YDS: A Global Brand Preferred by World’s Leading Armies
Defence Turkey: Mr. Vedat Yakupoğlu, before all else, we would like to thank you for your time. As YDS, you supply uniforms, boots, assault vests and other needs for armies of Turkey and other countries around the world. Your brand has become universal. Could you briefly tell us about the developments period of YDS from its foundation to to present day?
Yakupoğlu Inc. was founded in Yalvaç district of Isparta 85 years ago, in 1927. At first we had concentrated largely on leather products and then we moved to Ankara, which led us to trading and undertaking military apparel. In 1990, we started using advanced technology. At that point, our company has begun to design its own products. Yakupoğlu Inc. has proven its quality especially for technical footwear and kits to the world and has become a well known and trusted global trademark.
Defence Turkey: Could you tell us about your production facilities, production capacity, labor force, product range for defence industry and capabilities?
Yakupoğlu Inc. produces technical boots, technical textile products, industrial tents and tents designed for natural disaster aid in a production facility of approximately 100.000 m2 in Ankara. We are using the most advanced production technologies for footwear and technical textile in it. In our factory, we produce 15.000 pairs of buskins and 1000 technical tents daily. As Yakupoğlu, we are proud of being capable of supplying fort he demands of our clients at the soonest possible date, and our quality which is proven by internationally valid certificates.
Besides, Yakupoğlu Inc. is the only Turkish company in its sector which holds a laboratory accreditation by TSE.
Defence Turkey: YDS is a company which produces technology and sells it to the world. Could you please briefly explain us the research & development capabilities and investments?
Especially in the last 4 years, the investments we mad efor research & development constitutes a huge proportion of our annual return. We have a research & development team of 35 people. Our 8 designers, 6 of whom are engineers and 3 are Italians, offer products fitting to our flexible production capability to our clients. We are capable of affording support about samples in our research & development production line. Moreover, we have a design office in Italy, which gives us the opportunity of following the latest trends and technologiesof Europe closely. We make our designs in accordance with the latest technologies. We use CAD and CAM as well as 3D drawing softwares. Our research & development department owns one cutting machine for leathers, one for boards, and one sample injection machine with 4 stations. Besides, we officially get the international registrations for all the models and designs of our research & development department.
Defence Turkey: Have you achieved the export target in 2012? What did YDS do in 2012?
The number of the countries we export increased to more than 40, and our annual return was 300 million TL. We began to produce industrial tents besides other products in 2012, and in that new area, we have become the greatest supplier for especially TSK, and also for UNICEF, KIZILAY, KIZILHAÇ and AFAD. We have reached a capacity of producing daily 1000 tents designed for natural disaster aid. Furthermore, the tender initiated by Ministry of Defence of England, which is considered as the world’s biggest tender of purchasing military boots in terms of annual return with its £8o million cost, had a closure in the beginning of last July and we succeeded to be one of the suppliers of British Army which carries out operations in lots of areas of the world.
We succeeded to be one of the suppliers in a tender where participants were 47 companies from all around the world and all were leading experts in their fields. According to the contract which has a four-years calendar, we will deliver 6 different models of boots which are suitable for all climatic conditions. These boots will be produced in our facilities in Ankara and they will be delivered to the clients with YDS brand on them. These new boots that we will produce will be used by male and female members of Royal Air Force, Royal Marine and Royal Land Force of UK. We will deliver the first party in February, 2013. After this tender, we also won the tender of boots of Denmark Army, and we will also be delivering them those boots in 2013.
Defence Turkey: You export your products almost all armies in Europe. Likewise, you are effective in Middle East. What are your ongoing projects in United Arab Emirates and Middle East markets?
We have been working with United Arab Emirates since 2003. Up to the present, we made an export of approximately 45-50 million USDs. We will be carrying on new projects with them about military boots and sleeping bags in 2013. We have been providing all the footwear and boot demands of Oman Army, together with their air and marine forces as well as royal guard forces since 2004. We won the boots & shoes tender of Jordan in 2009. For the last three years, we have been annually exporting approximately 135.000 boots and shoes. We will also join the tender of land forces and gendarmerie in Jordan in 2013. Other than these, we also supply military boots for Turkmenistan, Kazakhistan, Georgia, Bahrain ve Mongolia forces.
