The outgoing year was full of notable occasions and landmark events. We visited dozens of exhibitions and, with booths, participated in several key to the mine safety and mine rescue sectors.
One of the key exhibition events was A + A Dusseldorf Messe. The event is the largest international exhibition, taking place every two years. Employees of our R&D center got acquainted with the latest products and technologies in the mine safety segment; and colleagues from the business development department brought in new orders from the exhibition. DEZEGA products were presented and aroused great interest also at exhibitions in Poland, South America, and Australia.
We participated in one of the most significant and leading events of the mine rescuer and mine safety industry worldwide: The VIII International Mine Rescue Conference IMRB-2017. There, for the first time, we publicly presented the prototype of our new generation 4-hour breathing apparatus. This year, the conference brought together more than 200 mine rescue experts from 22 countries on four continents, who came to share their experience and learn from their colleagues.
Of course, the key milestone of 2017 was the opening of our new plant in Izmir, Turkey. We have great plans for the new production facility. We wanted to ensure the growth in sales of DEZEGA products. The grand opening ceremony of our new plant was held on September 21. Among the honored guests of the ceremony were a representative of the Ministry of Economy in the ESBAS zone, the CEO of ESBAS, the prefect of the Gaziemir region, Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey, and officials from Ukraine and Turkey. Customers have already received self-rescuers fully assembled at the new plant.
With the holidays, the DEZEGA team thanks our customers for their trust, partnership, and interest in new products and services as well as for their useful feedback. We thank our contractors for their creative approach to accomplishing their tasks; our competitors, for giving us reasons not to relax. And most importantly, we thank each member of our team for their contribution to this year’s achievements, and for their professionalism and involvement, which helps DEZEGA maintain its leadership position in the world market.