Kemal Şahin is a Turkish– German entrepreneur, a textile tycoon, and founder and CEO of Şahinler Holding. [1] He is also an environmental activist against erosion.
Şahin (which means falcon in Turkish) was born in 1955 to a poor family in the village of Taşlıpınar in the Beyşehir district of Konya Province, Turkey. [2] [1] [3]
He finished primary school in his village, secondary school in Beyşehir and high school in Konya. [2] [3] Sahin then went to Germany on a scholarship in 1973, to study metallurgical engineering at RWTH Aachen University [2] [3] [4] for Etibank, a large state-owned mining company. [1] He completed a German-language course,[ citation needed] then graduated in 1982, with a Diplom degree. [2]
As a student, Şahin was interested in trade. After finishing university, he established his own textile-importing company, Santex Moden, [3] in 1982, with a starting capital of 5,000 DM. [2] Part of the reason he started the company was to avoid deportation from Germany after he graduated. [4] Within three or four years, he became a German millionaire before his 30th birthday. [2]
Today, he owns 27 production and trading companies, integrated facilities from cotton to cloth, 18 of which are united under Şahinler Holding in Turkey.[ citation needed] One of the biggest exporters in Turkey, the group also has its own steam and electric power station, a catering company, a building contractor and a holiday resort in Antalya Province, Turkey.[ citation needed] The worldwide Şahinler corporation, with a turnover of one billion Euros, [3] [4] consists of two companies in Germany and one each in the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, United Kingdom, the U.S., and Turkey.[ citation needed] The group has about 10,000 employees. [3] [4] Santex Moden ranks 25th in Germany and is among the 100 largest companies in Europe.[ citation needed]
Şahin also owns several hotels in the Antalya area through his company. [5]
Besides his entrepreneurship, Sahin has been:
Kemal Şahin is a Turkish– German entrepreneur, a textile tycoon, and founder and CEO of Şahinler Holding. [1] He is also an environmental activist against erosion.
Şahin (which means falcon in Turkish) was born in 1955 to a poor family in the village of Taşlıpınar in the Beyşehir district of Konya Province, Turkey. [2] [1] [3]
He finished primary school in his village, secondary school in Beyşehir and high school in Konya. [2] [3] Sahin then went to Germany on a scholarship in 1973, to study metallurgical engineering at RWTH Aachen University [2] [3] [4] for Etibank, a large state-owned mining company. [1] He completed a German-language course,[ citation needed] then graduated in 1982, with a Diplom degree. [2]
As a student, Şahin was interested in trade. After finishing university, he established his own textile-importing company, Santex Moden, [3] in 1982, with a starting capital of 5,000 DM. [2] Part of the reason he started the company was to avoid deportation from Germany after he graduated. [4] Within three or four years, he became a German millionaire before his 30th birthday. [2]
Today, he owns 27 production and trading companies, integrated facilities from cotton to cloth, 18 of which are united under Şahinler Holding in Turkey.[ citation needed] One of the biggest exporters in Turkey, the group also has its own steam and electric power station, a catering company, a building contractor and a holiday resort in Antalya Province, Turkey.[ citation needed] The worldwide Şahinler corporation, with a turnover of one billion Euros, [3] [4] consists of two companies in Germany and one each in the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, United Kingdom, the U.S., and Turkey.[ citation needed] The group has about 10,000 employees. [3] [4] Santex Moden ranks 25th in Germany and is among the 100 largest companies in Europe.[ citation needed]
Şahin also owns several hotels in the Antalya area through his company. [5]
Besides his entrepreneurship, Sahin has been: