We meet at Alacakaya Marble’s stand at Fuar Izmir and start talking. First, we ask about Amco Marble’s moves in the sector.
Ahmet Hatem goes back to the beginning of the story and tells us about those days: “We have had a long journey in the sector as Amco Marble. It all started in 2021. We set out as an Egyptian exporter firm in the beginning. Over the course of years, we started operating in the UAE. Our operations in Turkey started in 2005. We were among the first firms importing Turkish stones in our region. We still are one of the biggest firms operating in the region.”
Mr. Hatem is also one of the witnesses of the sector’s development. We ask him about Turkey’s change over the years. He reminds us that he’s been active in the Turkish natural stone sector and says, “Ever since 2005, our supplier network in Turkey has been increasing and we have achieved a strong presence. The production quality of Turkey has increased considerably over the last 10 years. They made progress in product presentations, partially due to developed communication skills in foreign languages. With all these I’ve counted, color variety, availability, and closeness are among the biggest advantages of the Turkish natural stone industry.”
After listening to the advantages, we ask him “What about the disadvantages?” Then he starts giving his friendly advice: “The stone and production quality of Turkey has increased considerably over the last 10 years. However, there’s still much to do in quality. This progress needs to be kept alive. I also think that increasing shipping costs are a problem for Turkey.”
What about his favorites? We ask Ahmet Hatem about his favorites among Turkish stones. Hatem states that he doesn’t differentiate them and concludes his words, “My favorites in Turkey are the whites, greys and beige ones. There’s an exclusive variety. However, the boutique and unique colorful stones, which are becoming popular, are beautiful.”
