After graduating from Istanbul Technical University as a Mechanical Engineer in 1980, he joined the Ford Otosan’s Project Coordination Group as a young engineer, which was responsible for the establishment of Ford Otosan’s Engine & Transmission and Truck Plant.
Following his experience of establishing and commissioning a highly technological factory during his 16-year career at Ford Otosan, he gained significant experience in production and assembly management as a Plant Manager. He always benefited from these valuable experiences in his career after Ford Otosan.
After Ford Otosan, between 1996 and 2002, he worked as a Technical General Manager at Japanese origin Mazak CNC machine tools of Turkey sales and service company. Moreover, he gained important experiences by being a Plant Manager and General Manager in various companies which are engaged in manufacturing aluminum & plastic injection, metal press and assembled products and working as an OEM supplier to the global main industries of white goods.
In 2002, he served as the Deputy General Manager of Production and General Manager at Hema Endustri, a subsidiary of Hattat Holding, which is one of the most important companies of his career. During the Hema years, he gained extensive experience in marketing, sales and production technologies in the automotive, tractor, construction equipment and defense industry industries in global markets.
In the same years, he was deeply influenced by the training of “Six Sigma Deployment Champion” that he received from the Caterpillar University of the USA, leading the establishment and commissioning of Six Sigma and Lean Production systems, which will later spread to all Hattat Group companies, and established a deep-rooted cultural change in Hema.
In addition to his extensive project and production management experience that he gained in his business life of nearly 40 years, he also assumed important responsibilities in the restructuring of these institutions and strategic business development stages, especially in automotive and white goods supplier companies.
Since 2011, he has been carrying out Management Consulting activities in Lean Production, Lean Management Systems Installation and Periodic Factory Management in various organizations.
In addition, he assumed high-level responsibilities as a Management Consultant in the establishment of two production plants in Malaysia / Kuala Lumpur within a three-year period within the scope of consultancy studies abroad besides domestic studies. As part of these studies, he gained extensive experience in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore markets.
Çetin Çıtakoğlu assumes consultant role in Matris, for Lean Manufacturing, Lean Management, Project Management, Process Improvement, Cost Reduction, Periodic Factory Management, Plant layout improvement and TPM.
