The foundations of co-operation, or rather solidarity, between Turkey and Siemens were laid down in the middle of the 1800's, when the rulers of the Ottoman Empire decided on the installation of telegraph facilities in the country. Siemens Halske was appointed for this purpose and established the Telegraph Centre in Istanbul, thus completing Siemens' first project in Turkey.
The telephone was also of great interest to the rulers of the Empire and the first telephone line was installed in Istanbul in 1881 with a great fanfare of publicity. Investment continued in the following years and the installation of telephone exchanges continued even while İstanbul was under military occupation.
It was now time for electricity, which had initially been confined to the imperial palaces, to enter into urban life. İzmir and Salonica were the first two cities to benefit from the installation of power plants, again this was the work of Siemens Halske. These cities were soon followed by many others. The first power plant was completed in İstanbul in 1914 and supplied electricity firstly to tramcars and later to private property. By 1920, there were 2055 properties connected to the grid in İstanbul and electricity was used to light the streets for the first time. Although the public benefited greatly from the electricity, telephone, and telegraph services supplied by Siemens they were as yet unaware of the company name. Siemens became a household name with the advent of public radio broadcasting in 1927. Siemens radio sets were imported to Turkey in large numbers through the newly founded company of Siemens-Elektrik Türk Anonim Şirketi.
In the 1950's, Turkish industry went through a period of rapid industrialisation with the construction and opening of many sugar refineries and cement and iron works factories. Various products, which had previously been imported, started to be produced locally.
Turkey possessed the potential to develop and Siemens had the technical means and know-how to turn such potential into reality. It was essential for Siemens to produce its own technology in Turkey and on December 18, 1958 Siemens and the Turkish company Koç established Simko. In 1961, Simko's first factory in Kartal, Istanbul Factory began production. Simko grew rapidly and made major contributions to the industrialisation of Turkey.
Türk Siemens Cable Factory (Mudanya ), which became operational in 1964, was the next major step forward after the formation of Simko. Türk Siemens Cable Company helped to meet the huge demand in Turkey for energy, automotive and telecommunication cables. In 1999 the company was split into three. The energy cable production business of Siemens throughout the world and production of copper insulated communication cables in Turkey was sold to Pirelli.
Since the end of the 1980's there have been many developments and new investments in Siemens in Turkey. Volkswagen Elektrik Sistemleri A.Ş. and Osram Ampul Ticaret A.Ş. were incorporated in 1989 and 1990 respectively. In 1991, Siemens Nixdorf Bilgisayar Sistemleri A.Ş. went into business and in 1992 Siemens Ev Aletleri Tic. A.Ş. (BSHG ) was established. With the acquisition of 66% of PEG Profilo by Siemens in 1995, the company was restructured and renamed BSH Household Appliances. The incorporation of Siemens Business Services Sistem Hizmetleri A.Ş. and Siemens Finansal Kiralama A.Ş. in 1997, constitute recent milestones for Siemens in Turkey. In 1999, three new companies joined the Siemens family; Masterguard Güç Kaynakları Ltd. Şti.(which was transferred to the Chloride Company later in the same year) , Siemens Fiber Optik Kabloları Ltd. Şti., Siemens Otomotiv San. Tic. Ltd. Şti, and Siemens Nixdorf became Fujitsu Siemens Computers Sistemleri Ltd. Şti. In October 2000, Simegs Yönetim ve Danışmanlık Hizmetleri Tic. A.Ş. was established as a joint venture company by Siemens and EGS.
Simko Tic. ve San. A.Ş., which had been under the joint ownership of Siemens and Koç Group for 42 years, became a 100% Siemens owned company and changed its name to Siemens San. ve Tic. A.Ş. on January 1st , 2001. As can be seen, there have been many changes and developments in Siemens in Turkey over the years, reflecting the way that Siemens has and will endeavour to meet new requirements and expectations domestically and throughout the world.
