According to Kadir Ertürk, his computer programs can cut production costs by about 15%. A turn-key project costs about $50,000 but customers spend, on average, about $15,000 to $20,000 to tailor the programs to individual specifications.
A monthly subscription covers on-going maintenance and upgrades. Ertürk works with each customer to develop programs that help producers maximise their capabilities.
Trained as a geophysicist, Ertürk gained contacts and insight into the leather sector as a tannery worker. He saw a promising future in providing computerised solutions for tanners, garment makers and sales outlets.
In 1996, he started his own company, Golaks Bilgi Islem, in Istanbul. Gaining acceptance to leather circles was a hurdle but his first order came from Gunduz Kurk who use the Golaks system at their Çorlu tannery.
Now, Ertürk has over sixty customers, ten of them tanneries and over forty garment producers. The computer is used to control stock intake, identify skins and their origin and costs. Also chemical suppliers, dye batches and their unit costs to a tanner.
Stock levels of raw materials can be maintained automatically and different control systems are incorporated to give an operator an accurate view of the state of projects and orders. The system is logical, runs on standard Windows operating systems, and requires minimum computer skills.
