Türkiye'de Demir Çelik Sanayinin Kuruluşu

Abstract

Iron has been a raw material that has been in intensive use of mankind at every stage from the first production revolution to the industrial revolutions. With mass production, steel, the upper form of iron, which is the strategic raw material and commodity of modern industry, architecture and metallurgy has been considered as a quantitative criterion in development. Turks have also attached great importance and sanctity to iron and blacksmithing throughout history. From the Gokturks to the Uyghurs, from the Seljuks to the Ottomans, iron was at the center of life in every artistic, architectural, military and commercial field in the Turkish states. Starting with cannon casting, the army and navy have always been the number one demanders of the iron and steel market in the Ottoman Empire. Zeytinburnu Iron Factory, a full-fledged heavy industry establishment in the Ottoman Empire, which continued traditional production methods throughout the Industrial Revolution, was completed in 1846. However, since a structure that was mixed with business life and became bourgeois as in 17th century Europe could not be formed in the Ottomans, private enterprise and industrialization could not be achieved sufficiently. Efforts to form a Turkish-Muslim bourgeoisie, which started in the 2nd Constitutional Monarchy period, were on the table of the founding staff in the Republic period as well, and became one of the most important parameters in the policies to be produced. Efforts to establish the Iron and Steel industry in Turkey in a modern sense within economic principles began in 1925, immediately after the proclamation of the Republic, and the Law on the Establishment of the Iron Industry was enacted in 1926. Seen that the founding staff and subsequent administrators were aware of the urgency of heavy industry aiming to reach the welfare level of the developed countries of the period. In this regard, starting from the first industrial plans, the largest investment was directed towards the iron and steel industry. Until the 1980s, the state, like in many developing countries, established this industry itself and adopted the management method. Following long research and reports, Turkey's first integrated iron and steel facility, Kardemir, was established in 1937, followed by Erdemir, the first integrated flat steel facility, and İsdemir, the largest facility investment.