An Important Element Of Development: The Cement Industry In Turkey In 50 Years From Its Foundatıon (1910 To 1960)

Abstract

The present study focuses on the contributions of the cement industry, the foundations of which were laid with the establishment of Arslan Cement Factory in Darıca in 1910, to the economy with the manufacturing activities of the factories established within 50 years until 1960. It is aimed to investigate the reflections of the developments achieved until 1960 that began with the latest period of the Ottoman and ended with the fall of the DP (Democratic Party) rule, of the cement factories set up by private capital between 1910 and 1929 and their manufacturing activities, and of the Great Depression (1929) and the Second World War (1939-1945) on the development of the cement industry. The effects of the progress made in the cement industry as DP was founded and came to rule in 1950 on the development of the country were addressed through comparison with the previous years. The gap in the literature on the subject focused on in this study, especially for the period between 1950 and 1960, was fulfilled by use of primary sources. The economic conditions undergone by Turkey and the world at that time were taken into account, and necessary evaluations were made considering such conditions. The circumstances of the First World War, the Great Depression (1929), and the Second World War between 1910 and 1950 made the country go through economic difficulties, which prevented the accumulation of capital and progress in the cement industry and caused the number of factories and the amount of production to remain limited. The years under the DP rule (1950-1960) are considered as the prime of the cement industry. In this process which gained speed with the increased demand for cement as a result of the intensive public works initiated in the country, one state-owned and 3 privatelyowned cement factories that had been put into operation previously joined 7 state-funded and 3 privately-owned cement factories during the DP rule, and thus the number of the factories reached 14. Therefore, a far better development was achieved in the cement industry between 1950 and 1960 under the DP rule in comparison to the period between 1910 and 1950.