Yavuz IŞIK
ERMCO ve THBB Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı
President of ERMCO and THBB
As THBB, we are not restricted with our domestic activities. We are working a lot to represent our country and our setor in the best possible way and to be heard abroad. Recently, we participated in the Representatives meeting, Strategy and Development Committee meeting, and the Board meeting of European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization (ERMCO), in which I have acted as the President since 2016, in June, in Prague. In the meeting where, the representatives from South America and the US ready mixed concrete organizations, in addition to the European countries, attended, I gave an assessment speech regarding the activities performed by ERMCO and the European ready mixed concrete sector for the last year. In my speech, I specified that concrete stands out as a material that has long life and that is sturdy, renewable, and reusable. I explained that concrete, a %100 recyclable material, must be brought to the foreground as the main material of the construction sector and promoted more and more. In doing it, of course, I stated particularly the requirement of bringing the concerns of the concrete producers to the agenda of the European Commission.
We are undertaking active tasks in the committees of European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization (ERMCO). We are taking part in numerous committee meetings, primarily the ERMCO Sustainability Committee and ERMCO Technical Committee where we share the assessments and developments regarding our sector. We, as Turkey, continue to lead the works performed in terms of the recycling aggregates, which is one of the agenda topics of ERMCO Technical Committee. In the meeting held in June, we made a presentation regarding the ERMCO situation report drawn up for the recycling aggregates. With this report that has also been approved by ERMCO and that will be published soon, the views and thoughts of the ready mixed concrete producers regarding recycling of aggregate will be shared with public and the European Commission.
I would like to share here a new development that has excited all of us with you. As Turkish Ready Mixed Concrete Association, we have become the “Regional System Operator” of the Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC). At the same time, the THBB Quality Assurance System (KGS) has become a “Certification Agency.” These are substantial achievements of our Association and a huge step taken by our country and our ready mixed concrete industry. CSC certification system supports the producers in increasing their product quality. At the same time, CSC certificate helps states perform the environment-friendly transport of concrete and make their infrastructure assessment policies. In this scope, as the Regional System Operator, THBB will determine the certification conditions and KGS will continue its inspections independently. With the membership of the Council, THBB and KGS will bear the banner in our region and our ready mixed concrete sector will level up to a significant extent.