The Lubricant and Petroleum Products Industrialists’ Association (MAPESAD), which was established in 2004 as the first and only association in this sector, has a special place for the sector. This entity was formed by business people who have future objectives and make investments to realize these objectives, and it works for developing the lubricants sector that makes ever-increasing contribution to the national economy.
With is wide field of interest, MAPESAD mainly works for following the latest technology in the world and bringing it to the use of the national lubricants sector, leading the way for R&D activities, searching for new markets to increase imports, strengthening the current markets, and ensuring fair competition in the market.
In addition, MAPESAD acts as a bridge between the government and the sector, and dealing with all issues from the social conditions of employees to environmental conditions related to production. MAPESAD adopts as a fundamental objective to support the development and implementation of new strategies to carry Turkish products to a level where they are preferred in world markets for their high quality. In line with MAPESAD’s approach, ensuring standardization for products, consistently raising the quality of products, observing effectiveness in production, and meeting the targets without compromising quality with firms that have the capacity to meet customer needs are among the main goals. The member companies of the Association act together to meet these goals.
Lubricant plants are the only places in the petroleum sector that manufacture products. These products have high added value. Moreover, this sector has considerable potential for employment and, in this respect, is of great importance for the country’s economy. The Turkish lubricants sector, manufacturing products at facilities meeting world standards, exports to many countries around the world, especially to Europe. The sector not only contributes to the development and growth of many other sectors from packaging to transport, and plays a role in opening new employment opportunities.
Representing lubricant industrialists and taking action to solve the sector’s common and current problems, MAPESAD aims to raise the standards of lubricants and petroleum products for the sake of producers, consumers and the environment.
At the same time, MAPESAD is determined to turn Turkey into a key production base for lubricants by using its geographical and geopolitical advantages, and thus continues to work to in this direction. With the R&D support provided by the government in recent years, the sector is moving towards the place it deserves to be at the national and international level by diversifying its products, increasing the reliability of domestic production, improving the image of socially responsible producers, and gaining further strength under the roof of MAPESAD.
Nevertheless, there are certain obstacles to the development of the lubricants sector. Unlicensed production is the biggest obstacle that prevents fair competition and hinders market development. The Ministry of Finance and the Energy Market Regulatory Authority are taking steps to prevent unlicensed production by adopting strict regulations.
Moreover, obtaining a license for lubricant production is an obligation in Turkey, and there are many conditions to meet to have this license. One of these conditions is to receive a TSI (Turkish Standards Institute) certificate for each product. A certain amount must be paid to EMRA when selling lubricants. For producers in Turkey, paying high charges to TSI and the obligation to give a share to EMRA creates unfair grounds for competition in imports.
MAPESAD therefore plays a key role in the sector. It is working actively to speak out and find solutions to the common and current problems of the sector at political authorities, ministries and government institutions.
