Speaking at the ceremony, President Abdullah Gül stated that as nation with a deep-rooted history, it was inevitable for Turkey to have a strong aerospace industry and that Kale Group’s investments in the aerospace industry were worthy investments for Turkey. President Gül indicated that he would also participate at the opening of the plant that he had today laid the foundation.

It is an area that the defence industry attaches importance remarked President Abdullah Gül and stated: “As a large country with a large geography and army, it is very important that Turkey possesses a strong defence industry. I am following the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries very closely. I feel proud with their successes. I continuously visit and hold in high esteem important organizations and corporations like TAI, ASELSAN and MKE. We can observe important developments in the private sector defence industry as well. We had opened the Kale Group’s aerospace industry in 2008. Now we are laying the foundation. I believe that these facilities will be completed soon and that there will be companies that will consider this investment as an example to them.”

Minister of National Defence Vecdi Gönül, Undersecretary for Defence Industries Murad Bayar, Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, Ibrahim Bodur, Osman Okyay and David Galuska delivered a speech during the ceremony.

In his remarks made at the foundation laying ceremony, Ibrahim Bodur said that this project to be completed in a short time by the Kale Pratt & Whitney partnership would, they believe, provide important technology and production capabilities to Turkish industry and in particular to the defence industry and that as the Kale Group they attached great importance to this partnership and the project.

Osman Okyay explained that with this investment in the aerospace industry in which the Kale Group considered strategically important, they had entered the aircraft engine industry and that Kale Pratt & Whitney’s selection of the Kale Group for this investment in Turkey was an indication of the accumulation of knowledge they had reached, the level of quality and the sense of trust they had created.

After the closing of the remarks, President Abdullah Gül and all the ministers laid mortar at the plant’s foundation.

Founded in 16 September 2010 with a 51% share owned by the Kale Group and 49% by Pratt & Whitney, the Kale Pratt & Whitney Uçak Motor Sanayi A.?. will start operations at their facilities located in the Izmir Aegean Free Trade Zone with an initial investment of 60 million dollars.

Planned to be completed in the 2nd quarter of 2012, including the plant’s office area, the facilities will cover a total area of 100,000 m² that includes a 20,000 m² closed area. The plant is targeting employment of 700 people at the end of 5 years