What We Did in 2023: Çakıroğlu Metal’s Export Year — 4 Countries, 5 Events

For Çakıroğlu Metal 2023 was a year spent on the road. As the Republic of Türkiye marked its 100th anniversary, we packed our bags for one delegation after another. We carried Turkish steel to four countries and stood at the heart of the industry’s biggest domestic gathering.

Rather than a simple year-end summary, think of this as a map. Five events, four countries, and a single thread running through them all: being at the right table, at the right time, in the right market.

2023: The Year We Took to the Field

Following the pandemic-era pause, the Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association (ÇİB) reopened its delegation calendar in force in 2023. Çakıroğlu Metal was there for the stops that mattered most. From the Balkans to the Benelux, our year was built around one principle: reaching growing, import-reliant markets face to face rather than from behind a desk.

2023 Timeline	Event	Focus
Early 2023	Bulgaria Trade Delegation	Neighboring EU market
Spring 2023	Romania Trade Delegation	Black Sea–Balkan corridor
June 2023	Belgium Steel Trade Delegation	Benelux & EU access
September 2023	Metal Expo 2023	Industry visibility (Istanbul)
December 2023	Albania Sectoral Trade Delegation	Gateway to the Western Balkans

Four foreign delegations plus one flagship domestic fair. Together, these five milestones sketch the direction of our export strategy.

Bulgaria Trade Delegation

We opened the year with our closest neighbor. Bulgaria is an EU member whose construction and infrastructure sector is fed largely by imports. That makes it both a market in its own right and a doorway into the wider European bloc. Meeting importer firms directly let us turn geographic proximity into concrete business conversations.

→ Read the full story: Bulgaria Trade Delegation 2023

Romania Trade Delegation

Next came Romania, one of the region’s most dynamic markets thanks to EU-funded infrastructure investment. Every new tender in roads, bridges and housing feeds demand for rebar, profiles and steel mesh. These are exactly the long products where Turkish suppliers are strong. Sitting on the Black Sea–Balkan corridor, Romania is a natural extension of our regional footprint.

→ Read the full story: Romania Trade Delegation 2023

Belgium Steel Trade Delegation

In June we moved west. Belgium is a demanding, standards-driven market in its own right. It is also a hub for the Benelux and, through it, the heart of the EU. For a supplier working to EN and CE standards, a delegation here is as much about credibility as it is about volume.

→ Read the full story: Belgium Steel Trade Delegation 2023

Metal Expo 2023

Not every milestone required a passport. In September, Metal Expo 2023 brought the sector’s producers, suppliers and buyers together on home ground in Istanbul. For us, the fair was about visibility. We showed the breadth of our long and flat product range, strengthened the brand, and turned face-to-face encounters into lasting contacts.

→ Read the full story: Metal Expo 2023

Albania Sectoral Trade Delegation

We closed the year in Tirana. On 11-13 December, the Albania Sectoral Trade Delegation seated us alongside importers from Albania and its neighbors. Small on paper, Albania is in practice a strategic threshold: a gateway to the Western Balkans via the Adriatic. It is also a market heavily dependent on imports for its growing construction needs.

→ Read the full story: Albania Sectoral Trade Delegation

2023 in Numbers

Çakıroğlu Metal’s 2023	Figure
Total events	5
Foreign delegations	4 (Bulgaria, Romania, Belgium, Albania)
Domestic fair	1 (Metal Expo 2023, Istanbul)
Regions covered	Balkans, Black Sea corridor, Benelux/EU
Core products in focus	Rebar, profiles, steel mesh, flat products

A single line ties the table together. Wherever construction is growing and local supply falls short, there is a market for standard-compliant, on-time Turkish steel.

What a Year Brought: Our Export Vision

2023 marked the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye. At Çakıroğlu Metal, we met this symbolic year by growing our exports. Since 1969, we have supplied iron and steel products to all 81 provinces of Türkiye from our base in Tuzla, and we export those same products to markets abroad. This year we took part in trade delegations in four countries and in the sector’s largest domestic gathering. Entering the Republic’s second century, our goal is clear: to be a reliable supply partner across our neighboring geography.

Every delegation, every fair and every handshake in 2023 pointed the same way. Not one-off sales, but durable presence in markets that will keep building for years to come. As we step into 2024, that is the compass we carry forward.

Conclusion

Çakıroğlu Metal 2023 can be read in a single sentence: four countries, five events, one direction. In a year that coincided with the Republic’s 100th anniversary, we chose to meet growing markets in person and to position not as an occasional seller but as a lasting partner. The groundwork laid across the Balkans, the Black Sea corridor and the Benelux now becomes the launch pad for 2024.