Dirinler’s Success Story and Founder Cemal Dirin – Dr. İlhami Pektaş

Dirinler was established in 1952 in Izmir. The Dirinler Companies Group operates in 3 different sectors: machine production, casting group and compressor production. With the sub-companies established for the purpose of integration into their production in the relevant sectors, the group conducts manufacturing in a total of 7 factories. Manufacturing for both domestic and foreign markets, Dirinler Companies Group has a foreign trade company in Germany. Dirinler currently manufactures C and D Frame Eccentric Presses between 60 tons and 300 tons capacity, H Frame Mechanical (Eccentric, Servo, Modify Knuckle, Link Drive) presses between 160 tons and 3,000 tons capacity, C Frame Hydraulic Presses between 60 tons and 160 tons capacity, H Frame Hydraulic Presses between 250 tons and 3,000 tons capacity and Modified Knuckle Joint Presses, which are the first in Türkiye. With the recently developed technology, the turnkey press line projects (Decoiler, Feeder, Straightener, Part transfer, conveyor, etc.) provide support to clients.   Piston/screw air compressors are produced at Lupamat Makina Sanayi A.Ş., which was established in 1968 and operates under the brand name Lupamat. Established in 1974, Dirinler Döküm produces 17,000 tons of large and heavy parts annually for the wind energy, ship industry and heavy machinery sectors. Established in 1983, Dirinler San. Mak. End.ve Tic. A.Ş. manufactures all kinds of CNC Turning Machine, Double Column CNC Machining Center, Table type, Column PLC and CNC controlled Drilling machines according to special dimensions and specifications with the Drinns Brand.

Migration from the Balkans to Anatolia

The Dirin family is one of the thousands of families who migrated from the Balkans to Anatolia in the early 1900s. Cemal Dirin, the first child of the family who migrated from Sarajevo to Izmir, was born in Narlıdere in 1924.

Starts Working at Primary School

Cemal Dirin, the eldest of seven children, started working to support his family while he was still in primary school. He worked in various jobs ranging from carrying soda crates to being an apprentice carpenter. After a while, the meticulously crafted works of the turners he saw in the marketplace, along with their neat and well-groomed appearance, caught his attention. He envied their work, from the master to the apprentice and the boss, and decided to become a turner. He was only 14 years old when he started his apprenticeship in the turning workshop of Parmaksız Mehmet, one of the best masters of İzmir Kale Arkası. Cemal Dirin never forgot the day he started working; because on that day, the calendars showed November 10, 1938, and the Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died. Starting his apprenticeship by turning the handle of a fan, Cemal Dirin mastered the turning machine business by working in different workshops until his mid-twenties. He completed his military service in four years in the late 1940s. Starting to work with his former master again after coming back from the military, Cemal Dirin’s life changed with the surprise offer of Osman Konak, the neighborhood guard. Osman Konak from Rize, who wanted to establish his own business with the inheritance of his family and raise his son, offered a partnership to Cemal Dirin, whom he had known and trusted in his diligence and honesty. They started by holding a small workshop together. Cemal Dirin married Sabahat Hanım in 1948.

Known as Housing Maker Cemal

In 1952, he decided to leave his partner and open his own turning workshop. In those years, road construction gained speed and most of the transportation was conducted by trucks. Cemal Dirin enlarged the business by repairing the transmission, differential and axle parts of the trucks whose undercarriages were constantly malfunctioning. Because he was very successful in repairing specifically the truck housings, he started to be known as Housing Maker Cemal. During this period, his son Mustafa grew up and started to help his father in his spare time out of school.

Mustafa Dirin expressed those days emotionally as follows:

I am currently 73 years old and I grew up among turning  and body workshops. Even when I was a little kid in preschool, I was wandering around the industry zone, they loved me very much, I grew up within the industry. In a 40 square meter workshop, we were working with simple machines such as a hand press and a planer. I was hanging advertising signs on the way to Menemen, Ankara and Aydın. While studying at Mithatpaşa Industrial Vocational High School, I always worked in the industry zone with my father in summers. When my father built his first machine, he taught me economics as well, and we entered the machinery business by adopting the principle ‘If we can’t sell it, we can use it’.

