HISTORY

In the 1900’s Sami Turkmenoglu, who was still very young, decided to work in the field agriculture and started his business life in İzmir, İnciraltı. This small land, where the first steps of today's Turkmenoglu and Mateks were taken, is slowly growing while witnessing history. Turkmenoglu, together with his two sons, took advantage of the warm weather of İzmir, which was a small Aegean city at the time, to do early fruit farming in small wooden greenhouses and meet İzmir's need for first-year vegetables to a large extent. This production, which started with 10-15 thousand square meters, increased to 650-700 thousand square meters and gradually became one of the largest vegetable producers in the Aegean Region with the increase in domestic trade volume.

In the 1950s, field agriculture gave way to the planting of satsuma, which was suitable for climate and was classified as one of the rare products in the world at that time. These fragrant satsuma saplings, a cold-resistant, seedless, and easy-to-peel citrus species which came from Rize, ensure a strong plantation in the region.

Turkish Export Promotion Center, a public institution operating under the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade in 1961, has been a turning point in our story. The first export experiment with the Export Center, which aims to promote the country's agricultural and industrial products and increase the added value of production, is carried out with satsuma mandarin. After these years, the manufacturing area expands significantly with the addition of product groups and varieties. Thus, over time, information and technology transfer elements turn into longer-lasting collaborations.

In 1962 fresh fruit export is started by the second-generation M. Ali. Turkmenoglu. Products that are especially in demand from European countries turn into a source of motivation to create new agricultural areas, enabling them to market products in neighboring parcels.

In 1964, in line with the increasing demand, transition to mechanization was possible by making use of agricultural technological developments and the first packaging facility of İzmir was established by bringing materials from abroad.

In 1974, as exports continued successfully for 10 years and increased gradually, a big step was taken in logistics by integrating production with the shipping fleet.

Mateks was born in 1984 as an innovative and forward-thinking part of a rapidly developing structure that is suitable for growth with its diversity and experience by operating in various fields. With almost half a century of experience devoted to dried fruits, we are proud to be able to produce more than 6000 tons of dried fruit and fruit products per year in a pure, natural, and safe manner.

While the target market was Russia and the Balkan countries in the 1990’s, as time passed different markets, innovations and developments were continuously pursued. 

In 1992, production and packaging were developed and modernized with the integration of foreign trade. Under the leadership of the third-generation Mustafa Turkmenoglu, the goal of becoming the reliable supplier of Europe's leading supermarkets and chain markets was thus achieved. The product range has been continuously expanded with market innovation for the needs.

I am Türkmen Turkmenoglu, the 4th generation of the family. With our half-century of experience and expert team, Mateks continues on its way with success in the fields of production, packaging, transportation, and marketing. Although many things have changed since the 1900s, our corporate culture and the importance we attach to customer satisfaction have stayed the same.

The way we have chosen to ensure the continuity of our story for generations is our commercial honesty and our love for what we do. Mateks improves itself and stands out in the industry every passing year with its diverse product range as well as its production capabilities for needs; while pleasure of manufacturing in a modern, sterile, and natural manner.

It has been our number one priority to create value for our clients and meet their expectation with said value and consistency. We prioritize quality over quantity, invest in client focused R&D work, and stand by our clients after the sale. 

We continue to produce with the mindset of giving back what we get from the nature without giving up quality and 100% transparency. We enjoy the happiness of having an impact in many lives since 1900’s and are growing with you. We are grateful to you for sharing this story with us.