Ferhat Elal was born in Istanbul in 1973. Originally from Giresun, Elal is married and has three children. He entered the electrical lighting industry in 1991 under the name Yücel Kablo San. and Tic. Ferhat Elal, who said "hello" by starting to work at A.Ş., continues to serve as the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors at Yücel Kablo A.Ş., of which he is a partner.

As a Sector, We Should Increase Our R&D, Innovation and Branding Activities...

Mr. Ferhat, can we get information about Yücel Kablo's activity trend from past to present?

Yücel Kablo A.Ş. A family company founded in 1975. After operating in the field of electrical cable production until 1994, it continued its operations by incorporating a marketing company in order to improve its services for the electrical sector.

In 2012, in order to further expand our activities in the sector, we started importing lighting products, which the sector constantly needs, along with cable trade.

However, the order of importance in this expansion has always been on the production side for us. Therefore, we planned our investments primarily to minimize Yücel Kablo's foreign dependency in all our main products, including technology, in line with the strategy of preserving our identity as a domestic producer.

In order to build our brands such as Powerline, YCL, All Light as indispensable values in the domestic and international fields, we act with the aim of making a high contribution to both the employees we employ and the country's economy, specifically the electrical lighting sector.

Nurşah SUNAY: We would like to get some detailed information about Powerline, YCL and All Light brands. Which product groups can an industry stakeholder access from these brands?

Ferhat ELAL: YCL brand; We use it as our leading brand in all our lighting products. Our products:

• LED panels,
• LED projectors,
• LED track spots,
• LED tape luminaires,
• LED transformers,
• LED spots,
• LED wall lamps,
• LED bulbs,
• glass spotlights,
• garden fixtures,
• table lamps

With our YCL logo for our and other complementary products, we have been in the field and in the hearts for many years without losing the excitement of the first day.

In addition, we started the production of TSE certified products for LED panel groups with our YCL brand as of 2019. Thanks to our rich product variety, you can safely meet your lighting needs in all your indoor and outdoor spaces.

Powerline and Alllight:

We have 2 valuable brands in our LED strip product group. You can use both of our brands, with single and three chip options, indoors (without silicone) and outdoors (with silicone), in a wide variety of colors from white to RGB, by easily mounting them according to your needs.

Our Powerline brand operates with 12 Volts and is in the LED strip market with the slogan "High Lumen, High Efficiency".

We also have neon and hose LED strips under the Powerline brand, working with 220V and IP65.

We also offer our 12V LED strips, which are more economical depending on the place and duration of use, under our Alllight brand.

Mr. Ferhat, with all you have explained, you have created a successful group company profile. So how do you evaluate the response and reflection of your activities on the field?

We see that all of our brands have a rising value in terms of the reactions of both our dealers and end users.

Our increasing employment and investments every day, the happiness of the companies working with us and our companions can be considered as an indicator of Yücel Kablo's success chart. While we were a company that imported products, especially on the lighting side, we managed to become a company that produces millions of lighting materials in a short time.

We have determined customer-focused strategies with all our brands under our corporate roof. This enables us to improve ourselves day by day and gain a dynamic structure.

The trust of our customers who prefer our products and services in our brand is the biggest contributing factor and reason why we carry ourselves to higher standards in every field. This development process, together with all our employees, is the source of inspiration for our goals.

You are one of our rare companies with a history of almost half a century. What would be your assessment of the sector based on this experience?

As the electricity and lighting industry, our country and the entrepreneurial spirit in our country have a deep-rooted history. However, although we are a very valuable sector such as electricity and electronics; I think our investments, breakthroughs and initiatives are not at the level they should be.

We must develop and increase our activities in the fields of R&D, innovation, promotion (branding) in accordance with competitive global conditions.

I believe that the companies and our entrepreneurial friends who develop these activities sustainably, especially the brand, will be the shining stars of the industry in the future.

As the Yücel Kablo family, we strive to be in this table of success both in terms of our individual goals and on behalf of our country.

What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs planning a career in the electrical lighting industry?

First of all, I must say that they should not go beyond ethical principles while competing. The intense and irregular competition in the sector causes poor quality and price irregularities in the field.

A principled approach, not a commercial one; Although it may seem like a less profitable and self-sacrificing attitude at first, in the long run, businesses that act in accordance with ethical principles manage to gain an unshakable place in the industry. Therefore, this is the correct attitude.

Following the determination of needs by following the sector closely, I recommend that they carry out quality-oriented activities (based on R&D, innovation and promotion), organize in a local and national way, and stay away from unfair and unlawful ways and methods.

Mr. Ferhat, I would like to thank the Yücel Kablo family for the interview and wish them success.

I thank you, Ms. Nurşah, for your contributions to the industry. I respectfully greet all your employees and readers.