Uzel Holding (also known as Uzel Group and Uzel Corporation) was one of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

's oldest and largest manufacturing companies. Its main sector was agricultural machinery, although it eventually branched out into the automotive industry and real estate through its venture capital arm, Argentum. The company was founded in 1937. However, its roots went back to the middle of the nineteenth century. Uzel Holding collapsed in 2010 and was declared bankrupt in July 2012.

History

The roots of Uzel Group reach back to 1864 when the Uzel family began making and selling phaetons in the city of

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, which was then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Ibrahim Uzel, became the founder and the first Chairman of the Uzel Group in 1937 when he set up a sole proprietorship in

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

, a city in northwestern Turkey and began making

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring (device), spring commonly used for suspension (vehicle), suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, e ...

s for motor vehicles. In 1961, production of the company's first agricultural tractors began. The Company built its first diesel engine in 1964. In 1997, 15% of the shares of a subsidiary of the Group, Uzel Makina, were listed both in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

s in an IPO coordinated by

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

. In 2005, Uzel relocated its headquarters to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and acquired Gebrüder Holder GmbH, one of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's oldest tractor makers. Argentum, the venture capital arm of Uzel, acquired the Century 21 master franchise license from Realogy for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 2006. By 2006, the Group had expanded its products and operations to over 75 countries and operating in a few different industries and embarked on so a major reorganisation. The Group was divided into three

strategic business unit A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though ...

s: Agri (tractors, combines, cotton harvesters, sprayers, implements), Auto (engines, suspension systems, auto parts, defence systems, motorcycles, leaf springs) and Argentum (real estate, hospitality, franchising, technology). In 2007, Uzel bought 51% of the Ursus Tractor Factory, manufacturer of the Ursus brand of tractors, and a former Massey Ferguson licensee. At that time, Uzel was now one of ten largest tractor companies in the world with six manufacturing facilities and three major brands and was given the Palladium Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame Award. Uzel was the first company in the agricultural machinery sector to receive this award and the first company with Turkish origins. In January 2009, Uzel's creditors reported problems with the company's payments. According to ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

'': "The quarrel in the zelfamily over fraud and breaches of confidence" was having "a negative impact on the financial and stock performance of the firm, which was once among the world's top 10 in agricultural machinery production".Doğan, Sinan (2 January 2009)
"A family dispute hurts industrialists"
''

'' By 2010, Uzel had gone through a major re-structuring and had given up its Holder and Ursus brands. Uzel Holding collapsed in 2011 and in July 2012 was declared bankrupt.''Finans Gündem'' (3 October 2011)
"Uzel Holding çöktü" (Uzel Holding collapsed)
''

'' (13 July 2012)
"Uzel iflas etti, 148 yıllık şirket tarih oldu"(Uzel bankrupt, company had 148-year history)

Former business units

Uzel Agri * Tractors * Combines * Cotton harvesters * Sprayers * Implements Uzel Auto * Diesel engines * Leaf springs * Suspension systems * Auto parts *Defence systems Argentum * Real Estate * Technology: VidZone Digital Media * Franchising: Century21 Turkey, Century21 Eurasia * Hospitality: The Pucic Palace Dubrovnik, L'Ambiance Hotel, Bodrum

References

{{Reflist Privately held companies of the Netherlands Holding companies established in 1937 Holding companies disestablished in 2012 Companies based in Amsterdam Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1937 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2012 Conglomerate companies established in 1937 Conglomerate companies disestablished in 2012 Manufacturing companies established in 1937 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2012 1937 establishments in Turkey 2012 disestablishments in Turkey Dutch companies disestablished in 2012 Turkish companies established in 1937 Defunct companies of Turkey