Şinasi Güneş

It began in a village, with a curiosity about electricity

I was born in 1963 in the village of Hacılı, in the Mustafakemalpaşa district of Bursa. I am an electrical technician; however, before reaching this point, I grew up under difficult conditions, working as a shepherd and farmer in the village. My entry into the industry actually began with a small spark: Electricity came to our village in the 1970s. My uncle’s children were installing the village’s electrical wiring. I was absolutely captivated by electricity there; I said to myself, ’I need to understand electricity, I need to learn about it,“ and a serious desire was ignited within me.

I started my apprenticeship working alongside my uncle’s sons. After going through the stages of apprenticeship, journeyman, and master craftsman, by the time I returned from military service, I had gained enough experience to run my own business. I carried out construction projects for a resort village and a five-star hotel in Antalya. I developed into a technical professional who works on-site and personally uses what I produce.

“I started with three products in 60 square meters”

I came to Bursa when I was 25. While walking along Gazcılar Street—an area with a high concentration of electricians in Bursa—to sell the supplies I had, I met a business owner who told me, “We don’t need supplies; we need a technician like you—someone qualified.” “Where will I be working?” I asked. “We have our own production facility,” he replied. We went there, took a look, and toured the production area. Eventually, I started working as the lab supervisor. That’s basically how I got my start in the manufacturing sector.

After a while, I had some disagreements with my boss and left the company. Having come from a contracting background and having learned the production stages firsthand, I possessed the necessary knowledge. Relying on my experience and our savings, I decided to start production in the same industry. I analyzed the market and identified a product that was in demand but which my former boss had not produced with three types of products, I started out in a space of just 60 square meters. That’s how my entrepreneurial journey began.

I put everything I had on the line

To produce these three products, I put everything I had on the line—my money, my land, even my wife’s bracelets; in short, everything I owned. Because there was customer demand for these products, and someone had to make them. We’ve made it to where we are today thanks to our technical equipment and that same stubborn determination we had from the very beginning. Since I’m someone who has actually used the products I make in the field, I knew very well what worked and what didn’t.