Turkish businessman Haluk Undeger should be a big winner in United Parcel Service Inc.’s pending joint venture with his company. Mr. Undeger’s company, Unsped Paket Servisi San ve Ticaret A.S., has been UPS’s authorized contractor in Turkey for two decades.
Atlanta-based UPS, the world’s largest package-delivery company, announced on June 26 that it wants to create a joint venture with the Turkish company covering the Middle East, Turkey and parts of Central Asia.
Mr. Undeger and Dan Brutto, president of UPS International, held a news conference at the Four Seasons Bosphorous Hotel in Istanbul to make the anouncement. They declined to disclose the terms of the deal and said that the closing should be completed within 30 days.
The joint venture is to be headquartered in Dubai to develop its express package, freight forwarding and contract logistics services in 21 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, and to help UPS to increase international deliveries.
In addition to being a minority shareholder in the new joint venture, Mr. Undeger is to head its management from a base in Dubai.
He founded Unsped Global Logistics Trade Inc. in 1981 to provide import and export operations and developed affiliates in following years. In 1988, his company Unsped Packing Services Industries and Trade Co. became the authorized international and national fast cargo service provider for UPS in Turkey while UPS was expanding in Europe.
Mr. Undeger divided the company into different parts and his Unsped Package Service LLC became a major player in Turkey through international package delivery.
Meanwhile, UPS became involved in the Middle East in 1987 when it established import operations in Bahrain. In January of this year, UPS registered in Dubai’s free trade zone and assigned a strategy team to develop its business goals.
“This part of the world has become a transportation bridge and ideal near-sourcing location for Europe, Russia and Asia,” Mr. Brutto said in a statement. “UPS’s attention in this larger region also will further opportunity in the growing oil and natural gas industry sector.”
UPS has suffered declines in domestic volume for five straight quarters and is expanding its international activities even in the face of a worldwide recession.
Its operations in other countries to be overseen by the joint venture are: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.