Starts Shaper Production

Mustafa was born in 1951, followed by Nihat in 1953, Ali in 1956 and Melih in 1960. Rapidly growing children learned the profession in the workshop while going to school. By the mid-1960s, Cemal Dirin Workshop could earn quite well. In addition to truck and automobile parts, they conducted repair works of press machines. But the legal freight limit imposed on trucks in 1966 changed everything. Their income diminished. Cemal Dirin was distressed. He liked the idea of his son Mustafa to produce shapers, thus they started to manufacture shapers. They earned again.

Import Law Takes Effect, Shaper Sales Decrease

In the 1970s, shapers started to be imported to Türkiye very cheaply due to the import permit granted to workers in Germany. In this period when the business started to decrease again, two press machine casting models left by a friend for processing became the second turning point for Dirinler. His friend, who bought the presses, left the models to Cemal Dirin and said, “You do these!”. Thus, press machine production started alongside shapers in 1967. While Mustafa Dirin was receiving night education at the Private Ege Faculty of Architecture and Engineering, he was also assisting his father. In the same years, the automobile sub-industry began to develop throughout Türkiye thanks to brands such as TOFAŞ, RENAULT, ANADOL and BMC. Among of the most important machines for the sub-industry was the eccentric press. When eccentric press production increased significantly, Cemal Dirin completely abandoned shaper production and turned his focus towards eccentric press production.

Mustafa Dirin: During that time, the automotive industry such as BMC, TOFAŞ and RENAULT was also newly established. The automotive industry needed spare parts. We produced both presses and machines. My father made us partners in the company and enabled us to take responsibility. When my brothers grew up, we turned the company into a collective company in 1983. We established Dirinler Makina A.Ş. with our father Cemal Dirin and my brothers. My devoted mother was as much behind our success as my father Cemal Dirin. My mother supported all of us.

Eccentric Press Manufacturing Begins

With this production move, the rapid rise of Dirinler began. The production, which lasted until then in three separate areas of 40, 60 and 100 square meters, was combined under a single roof in a 750 square meter building in Çamdibi in 1970. In1972, they also rented the building belonging to the tobacco factory near their facility. Produced as 20 tons at the beginning, the presses gradually diversified and production increased to 150 tons capacity in a short time. In the 1990s, a modern factory with a closed area of 6 thousand square meters was opened in Çiğli Atatürk Organized Industrial Zone. The closed area of the factory soon increased to 18 thousand square meters. Dirinler Makina ve Sanayi Ticaret A.Ş., one of the largest in its field in Türkiye, today produces C Frame Eccentric Presses between 15 tons and 250 tons, H Frame Eccentric Presses between 30 tons and 3000 tons capacity, C Frame Hydraulic Presses between 60 tons and 160 tons capacity, and H Frame Hydraulic Presses between 250 tons and 3000 tons capacity.

Continuous Innovation

Mustafa Dirin: We have never imitated the domestic producer. We have always followed the innovations in the world. Every time we come to Izmir Fair, we come with a new product. That’s what underlies success, always innovation and self-transformation. We have always attached importance to achieve the firsts in the machine.

Within our group, there are four factories where machinery and products are manufactured today besides a marketing company, and a foreign trade company that organizes the export and import activities of the group of companies. Currently, we produce C Frame Eccentric Presses with capacity between 60 and 250 tons, H Frame Eccentric and Servo Presses with capacity between 160 tons and 3,000 tons on a total area of 24 thousand square meters including 18 thousand square meters of indoor area. C Frame Hydraulic Presses with capacity between 60 tons and 160 tons and H Frame Hydraulic Presses with capacity between 250 tons and 3,000 tons are also available in our production range.

As a first in Türkiye, we manufacture Modified Knuckle Joint Presses within our facilities. With the presses we produce, we mainly perform forging, cutting, bending, superficial and deep drawing, forming, punching, etc. Modified Knuckle Joint and high-speed precision press production, which is a first in Türkiye, are also carried out in Dirinler.

