Goodman, the integrated global property group which owns, develops and manages industrial and office space, today officially announced its development plans in Turkey during a press conference in Istanbul.
Goodman is an integrated property group that owns, develops and manages industrial and business space globally. The group invests in business parks, office parks, industrial estates and warehouse and distribution centres. It also offers a range of listed and unlisted property funds, giving investors access to its specialist services and property assets.
With total assets of 23.4 billion and close to 700 properties under management, Goodman is one of the world's largest listed property groups. The Group has more than 1,300 staff spread over 30 offices in 20 countries. In Europe, Goodman has offices in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.
During a press conference in Istanbul today, Goodman has now officially announced its development plans for the Turkish market. With a booming economy, an increasing household consumption and ongoing infrastructure projects, Goodman has identified Turkey, and more specifically the greater Istanbul area, as a significant opportunity for the group.
In an initial stage, Goodman will be focusing on the development of high-quality warehouses in the larger Marmara Region, one of the major gateways between Europe and Asia. The logistics sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Turkey with a fierce development of the supply chain management, contract logistics and transportation industries. Supply of modern and high-quality warehouse space is limited and the demand supersedes the fragmented offer.
Danny Peeters, CEO European Logistics at Goodman: "Turkey has all the potential to become a key logistics hub between Europe and Asia. We have identified a high demand for high-quality warehouse space that responds to international standards and are pleased to be able to respond to this need with our integrated customer service offering."
Goodman's first logistics project in the Marmara Region will be the development of a 140,000 m² logistics park in Izmit. Izmit has historically been the industrial heartland of Western Turkey, mainly supporting the chemical and automotive industries to the Istanbul area and further into Anatolia. It is the most attractive logistics area in the bay area for logistics service providers, manufacturers and retailers. It is strategically located at the junction of 0-4, D-100 (the two major motorways between Istanbul and Ankara) and the new to-be built 3rd motorway. Goodman's 21 ha logistics site is only 8 km from the Derince port and the future freight terminal in Kosekoy (at 5 km).
On the site, Goodman will develop a 140,000 m² flexible warehouse with 10,000 m² of office space. Construction works start in January 2008 and the project will be completed in phases.
In order to steer the development plans of Goodman in the region, Goodman has installed a local team in Istanbul which is headed by Emrah Gültekin.
Mr Gültekin joined Goodman in June 2007. He has 15 years experience as a regional logistics consultant. In his recent position as Regional Director for UTi Worldwide Inc, he was responsible for coordinating contract logistics projects such as the design, construction and operations of warehouses in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Dubai, Ukraine and Russia. In addition to his previous position, Mr Gültekin has also worked as Country Manager for Maersk Denizcilik in Turkey.
In his function as Managing Director, Mr Gültekin will oversee the management of Goodman Turkey and position the business for further growth in this region. He commented: "I am thrilled to join the Goodman team. We have identified ample opportunities for the group in the Turkish region and we will spread Goodman's customer service offering to a broad customer base that wishes to operate their logistics from a high-quality warehouse in the larger Istanbul area."
Danny Peeters added: "Goodman'
