Today in History – 16 September

Sümerbank Kayseri Cloth Factory is opened

Constructed by Russians with a loan taken from the Russia, the Sümerbank Kayseri Cloth Factory was inaugurated on September 16, 1935 following a grand ceremony. Minister of Economy Celal Bayar and Soviet Ambassador Leon Karahan were present at the opening. In speaking about the Republic’s ideal of industrialization, Celal Bayar also heralded the opening of the Nazilli Printed Cloth Factory in 1937.

The foundation of Kayseri Fabric Factory was laid by Prime Minister İsmet İnönü on May 20, 1934. Designed by Russian architect Ivan Nikolaev, the construction of the establishment was completed in as little as 16.5 months.

Kayseri Cloth Factory was the result of the collaboration between Turkey and the Soviet Union, which had made considerable progress between the years of 1933 and 1936. During this period, the Soviet Union provided Turkey not only with loans of low interest, but also with intense technology transfer. A publicly owned corporation named Turkstroy was founded in the Soviet Union to build the cloth factories of Kayseri and Nazilli, to provide the machinery to be used at the factories, and to train the personnel to work at the factories. Sümerbank was the Turkish counterpart of the company in Turkey. Founded with a view to producing affordable cotton fabric for the public, the Kayseri Cloth Factory was sprawled across an area of 922,500 square meters and employed 2,100 workers and 155 civil servants in the year it was opened.