DİRİNLER GROUP

Established in 1974 in İzmir Atatürk Organized Industrial Zone, Dirinler Döküm became Cemal Dirin’s second business. In this way, machine production was enabled to be faster and of higher quality. In a closed area of 16 thousand square meters, the factory carries out spheroidal and gray casting with a capacity of 15tons. Dirinler Sanayi Makinaları Endüstri ve Ticaret A.Ş., established in 1983, produces CNC Turning Machines, CNC Drilling Machines and CNC Vertical Machining Machines under the brand name ’Drinns’. he company started operating in the piston and screw air compressors sector with the  Lumapat brand of Maksaş Makina Sanayi, which joined the group in 2000. On the other hand, the Group includes a marketing company that organizes import and export operations. Manufacturing nearly a thousand different machines per year in seven factories with a total closed area of over 70  thousand square meters in the Organized Industrial Zone in Çiğli, Dirinler employs 750 staff, 250 of whom are in the machinery department.

DİRİNLER MAKİNA SAN. VE TİC. A.Ş.

Established in 1952 in Izmir. The company currently manufactures C Frame Eccentric Presses between 60 tons and 250 tons capacity, H Frame Eccentric between 160 tons and 3,000 tons capacity, C Form Hydraulic Presses between 60 tons and 160 tons capacity, H Frame Hydraulic Presses between 250 tons and 3,000 tons capacity and Modified Knuckle Joint Presses, which are the first in Türkiye. The manufactured presses enable to perform forging, cutting, bending, superficial and deep drawing, forming, punching, etc.

DİRİNLER SANAYİ MAKİNALARI ENDÜSTRİ VE A.Ş.

Established in 1983, Dirinler San. Mak. End.ve Tic. A.Ş has been producing CNC Turning Machine, CNC Portal Milling Machine, CNC Travelling Bridge Milling Machine, Double Column CNC Machining Center, Table type, Column PLC and CNC controlled drill machines in a closed area of 2500 square meters since 2001. In 2012, the company started the production of CNC Controlled Vertical Processing Machine and Model Processing Machine and introduced them to the market. Manufacturing machines in accordance with custom dimensions and features in line with client needs, the company offers special solutions  to the clients with the Drinns Brand.

DİRİNLER DÖKÜM

Dirinler Döküm Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. started operating as an 800 square meter foundry to manufacture cast iron parts in Çamdibi District of Bornova in 1974. Dirinler Döküm, which was later moved to Atatürk Organized Industrial Zone, has become a giant factory with an annual capacity of approximately 20,000 tons and 280 employees in an area of 40 thousand square meters today. The company exports to several countries, mainly to Europe, with the production of large and heavy parts for the Wind Energy Industry, Shipbuilding Industry, Heavy Machinery Industry, press moulds for the Automotive Industry, and valves and pumps up to 3500 mm in diameter. Siemens, Bosch, Man, Tofaş, Ford and Renault are permanent clients for Dirinler Döküm factory. Dirinler plans to make a larger investment with the purchase of 150 acres in Izmir Kınık OIZ for the production of Wind Tribune.

LUPAMAT MAKİNE SAN. A.Ş.

Established in 1968 to produce air compressors. KOMPAŞ Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. operates to market and sell the compressors in the domestic market. Operating on a total area of 12,000 square meters (6,000 square meters of which are closed) and producing piston/screw air compressors under the brand name LUPAMAT, the factory exports to various countries, mainly to the European and Middle Eastern countries.

R&D CENTER

Dirinler Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. was registered as an R&D center by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology in 2017.

Mustafa Dirin: The only way to produce innovative products is through research and development. The primary purpose of our R&D center is to raise product quality and standard, increase efficiency and reduce costs by making innovations in the product and production methods. In addition, it is among our goals to commercialize the technological knowledge by reflecting it on the product. Dirinler R&D Center becomes a pioneer in its sector in many areas, following the technology. Dirinler will contribute even more to the welfare of our country by exporting its technology and self-manufactured products.

A Vocational School

Dirinler established a vocational school within the company to train qualified personnel for the machinery industry. The institution, which is affiliated to the Vocational Training Center in İzmir Atatürk Organized Industrial Zone and approved by the Ministry of National Education, started its training service on September 17, 2011. 24 students were trained in the first year of Dirinler Vocational Training Branch. Students who start Dirinler Vocational School as a candidate apprentice take the exam after a three-year training period. The school graduates work at the company. In addition to the vocational courses in the Department of Computerized Machine Manufacturing, Turkish and Mathematics courses are also given at the school.

