Our Sales Director Ceyhun Şahbaz Gave an Interview to Angola’s Newspaper
We are very proud to announce the interview that our esteemed Sales Director Ceyhun Şahbaz gave to Angola’s leading “Economia&Finanças” Newspaper, highlighting the success of our brand. In this interview, our Sales Director gave Angola an overview of the vision, determination, and strategies that carried our brand Raff Military Textile to the top.
He began the interview by explaining the foundation of Raff Military Textile, emphasizing its core values and vision for the sector. He candidly explained to our Angolan customers firsthand how our brand plays an important role in aligning its ever-growing ambitions with market demands and becoming a powerhouse producing premium textile products.
Here is the Full Interview:
Interview with Raff Military Textile Sales Director Ceyhun Şahbaz
Journalist: Joaquim Suami
1 – What is Raff Military Textile?
Raff Military Textile is an international military textile company dedicated to the military and police textile industry with a history of more than half a century, creating the industry’s best products with state-of-the-art technology.
2 – What does Raff Military Textile actually produce?
The main establishment purpose of Raff, as our brand name suggests, is about military and police textile products. We can list them as military and police camouflage uniforms, military and police vests, ceremonial clothes, military and police boots and shoes, backpacks, tents and various equipment. Our product portfolio, especially military and police products, grows and develops day by day and has reached a point at which we can meet all the needs of our customers in the context of their special requests.
3 – In addition to military and police uniforms, what other products do you produce?
With our company’s long years of experience and expert staff, we have expanded our production activities in the field of textiles and also added corporate clothing to our product range. These, as you know, include uniforms used in various industries; firefighting, medical, private security, promotion, etc. For more information about the products: https://www.raff.com.tr/products/
4 – What is Raff’s purpose of investing in Angola?
Throughout our operational life, Angola had a strategic importance for our company with its textile resources such as cotton, silk, and wool that could be beneficial for textile production, its market potential, and the full support provided by the Angola government to foreign investors.
5 – Does this purpose involve setting up factories in Angola?
Of course, our ultimate goal is to set up a manufacturing facility in Angola.
6 – How many factories do you intend to set up and how many production plants will you have in the country?
We cannot give an exact number for now. First of all, our aim is to start with a facility and then increase this number gradually as a result of good success.
7 – Is the Angolan market favorable for your business and what are the benefits for Angola?
Our goal of investing in Angola was formed years ago as a result of our deep research and was officially realized this year. Our research shows that Angola will offer us great opportunities; therefore, we are taking firm steps forward. Most importantly, we can guarantee that we will make a great contribution to local employment and the Angolan economy with the facility we will establish here.
8 – Was Mr. Ceyhun Şahbaz part of the TİM (Türkiye Exporters Assembly) delegation that was in Angola and had contacts with the Angolan authorities?
Yes, we owe our presence here to the valuable institutions of our country, the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM) and the Turkish Ministry of Commerce. We would like to thank everyone here again, also including our Turkish Minister of Defense for his valuable contributions.
9 – Along with these two entities, what other contacts did you have in this country?
Our business relations with Angola go back many years, of course, and we met with the Angolan Minister of Industry and Trade, Víctor Fernandes, at the invitation of the Turkish Embassy in Luanda, and concluded important commercial agreements. [Click for details.]
10 – What economic benefits will these agreements or partnerships that you intend to establish bring to the national economy?
We are very happy to say that this strong cooperation we have established with Angola will provide mutual benefits for both countries. Angola will provide more cost-effective production conditions compared to our country, and our quality standards will not be affected by this situation, thanks to the ease of access to the country’s natural resources. If our goals are realized, Angola’s contribution to us will soon affect other investors too and the number of investments made to Angola will grow at a good rate.
11 – How many jobs do you intend to secure in Angola, especially among young people?
As Raff Military Textile, we prefer to utilize a young and dynamic workforce with sufficient experience in our production facilities. We believe that we will provide employment to approximately 100 young Angolans in our first production facility.
12 – Is there any chosen province in Angola to set up factories or distribution centers for your products?
Of course, Luanda, where our country’s embassy is located and which is also the capital of Angola, will be our starting point.
