TIMFED TASK GROUPS

1-        Publication Group  
- Carries out the production organization for TIMFED Magazine and other publications,
- Covers the activities of the formation, development and updating of the website,
- Prepares press bulletins, allowing sectoral press activities to be performed,
Aydın Eşer                 TIMDER
Serdar Dönmez        TIMDER
Mehmet Arslan         TIMDER

Note: The Magazine is to be published in Istanbul. Association presidents will convey the news in their areas to headquarters.

A research and reporting unit is to be formed under the Federation for preparing sectoral reports, performance of sectoral research and drafting of press bulletins.

2-        Communication Group
- Carries out contacts with Federation Members, sector representatives and government representatives,
- Conducts press activities of the Federation,
Emin Ayar                 TIMKODER
Kemal Yıldırım           TIMDER
Yusuf Yılmaz              BURTIMDER
Mehmet Özbaş         EGE TIMDER
Mesut Aygören         DIMSIAD
Yaşar Tabur              ANTIMDER
Akif Arıcan                 FIMSIAD

Note: Association Presidents will conduct any contact with sector representatives and government agencies in their respective areas. Ankara based government contact is to be conducted by a team to be designated by TIMFED President and Deputy President.

3-        Member Development Group:
Activities performed by Member Development Groups of Associations will be addressed at TIMFED Board of Directors, ensuring that Federation related resolutions are adopted.

4-        Technical Group
Organizes training activities, symposiums (sectoral problems, solution recommendations, etc.) and briefings,
Ali Yalçın Tung          TIMDER
Serdar Dönmez        TIMDER
Baki Kartalkaya        TIMDER

5-        Fund Raising and Creative Projects Coordination Group:
Association Presidents will submit any proposals for fund raising projects to be carried out for the Federation to Federation President and the subject will be addressed at Coordination Group and placed in the agenda of TIMFED Board of Directors.
Kemal Yıldırım           TIMDER        
Aydın Eşer                 TIMDER
Yaşar Tabur              ANTIMDER
Yunus Altun                TIMKODER

FORMATION PROCESS

TIMDER, the twentieth anniversary of which we are celebrating, is a Non-Governmental Organization founded by the leading building material vendors of the industry in 1988, coming together in Istanbul.

Presently, it has more than 400 principal and more than 100 honorary members. Our organization, which has a member potential of over 1,500 including our branches and independent sister organizations in Izmir, Bursa, Denizli, Antalya, Fethiye, Ankara and Van has formed TIMFED Building Materials Suppliers Federation to represent the building material vendors in our country in March 2007, through the process described below. 

Our Association, seeking to spread across our country, has first formed branches in Izmir, Bursa and Denizli, establishing and independent association in Antalya under the title of ANTIMDER (Antalya Building Materials Suppliers Association).

Our Association, aiming at bringing together the building and plumbing material vendors in our country under the same roof, has formed a group titled “TIMDER Board of Directors and Presidents” with the participation of FIMSIAD (Fethiye Building Materials Vendors Businessmen Association) in Fethiye, TIMKODER Plumbing and Building Industry Materials Suppliers Association in Ankara, AMTIMDER in Antalya and our branches.

Periodically, meetings were held in provinces where our organizations are situated in the chronological sequence given below where the problems of the industry were addressed and also mutual information exchange was done in visits to governors, mayors and Chambers of Trade, introducing our organizations.

-           June 28,  2005                      Denizli Meeting
-           September 30, 2005           Antalya Meeting
-           February 16, 2006               Istanbul Meeting
-           August 19, 2006                   Ankara Meeting
-           April 06, 2007                       Istanbul Meeting

The suggestions made for formation of a Federation by our previous period presidents were addressed for a long time in the itineraries of our former and present administrations. On October 7, 2005, the desire for forming a federation developed  at the “Presidents Consulting Meeting” held quarterly by independent associations among themselves was conveyed to R. Hisarcıklıoğlu who met with a committee formed by Association Presidents in Ankara and support was requested from TOBB President who came from the sector. The activities for building the Federation gained speed with the support obtained from TOBB President. The Federation build-up process was initiated as Non-Governmental Organizations became even more important each passing day in our country which is in the EU process.