Mustafa Dirin: In this sense, we take on the responsibility. We train qualified staff in this field with the Apprenticeship School and the Dirinler Academy. These two institutions are our essentials. Today, 65 percent of our employees are from the apprenticeship school, and all engineers have improved themselves at Dirinler Academy. Our 38-year-long personnel’s son is the Factory Manager today. In short, we are a family in the real sense.

Our Work Belongs to the Society

For Cemal Dirin, their work and the established companies were not only theirs. All the added value belonged to the society, as well. This is why he advised his children to always be humble and live that way. Not affected by various economic crises thanks to the export figures, Dirinler had to shrink in the economic crisis of 2001. Cemal Dirin, who considered his staff as his family, was very upset when he had to lay off 100 of his 300 employees. Brother Cemal of Izmir industrialists died at the age of 77 in the same year. Later generations never forgot Cemal Dirin’s following advice:

“Be principled. Always prioritize the interests of the country. You ought to assess your life. If one is acquitted before the judge called conscience, it is impossible for them not to succeed. Time may pass, you may encounter challenges. While advocating for principles, you may come across those who lack principles. But ultimately, truth prevails.”

Work as Serious as Worship

After the death of their father, four brothers under the captaincy of Mustafa Dirin kept Dirinler sailing in deep waters. “We are trying to make a socially prominent institution to be more beneficial for society. The way to do this is to grow,” said Mustafa Dirin, who indicated that he has not taken a vacation for 15 days continuously since he started his business life.  Indicating that the work is sacred, Mustafa Dirin mentioned that he cannot stand people who do not take their work seriously. “If you earn your children’s alimony, that gain should be sacred and halal. You need to love what you do. If working is a worship, you will not be retired from worship, nor will you be retired from working. It continues until the end of a person’s life,” Dirin said, arguing that the work should be done as seriously as worship.

Dirinler’s Features in the Machinery Sector

Mustafa Dirin: We feature with our “Experience” and “Quality” in the sector. Our company has an important dealer network and customer portfolio thanks to the long experience of its history and the quality of its products. In addition to visiting the clients within the framework of a specific program, our marketing staff also work to attract new clients. It is our clients who have been using our products for years and telling this satisfaction to their environment that has brought us to the forefront.

Having operated in the press sector and CNC controlled machining for 61 years, our company serves primarily automotive and white goods, defense, aviation, mould, metal industry, steel industry, textile, furniture, construction industry, plastic-rubber, electrical-electronic and heating-cooling key and sub-industry. With our Dirinler brand, we produce eccentric press, hydraulic press, modified knuckle joint press and high precision fast presses.  We produce CNC controlled machine tools with our Drinns brand. Our machines are known for their long life and quality. These are the most important reasons why we are preferred. The fact that our machines are preferred all over the world is a great source of pride for us.

Competition with Europe

Mustafa Dirin, who stated that they were inspired by world brands in the 1970s, described a memory he experienced at an exhibition in Milan with his brother Nihat in 1978: “We visited the fair all day. When we got tired, we got sandwiches and sat on the stairs of a stand. Nihat asked me when we would catch up with the brand companies participating in the exhibition. I said it would take 20-25 years. Dirinler’s story was written that way. Today, Dirinler competes with its German and Italian competitors in the world market. Emphasizing that they have caught up with significant European competitors in terms of quality, Mustafa Dirin stated that growth would not be fast enough due to the fact that it was very difficult to accumulate capital in Türkiye. The legend of the Dirinler, in which the third generation gradually took office, walks into the future with modest but firm steps, as Cemal Dirin points out”.

Export to 60 Countries on 5 Continents

The first export move, which started with Riyadh in the mid-1970s, was followed with Germany. Mustafa Dirin, President of the Board of Directors of Dirinler Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., which exports to nearly 60 countries, summarizes the first export years as “We used to travel the world with our bags in our hands and sell goods”. Today, we export to over 60 countries on 5 continents, including developed ones. In order to increase our exports to Europe, we established Dirinler Gmbh in Germany in 2018.

Firsts in Dirinler

Established in 1952 and producing the first universal turning machine in 1955, DİRİNLER MAKİNA manufactured woodworking carpenter machines in 1964. Manufacturing the first eccentric press in 1965, which is considered the Milestone of Turkish Industry in the production of eccentric presses, DİRİNLER ⁠MAKİNA produced the first shaper/planer machines in 1966. The company produced its first hydraulic press in 1993. Entering the compressor market by purchasing the shares of Maksaş Makina, which manufactures air compressors with the Lupamat brand in 2001, DİRİNLER ⁠MAKİNA⁠ began to produce drilling machines in 2003. In 2004, it manufactured the first domestically produced CNC lathe. This was followed by the production of the first domestically produced 3-axis Double Column CNC Machining Center in 2006, 5-axis Double Column CNC Machining Center in 2008, Modified Knuckle Joint Press in 2009 and Precision High Speed Press in 2010, which produced 500 strokes per minute. In 2011, the company produced the first domestic pet compressor made in Türkiye.  In 2012, it was awarded with the production of 3+3 Axis Double Head CNC Horizontal Milling Machine. In the same year, it produced 5-Axis CNC Gantry Milling and 36-Axis Special Milling and Turning Machines in 2013. Travelling Bridge CNC Model Processing Machine, which was manufactured for the first time in Türkiye, has become one of the most influential innovations in the world. Thanks to this technology, the machine can produce 600 strokes per minute. The 400-ton capacity Modified Knuckle Joint Press developed by the company is also the first in its field. In 2018, the company produced the Underground Turning Machine that will revolutionize rail system wheel maintenance with the Drinns brand. With the underground turning machine, a wagon is driven through the turning machine in 10 minutes, and the rail system can be commissioned by checking it within half an hour.

Mustafa Dirin: 4+1 axis portal milling machine running in Switzerland is a first in Türkiye. Our 3+3 axis machine, which received an award from TÜBİTAK, is a first in Türkiye. Our 36 Axis Milling and Turning machine is a first in Türkiye. We brought many more ‘firsts’ to our country. Manufacturing all these products in Türkiye means that the money remains in Türkiye and the price of the machine decreases because it is a domestic manufacturer competing with the foreign manufacturer.

Türkiye’s first 36-axis fully automated CNC machining center ensures that a job produced in three and a half minutes with normal machines is completed in 35 seconds and production is accelerated by 80 percent.

Would you like to give messages to the machinery and manufacturing industry?

Mustafa Dirin: The most important problem in our sector is the Qualified Personnel. As Dirinler, we are lucky in this regard. Because the children of our 40-year-old masters prefer to work with us in our factory. Of course, this is not enough. Our country, especially Izmir region, which has limited industrialization, has a trained personnel problem. Practical information cannot be given to students in our schools. There is a shortage of intermediate staff. Every student wants to graduate from university. The number of personnel who know the programming to work on the CNC machine is very low and it is not enough for our industry. Rather, the young prefer desk jobs. I think that more practical trainings at Industrial Vocational and Technical Schools will solve the problem. Due to the inadequate practical training of these schools, we train our own staff. The masters and apprentices graduating from our school work with us.

The Secret of Success

Behind the success of the Dirinler lies “working with the sweat of the forehead that smells of iron shaving”. We, the entire Dirinler family and all employees are passionately devoted to our work, lovingly connected to each other, and we put our minds in front of us and do what is not done. We are eager to do what is not done. Our main principle is to be the pioneer of the latest developments in technology for the Turkish economy and society. As Dirinler, we contribute to Türkiye’s economy by manufacturing technological products. Our products are not only the work of Dirinler, but of the country. It is the work of the Turkish people who train themselves and devote themselves to science and work. But do not think we will stop here, because we will not. We have much greater excitement; we will produce bigger technological machines. We will always be the best at what we do.

If I were to come to this world again, I would want to live with the same school, the same mind, and the same experience. One day, while chatting with my friends, when they asked me, “Did you ever imagine when you were little that you would come this far?” I told them that knowing the future is impossible, but as long as there’s an ideal, a goal, and excitement, there will be nothing that cannot be achieved.