Which brand at once make you think “quality” and “the best”?
For me and many others it has to be “Rolls Royce”.
So I was delighted to attend on 5 October the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Rolls Royce and Turkish research body TUBITAK, in the presence of the Turkish Minister for Science, Industry and Technology, Mr Fikri Isik and the British Minister for Trade and Investment, Lord Maude.
Under the MOU, Rolls Royce will work with TUBITAK and the Turkish Ministries of Science, Energy, Transport and Defence to develop an “Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre” in Turkey. The aim of such centres, which Rolls Royce already operates in the UK, the US and Singapore, is to bring together production expertise from industry and ideas from universities to create concrete commercial opportunities.
Turkish industry and Rolls Royce will work together on those opportunities, expanding Turkey’s technology base and helping Rolls Royce stay at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing worldwide.
Result: Rolls Royce will become one of Turkey’s leading technology partners, developing new commercial and manufacturing opportunities in, and for, Turkey.
The planned Centre will also help generate the advanced technical skills Turkey needs to support the aerospace and nuclear sectors, with the potential to extend beyond this to other industrial segments in the future. All with the intention that Turkey should play a bigger role in the export of high technology.
Rolls Royce invests around £1.2 billion in R&D annually; operates in more than 50 countries; and applies for some 600 patents on new technologies every year. It is keen to roll out these skills and assets in Turkey.
All this is good news for Turkey; and good news for Rolls Royce – a huge, sophisticated and dynamic company with its roots and HQ in the UK. I look forward to seeing this project come to fruition and watching it make a great contribution to both Rolls Royce and high technology industry in Turkey.
Follow Leigh Turner on Twitter at @leighturnerFCO