We spoke with Egemen Çağlayan ŞIK, founder of Metayard, about the company's operations, the current market situation, and future expectations.
Can you tell us about Metayard?
As Metayard Metallurgy, we have been operating in the flat steel sector for two years. Although we have a young and dynamic structure, as the company’s founder and primary executive, I strive to utilize the knowledge and experience I’ve gained over my nearly 16-year career in the sector to positively contribute to our operations.
Could you inform our readers about your services and product range?
We aim to consistently support our customers and business partners at every stage of the process for securing the right materials, including product and market research on both local and global scales, logistics support activities, financial instrument utilization services, and sizing operations involving cutting and slitting sequences. Our product range includes various material families such as hot-rolled, acid-treated, cold-rolled, galvanized, painted, electro-galvanized, galvanil, galfan, alusi, aluzinc, magnelis, and Corten steel. Among these, the products we are particularly confident in are alusi, aluzinc, Corten steel, and magnelis, as well as the HSLA group (hot-rolled and acid-treated products ranging from S315MC to S700MC, HC series cold-rolled products, and HX series galvanized products), which are extensively used in the automotive sector, and the Dual Phase series of acid-treated, cold-rolled, and galvanized products.
How has demand been shaping up in the sectors you serve recently?
We continue to serve customer groups across numerous sectors, including automotive, construction, home appliances and durable goods, energy, machinery and equipment, vehicle-mounted equipment, and agricultural and construction machinery; however, the automotive sector stands out as the most prominent among these. The demands of our customers - who source parts from us in both the OEM and aftermarket segments and purchase raw materials and/or cutting services - are not in a particularly unfavorable position compared to non-automotive sectors, as the downturn experienced in the industry last year has not continued this year. The fact that major automotive manufacturers are meeting their production volume targets and achieving their year-end production goals will enable all supplier companies to continue their shipments at a rapid pace, thereby bringing a smile to the faces of entities like ours that supply raw materials. However, meeting production volumes is not solely a matter of domestic dynamics. To give an example, approximately 70 percent of the commercial vehicle models exported to Europe under the Ford brand are produced at the Ford facilities in Kocaeli, and this situation ultimately aligns with the smooth progression of the economic structure within Europe and the continued demand from end-users at the desired level.
How do you assess the current situation in Turkey’s flat steel market?
Looking at the recent period in our country regarding the sector, the imposition of additional import duties on certain product groups originating from the Far East, along with the outbreak of the US & Israel- Iran conflict, has caused prices to rise by a certain amount both globally and locally. This increase has served as a lifeline for businesses that have been operating with inventory and have built their business plans around this approach for quite some time. However, it is also being discussed in the market that companies that secured contracts at the desired prices prior to the increase are still hesitant. I believe the most valid reason for this is the expectation that the likelihood of further price increases is low in percentage terms, or at least that base prices must not fall below a certain level. Back-to-back contracts between producers, service centers, and trading firms have accelerated further during this period, leading to increases in tonnage. However, buyers operating in this climate of uncertainty may only realize the reality of the opportunities they’ve missed when the actual time to purchase arrives.
What can you say about the current price trends, and what are your expectations regarding short-term price movements?
Assuming no extreme situations arise in the coming period, I honestly do not expect a noticeable additional increase in hot-rolled products. The fact that the recent increase we observed did not result in a commercial buy-sell transaction within expectations is one of the factors supporting this view. If we look at the past 2–3 years, especially during periods of price increases, many industry players have commented that the volatility is artificial, and this uncertainty does not leave buyers in a position to be enthusiastic after a certain period.
Do you primarily work with local producers or rely on imports for your supply? Has this breakdown changed recently?
The majority of the materials we source consist of imported products. We are particularly active in areas where production is not feasible domestically, or where local manufacturers cannot offer substitute product lines—or can only offer them in relatively limited quantities. Among these items are aluminum - silicone coated materials, “magnelis” sheets, a zinc-magnesium-coated product group, “corten” steels from the atmospheric corrosion-resistant structural steel group, and “dual phase” materials from the advanced high-strength steel groups, which are widely used in the automotive industry and offer high strength and formability. In addition to these, we continue to source S700MC-S750MC-S800MC-S850MC -S700MC grades, which are primarily used in acid-resistant product groups and also cater to the automotive sector.
What can you say about competition in the domestic market?
Competition in the domestic market has consistently remained at high levels, especially in recent times. We can attribute this primarily to the sector’s current unfavorable state of affairs. Within a free-market economy, any seller can, of course, connect with the buyer of their choice as long as conditions permit. However, within the hot-rolled steel producer-mill-service center-trader-end-user supply chain, the tendency of the primary actors in the structure to place undue emphasis on interactions with the final link in the chain is, in my view, one of the primary indicators that the sector’s good times are behind us. The fact that the volume of flat steel produced domestically exceeds domestic demand also presents a distinct competitive factor. Additionally, on a global scale, countries are adopting localization-focused policies - supported by measures such as reduced quotas, additional tariffs, and the CBAM framework - which compels manufacturing firms to play a more active role in the domestic market and intensifies competition to a significant degree.
How are economic conditions and geopolitical developments affecting your business?
First of all, during certain periods - whether in times of need or during business development phases - when you seek financial support, the current inflationary environment means you may not be able to access the final product or service you require in the desired manner. This limits your operational flexibility. From a geopolitical perspective, the region where we are located is unfortunately very close to areas where turmoil is constantly prevalent on a global scale. The events unfolding in Israel and its neighboring countries, as well as Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia in the northern Black Sea region… Such situations can sometimes create medium-scale opportunities for our sector alongside crises. The recent increase in demand, particularly from Ukraine, and the rise in export volumes are key indicators of this. Due to our position as a natural bridge between Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, we can respond more quickly to short-term needs and act more flexibly than actors in other regions when seeking alternative markets. However, the regional political climate’s impact on the economy can sometimes lead to currency risk. Therefore, I believe it is a fact that the details we describe as a “double-edged sword”—particularly for companies that rely on imported inputs while prioritizing exports—can significantly affect business revenue and expense balances.
What are your expectations for 2026?
I’m not really the type to engage in hypothetical discussions. However, if I were to ask the general players in the sector, “By the first days of 2027, the sector will return to the long-awaited days, but you will spend 2026 in a partially stable state - would you accept such a scenario?” Many business owners and company managers around me would respond, “If it’s a year where we can see ahead, we’ll keep our expectations low when making plans and accept the suggestion.” Of course, as I mentioned at the beginning of the question, this is a hypothetical question-and-answer scenario, but the point I really want to make is this: virtually everyone in the sector now wants the uncertainty to end. The year 2026 is observed as a year with relatively more optimistic expectations compared to the previous year, yet expectations have not yet materialized at the desired level (despite the price increases experienced in the past few weeks). So, as we approach the end of 2024, have the expectations for 2025 - or the hopes expressed at the end of 2023 for 2024 - been forgotten? We do not expect a sectoral recovery similar to the post-pandemic period for 2026, but experiencing a year where uncertainty is discussed less frequently and rules do not change on a quarterly, monthly, or even weekly basis would provide some relief to industry players.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Of course, our hopes are that a critical sector like the steel industry will always be supported by strong players for the benefit of our country, and that with the support of these players, we can expand our market share - especially through exports - in terms of both volume and revenue, even under challenging conditions. However, while saying this, I believe it is worth noting - in my humble opinion - that due to the economic outlook, financial literacy has become far more important for companies than it was in the past. I also hope that the positive momentum we’ve sensed over the past few weeks will be supported by real demand and that this momentum will continue - this is another wish of mine for our sector.