Turkish Red Crescent Mineral Water Enterprises

Company Profile

The Turkish Red Crescent Natural Mineral Water Factory was assigned to the Turkish Red Crescent Society by Great Leader Atatürk in the year 1926, provided that the revenues to be gained wherefrom will be spent for humanitarian aid activities.

OUR MISSION

To produce, utilize and evaluate the mineral water sources of Afyonkarahisar, which have been granted for the privilege of the Turkish Red Crescent Society, in the contemporary, reliable and modern facilities.

OUR VISION

To sustain being the number one in this sector without compromising of the public health and social benefit.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DIRECTORATE OF MINERAL WATER ENTERPRISES OF THE TURKISH RED CRESCENT SOCIETY

The usage of mineral waters by the human beings for the healing purpose even dates back of the written history. The fact that the human beings use the mineral waters for the treatment of some diseases although they do not know the reasons and symptoms of such diseases is a known reality. The mineral waters have been used and a significant HEALING SOURCE during the times when there were not modern methods of treatment and abundance of medicines as be today.
.

A snapshot of the visit of Cevdet SUNAY, the President of that period, to our factory no.2.
.

The usage of the mineral waters and geothermal waters at Gazlıgöl in Afyonkarahisar dates back to the Phrygian Civilization that ruled in the region between 1200 – 700 years B.C.

The mineral waters in the District of Gazlıgöl have been healing the human beings for some 5 thousand years. It is known that Phrygian King Midas had the baths built in the region. Some of the Roman baths in the region are being still used.

It is also known well that, during the Ottoman period, many Sultans, especially Sultan Mehmet, the Conqueror made use of the mineral waters and had such waters brought in big glass demijohns to Istanbul with many efforts.

The fact that the history of the usage of the mineral waters of Afyonkarahisar is very old has been understood when the remnants of wooden installation were found in the depth of 30 meters in an excavation made there in the year 1928. Furthermore, the pottery wares belonging to pre-Hittite copper era are frequently found in the region as well.

And Metropolis, which was one of the famous towns of the Phrygians, is located in the District of Ayazini just in vicinity of the springs of such mineral waters. It has been understood that the people of this town had also used such mineral waters.

A view of the production line of our factory which was commissioned in the year 1954…

We might obtain some documents about the mineral water which the aged people call Ekşisu (Sour Water) as from the year 1900. A Belgian physician recommended Sultan Abdülhamid Khan to drink the Mineral Water of Karahisar in the year 1900; and thereupon the first analysis of this water was made by the order of the Sultan on 02.01.1903, and then it has been understood that the said water is useful for human health. Abdülhamid Khan granted the concession of operating this mineral water to Şişli – Infant Hospital. And this mineral water was operated for the benefit of this hospital by the end of the First World War.

Later, this concession was assigned to the Provincial Private Administration of Afyonkarahisar after the 1914 War; and a retired army officer named Ali Rıza Bey and then Hüseyin Mollaoğlu from Afyonkarahisar hired this water from the Provincial Private Administration in the year 1924 after the National Independence War and operated for a while.

Our first factory the operation of which was granted by Atatürk to the Turkish Red Crescent Society in the year 1926 for the purpose of the provision of a certain revenue by the said Society.

The concession right of the Mineral Water of Afyonkarahisar which was brought to and introduced in Ankara by the French engineers who worked in the making of the Eskişehir-Izmir railway line in the year 1923 was given to the TURKISH RED CRESCENT SOCIETY for a period of 60 years by the order of Great Leader Atatürk on 17th October 1926 when the Mineral Code was adopted after the year 1926, and then this period was increased to 99 years by the virtue of the letter no. 21812 dated 03.05.1969 of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, and then up to the year 2064 by the Provincial Private Administration of Afyonkarahisar for the purpose of the provision of a certain revenue by the said Society.

Production has been continuing with 2 filling line of the latest technology for returnable and non-returnable bottles in our Mineral Water Factory No.2 which was commissioned in the year 1954.

The Turkish Red Crescent Society purchased a filling facility from France in the year 1954 by spending 450.000 TL which was a huge money in that period.

And then, the Turkish Red Crescent Society constructed the biggest operation facility in the Middle East and the Balkans not only in our country (open area of 180.000 m2 and covered area of 6.500 m2) and commissioned 2 automatic washing and filling lines, each of which has a capacity of 15.000 bottles per hour in the year 1954, and then also commissioned 2 filling lines, each of which has a capacity of 30.000 returnable / non-returnable bottles per hour. Eventually the Turkish Red Crescent Society that converted and commissioned the filling line having the capacity of 51.000 non-returnable bottles per our into the most modern bottling facility of Turkey and the world in the year 2005 started to produce the mineral waters with aroma under the brand name “Turkish Red Crescent”.

Today, 6 kinds of the Turkish Red Crescent mineral waters with aroma (Lemon, Apple, Sour Cherry, Strawberry, Peach and Orange) have been pushed into market for customers’ pleasure.

The Turkish Red Crescent Society has made such investments for the purpose of not only increasing its aid revenues but also fulfilling its leading and guiding mission in the sector of mineral waters.
Today, the Turkish Red Crescent Mineral Water Facilities are the biggest mineral water enterprises in our country as well as in the Middle East and the Balkans with its total 110.000 bottles/hour filling capacity so as to be 30.000 returnable bottles/hour filling (classical filling and filling with fruits) and 81.000 non-returnable bottles/hour bottling.

The mineral water produced in the mineral water factory which is the first and most modern factory in the Republic of Turkey is being sold throughout Turkey for 82 years and abroad for 8 years; and the excess of the revenues being thus obtained provides serious contributions to the funds which the Turkish red Crescent Society uses for the services of aids and natural disasters..

The Turkish Red Crescent Society that commissioned the filling line having the capacity of 51.000 non-returnable bottles/hour together with the most modern bottling facilities in Turkey and in the world in the year 2005 also started the production of mineral waters with aroma under the brand name “Turkish Red Crescent”.