On Tuesday, March 24, the Eurometal Steel Day & YİSAD Flat Steel conference, organized in collaboration with SteelOrbis, kicked off at the Istanbul Marriott Hotel Asia, with almost 400 participants. Now in its 11th year, the event, which has gained international status in recent years with the inclusion of Eurometal, is sponsored by Tatmetal with other sponsors including Ağır Haddecilik, Yatırım Finansman, Gökmetal and Yametaş.
Giving his opening remarks, Tayfun Isheri, Chairman of the Turkish Flat Steel Importers and Manufacturers Association (YISAD), expressed satisfaction with the great interest in conference despite challenging global conditions, noting that it created a productive platform for speakers to share their knowledge and experience.
Turning to global events, Mr. Isheri noted that the steel sector has faced numerous challenges in recent years, including the Russian-Ukrainian war, earthquakes in Turkey and events in Gaza and the Middle East. Stressing that trade costs have risen and protectionist tendencies have strengthened over the period, he said expectations of fighting inflation and lower interest rates also appear to have been put on hold.
Noting that there are serious demand issues in the sheet steel sector, the YİSAD Chairman said that many companies have begun to slow down their planned investments. Stating that finding