13 – What results did you obtain in Angola during your presence at the business forum?
First of all, the business forum in Angola served as a remarkable platform for us to increase brand awareness and visibility on an international scale. Through engaging presentations, discussions, and networking sessions, we effectively showcased our company as a trusted provider in the subject of military and police textile solutions. As a result, we can say that we have established invaluable partnerships, showcased our innovations, gained market insights on Angola, signed contracts, and increased our brand visibility.
14 – Were there contacts with some industrial units to establish partnerships?
Yes, there were. We already had some local partners in Angola, we are adding new partners to our existing ones with our new work. As Raff Military Textile, we are constantly looking for partners with whom we can establish a win-win relationship worldwide. In this context, establishing partnerships in a geography such as Africa, which has special importance for our company, hosts the majority of our customers, and has a high potential for development, will be valuable initiatives for us. Angola, with its central location in Africa and its potential for development, is also promising for all companies, including us.
15 – What experiences, knowledge, or know-how can you bring to Angola, with the aim of contributing to the growth of the Angolan economy?
Raff Military Textile is a family company that has old roots in the textile industry. For this reason, it has years of experience. Changing and developing technology also manifests itself in the textile sector, creating new methods, information, and know-how. In addition, every order we receive from our customers is, of course, a new learning experience for us. This knowledge that accumulated over the years has been reinforced further as we are a company that designs and manufactures special products for our customers.
16 – What is your current production and how many factories do you have? What is your annual production?
Our production activities continue in many countries. We serve all our customers with quality and the latest technology in our factories in Senegal – Dakar, Zambia – Lusaka, Iraq – Erbil and of course, in our 3 factories in Turkey, our main base. Our annual capacity is approximately 10.000.000 units per all product groups.
17 – Last year, what were your production and main export countries?
We are an export-oriented Turkish company. Therefore, Africa has a special position for us. Most of our customers come from this young and newly industrializing continent. Here we have many contacts, whether customers or not. Raff Military Textile exports to nearly 60 countries around the world, located in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and most importantly Africa.
18 – How will your intervention in Angola be in terms of exports?
We love Angola. The breathtaking natural beauty and friendly people of this place impress us, which is why we chose to come here and build a factory. We aim to establish a healthy win-win relationship by investing in this beautiful country. As an export-oriented company, we want to get beneficial returns from the investments we plan to make and to be successful, of course; however, while trying to do this, we also want to contribute to Angola, share the experiences we have accumulated in our memory, and create employment. We see this as a journey we will take together and we think we have a lot to learn from each other on this journey.
19 – In addition to Angola, which other African countries do you want to settle in?
As I mentioned before, Africa is in a special and valuable position for us on the world stage. We have had ongoing relationships with this place for years, we have many acquaintances, customers, and friends here. Establishing a production facility is a new idea for us and one that we are maturing day by day. From this point of view, it may not be very accurate to say very precise things early on, but in general, it would not be wrong for me to say that some countries like Chad and Guinea are a little bit more on the front for us.
20 – Is the business forum a sign to strengthen economic and trade relations with Angola?
No doubt it is! We think that the contributions of international companies to their countries in foreign relations should not be ignored. After all, these reasons are also at the forefront of our existence purposes.
21 – What information do Turkish investors have about Angola?
Angola is one of the largest economies in Central Africa. Angola is particularly strong in oil and gas production, but we know that it is striving to develop more in other sectors such as agriculture, textiles, infrastructure, and tourism. In doing so, it creates significant opportunities for us, investors, by getting support from foreign countries. We understand this from the tax incentives, trade reforms, and important strategic agreements that the Angolan government has provided to foreign investors.
In the face of an ever-changing textile industry, our Sales Manager’s dedication, creativity, and leadership have undoubtedly been instrumental in our company’s continued success. Through this interview with Angola’s leading newspaper “Economia&Finanças”, the world has gained an insight into the heart and soul of our brand, where customer focus, sustainability, and innovation come together to create a success story.
We would like to thank Economia&Finanças for this beautiful interview and dear Joaquim Suami for his valuable questions.