Blending his experience in scrap with his leadership approach based on teamwork, Türeyyen aims to develop strong collaborations with the right strategies to overcome the challenges in the sector by prioritizing sustainability and environmental awareness.
Türeyyen, who will also be moderating the Scrap Panel at the Steel Summit 2025 conference, emphasized that important steps should be taken to make the sector more efficient and sustainable by drawing attention to the problems that may be experienced in scrap supply in the future.
Can we learn the story of how Osman Türeyyen, who has managed to become one of the first names that come to mind when scrap is mentioned in the steel markets, crossed paths with scrap?
Since my childhood, I grew up dreaming of becoming an engineer, and for this reason, I preferred to study at a vocational high school instead of a regular high school. After studying at the Mechanical Department of Istanbul Haydarpaşa Technical High School, I graduated from ITU Metallurgy Faculty in 1987. I worked in various companies, but I have been in the iron and steel industry throughout my career.
My focus on scrap started with Ekinciler Demir Çelik and continued with Habaş. During this period, I worked in both commercial and technical areas, including not only purchasing but also quality control. I also worked in steel mills and scrap yards. Later, when I switched to the scrap sales side, I started working at Stemcor UK, a large international trading company. During this period, I gained experience in many countries, ports and sites both in Türkiye and abroad.
I didn't dream of becoming a scrap dealer, but life circumstances led me to work in the recycling and scrap sector. Today, when I look back, we can see even more clearly how important this field is. I believe that our young people should also consider the recycling sector as a career field, because recycling is an extremely valuable and strategic issue in terms of both environmental and economic aspects, regardless of the field.
Inspired by my colleagues who had worked successfully in the field of scrap sales before me, I started working in sales at the representative level in March 2001.
However, the main difference that distinguishes me from my colleagues is that my style, goals and beliefs have always been based on teamwork. Even after establishing my own business, my primary goal has always been to build a strong team, produce together and succeed together. When I look back today after many years, it makes me proud to see that we are moving in the right direction both for myself and for our company.
What are the challenges you face in scrap procurement processes? Which strategies do you use to overcome these challenges?
Our country is one of the most important countries in iron and steel production worldwide. Due to the profile of the manufacturing companies operating in our sector, manufacturing is predominantly carried out in electric arc furnace plants. Iron and steel scrap has a critical importance as a basic raw material input. However, due to the inability of domestic scrap production to meet demand for many years, Türkiye has become one of the world's largest importer countries in this field.
This position reflects on our industry in both advantageous and disadvantageous ways. While being a leading importer and an important market player on a global scale allows us to play an effective role in determining prices, the fact that the desired quality and quantity compositions are not always available poses a significant problem from time to time.
Nowadays, given the necessity to keep carbon emissions within certain limits in production processes, it has become a serious challenge for the sector to obtain the right quality and quantity of raw materials at affordable prices in accordance with environmental norms.
Our goal is to offer the most suitable solutions by combining the scrap compositions required by our customers through our different suppliers with special supplies in certain ratios on an order basis and ready-made compositions that are suitable for market conditions. In this way, we aim to develop a supply model that both meets sustainability criteria and is cost-effective.
METKİM supplies technology and machinery from countries such as Canada, Spain and the UK. What advantage do these international collaborations provide?
Through the companies we represent, we contribute to the sector not only in commercial activities but also in technical fields. This gives us the opportunity to work in different areas of expertise within the same sector. This diversity both increases our ability to do business and contributes to expanding our circle within the sector. Our expanding business network and versatile service approach offer us significant advantages in terms of sustainable growth and developing stronger collaborations.
The use of machinery and equipment is not yet at the desired level in our country...
What do you think about the potential of technological equipment such as radiation measurement systems and scrap preparation machines in the Turkish market?
RAD&COMM, headquartered in Canada, is one of the leading companies in the field of radiation measurement systems worldwide. We have been the authorized representative of this brand in Türkiye, Middle East and North Africa for many years.
We believe that Türkiye, thanks to its position as a regional leader in the iron and steel industry, has successfully maintained its mission of being a model country in the implementation of technological solutions in this field. Today, RAD&COMM systems are actively used by many producers in our country; the systems are constantly updated and upgraded with the developing technology.
However, the use of machinery and equipment in the field of recycling has not yet reached the desired level in our country. However, efficiency and sustainability in this field are directly related to advanced equipment. Recycling processes cannot be carried out effectively without modern infrastructures such as press machines, shear systems, precision measurement devices and metal grinding technologies. Therefore, it is of great importance to renew existing technologies and increase their utilization rates.
In order to increase domestic scrap and recycling capacity, both supporting domestic machinery manufacturers and establishing closer cooperation with international manufacturers will be a major driving force for our sector. This process will act as a catalyst that will not only advance technological development, but also sectoral efficiency and competitiveness.
“We always proceed with a perspective that is open to developments”
How does supply chain management in the Mediterranean region work? Do you plan to expand to other regions?
As METKİM Metal, we play an active role in the scrap supply chain, especially on the sales side. Our working region mainly covers the Black Sea countries, Europe and the United States of America. These regions are the main raw material supplier markets for us.
The markets that purchase scrap are mainly Türkiye Egypt and Greece in the Mediterranean region, and Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait in the Middle East. Currently, our entire business volume is concentrated in these markets and most of our operations are limited to these geographies.
As of today, we have no active plans to expand into other regions, but time will tell what opportunities we will encounter in the future due to the dynamic nature of the sector. We are always open to developments and ready to seize opportunities.
Economic concerns delay environmental action...
As METKİM, what role do you play in the sector in terms of environmental sustainability? What are your strategies for recycling and energy efficiency?
As in every business, environmental protection, sustainability and the future of the world we live in are among the most important priorities for us. Unfortunately, in recent years, these vital issues have lost their initial excitement as economic concerns have come to the forefront. This is causing some critical environmental steps to be delayed. If we want to leave a more livable world for future generations, it is crucial to pursue more balanced policies. We believe that international organizations and governments should offer more supportive and encouraging mechanisms to companies that try to fulfill their environmental responsibilities. As METKİM Metal, we take into account not only economic efficiency but also environmental impacts in our work with all the companies we cooperate with, and we take care to make the principle of sustainability an integral part of our activities.
“It is clear that the scrap business will become increasingly difficult in the coming years”
How do you assess the global scrap market for 2025 and what are your projections until the end of the year?
Since 2020, the volatile movements have reduced forecasts and expectations to very short term. It has become almost impossible to make long-term plans and price forecasts according to these plans. Both countries and companies have to follow developments on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis, and accordingly, they have to constantly adjust their targets. Unfortunately, price forecasts are also in this category.
It is clear that the scrap business will become increasingly difficult in the coming years. The biggest criterion here is the availability of the required scrap qualities in sufficient quantities. On the other hand, certain criteria, quotas and taxes imposed between countries and regions may force companies to concentrate both production and sales in their own regions. In addition, while the increasing availability of transportation and logistics facilities may seem like an advantage, the ever-increasing costs of these facilities constitute a significant disadvantage for companies. This may require countries and companies to evaluate and direct their investments on a regional basis.
At present, it does not seem to be very difficult for a steel mill in Türkiye to buy scrap from the US or Europe. However, when it comes to certain grades, there may be serious problems in the not too distant future. For this reason, perhaps the mills will have to develop their own scrap suppliers or enter into a long-term cooperation with a recycling company. I believe that planning and active work in this direction should start as soon as possible.
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