To that end, new associations were formed under the title of BURTIMDER in bursa and DIMSIAD in Denizli. Decision for reorganization was adopted in Izmir under the name of EGETIMDER. During this process, all preparations for establishment of a federation chaired by TIMDER were completed with the encouragement and support of TOBB President Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and our Federation was established under the name of TIMFED upon approval of the by-laws  of the Federation on March 28, 2007.

The press announcement made together with TOBB President on the occasion of UNICERA Trade Fair on April 06, 2007 was aired live on Haber Türk TV channel. The bodies of our Federation was completed with the Board of Directors meeting  held following the initial General Meeting held in Ankara on Wednesday May 23, 2007.

In early April, another organization was founded under the name of VANTIMDER in Van  which will become a member of our Federation in the near future. It is expected that in addition to the Associations forming our Federation, gaining power each passing day by increasing their membership, a significant force will be created with membership expected to go over 2000 in the second half of 2008 when VANTIMDER also joins the Federation.

For now, it is impossible to find a single figure on the magnitude of the construction industry which has more than 300 sub-sectors and to monitor the changes in this figure. Certain estimates may be formed using the data of Ministry of Public Works and the market research data carried out by private organizations. Our organization, too, has studies in this regard. The figures determining the trade volume for specific product groups of our organization members who are wholesale dealers in large cities are determined at  6 month periods shedding light on our statistical evaluations. As contained in the economic evaluation report of December 2007 by IMSAD, it is observed that housing construction has reached 27.9 billion Dollars, growing approximately 3.3 times in 2006 from its market size of 8.5 billion Dollars in 2000. The significant share of our members of this trade volume allows us to have an opinion on the might of this service group in our industry.

Why, as TIMFED, which aims at bringing together all vendors in Turkey under the same roof which is expected to discipline the vendors leg of the industry and to become its strengthening voice felt the need for forming a federation?
We chose the path for such an organization to mitigate the pressure attributable to the difficulties of doing business by vendors.
We felt the need to generate common solutions to solve conclusively the small but important problems faced by our membership over 1,000 across Turkey in day-to-day operations with their retail and wholesale customers, without being dragged on.
We felt the need to report to everyone any problems occurring in wholesale and large sized projects all over Turkey or any individuals or firms we become aware of                                                                                  expected to create problems from the beginning for joint action against them.
We felt the need for finding solutions in solidarity without taking into account the difference between dealers or agents among vendors in the same area to prevent loss of time or reduce costs in supplies and shipments.
We felt the need to find common solutions for bringing sales agreements into written form and to have them written in legal language so that any problems which may occur in  aggregate sales made to large construction groups may be tolerated and that these are read by legal advisors or Attorneys at Law who are specialists in this field to ensure that there are not provisions open to adverse use in the future.

We became even stronger with TIMFED but we are aware that we have to use our power intelligently so that we can use the capabilities afforded to us by this power usefully. From now on, we will have a much different stance within the construction industry in the relations  of building materials  suppliers with government agencies and even with EU in the future. “

An award was presented to MR. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, TOBB Chairman of the Board, someone from amongst us who paved our way in building our federation both as an opinion  leader and also with his endless support to allow us to present our thanks and gratitude symbolically at 2007 UNICERA Trade Fair with the request that he always remembers us. We believe that Mr. Hisarcıklıoğlu more than deserves this award as he has spent time and energy on our building of our Federation despite his intense pace of business, not forgetting us while addressing  many subjects concerning  the country’s economy and politics while serving at a position which he occupies as one of us, a building  materials vendor. We know that his moral support will always be with us hoping that his concern for us is permanent.

Respectfully,

Kemal Yıldırım,
Chairman of Board of Directors
TIMFED