Eti Maden General Manager Serkan Keleşer was in ITU Business World Talks

In ITU Business World Talks, Eti Maden General Manager and Chairman of the Board Serkan Keleşer made important statements about the future of the boron. In the talk titled “The Future is in Boron, Boron is in Eti Maden”, many issues came up, from extraction to processing, logistics to marketing of boron reserves in our country and in the world.

As part of Istanbul Technical University’s Business World Talks, Eti Maden General Manager and Chairman of the Board, ITU Mechanical Engineering 1994 graduate Serkan Keleşer became the guest of ITU Director of Communication Adem Dönmez. In the meeting held online on ITU’s social media accounts, boron reserves in our country and in the world were discussed from a broad perspective.

“We are the leading country in world boron reserves”

Stating that the world's boron reserve is around 4.5 billion tons, approximately 3.3 billion tons of this is in our country, and that the United States of America is our main competitor with 1.2 billion tons of reserves, Serkan Keleşer shared the following information about the production and consumption figures regarding boron:

“Production continued in the world despite the pandemic conditions. The world has a production capacity of 5.7 million tons. About 2.7 million tons of this belongs to Eti Maden. The production capacity of the USA, which is our main competitor, is at the level of 1.3 million tons. Out of this total amount of 4 million, our market share is over 50%; in other words, it is over 2 million tons… Our target this year is to exceed 60% in market share. Although we have 73 percent reserves, we have a 56-57 percent market share. Our main goal, of course, is to have a market share proportional to our reserves.”

Expressing that Eti Maden made a very intensive production and sales during the pandemic period, Keleşer said, “We carry out more than 98 percent of our sales abroad. We are trying to produce goods for more than 10 thousand customers in 100 countries, 380 destinations.”

Stating that Eti Maden has reserves that can meet the world's boron need for a thousand years, Keleşer also made the following statements regarding the boron market: “Eti Maden sells the boron after processing, not as it comes out of the soil. It works to deliver higher value-added products. We sell one ton for 450-500 dollars. We are working on boron end products. We are investing in products that can be sold for 25-30 thousand dollars a ton. I hope we will witness these developments together in the near future.”

“I have never seen anyone as fond of his university as I am”

In the interview, Keleşer talked about his memories of his student years at ITU with longing and told young ITU students, “The friendships you make during your university life will make you different in many aspects in life. Experiences are important.” Keleşer continued his words about his university life as follows: “I am 49 years old, I compare myself with those in business life, I have never seen anyone who is as fond of his university as I am. I worked at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for 20 years. I have been at ETİ Maden for the last 4 years. Both while I was working in Istanbul and now, whenever I have a business around Taksim, I stop by Gümüşsuyu and visit my faculty. I stop by the cafeteria, meet with young people and chat with them.”

Who is Serkan Keleşer?

He was born in Istanbul in 1972 and graduated from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Mechanical Engineering Department in 1994. In 2001, he received the title of Master Engineer in Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Institute of Science and Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has received vocational and managerial training in many countries such as England, Germany, France, Scotland, Canada, America. His articles have been published at national and international conferences.

Between 1996-2008, he began working as a project engineer in İGDAŞ, a subsidiary company of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and he worked as a manager in various units in long term. Between 2008-2016, he was appointed to UGETAM AŞ, a subsidiary company of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, as General Manager and Board Member. In March 2017, he was appointed as consultant to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. He was appointed by proxy until December 2017 and afterwards as principal as Eti Maden General Manager and Chairman of the Board. He currently continues his office.