Founded by Werner von Siemens in Germany in 1847, Siemens started its operations in Türkiye shortly thereafter upon the Ottoman Empire's decision to introduce the telegraph system to the country. Then named Siemens Halske, the company started its first project in Türkiye by establishing the Istanbul Telegraph Centre. Siemens' investments continued during the following years, and the construction of the telephone infrastructure continued even in times of war.
Siemens made electricity a part of city life. Turkish society has been enjoying services such as electricity, telephone and telegraph communication, and street lighting provided by Siemens. The presence of Siemens in the field of telecommunications in Türkiye started with the telex project undertaken with the Turkish post office PTT in 1950s, and which was completed in 1960.
Siemens contributed to Türkiye's development process by establishing Simko in partnership with the Koç Group in 1959. By 1961 Simko had already set up its first factory in Kartal, Istanbul. From then on, the company's fast growth contributed significantly to Türkiye's rapid industrialization.
In 1986, Siemens laid the fiber optic cables of the Bosphorus Bridge. In 1990, Siemens became one of the strongest infrastructure providers of the GSM industry of Türkiye. In the same year, Siemens also obtained the first ISO 9001 Quality Systems Certificate in Türkiye, and the ecofriendly practices of Siemens were certified with the ISO Environmental Award in 1995.
In 2001, all Simko shares were acquired by Siemens, and its name became Siemens Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş, also known as Siemens Türkiye. Siemens Türkiye continues its activities in Kartal, Istanbul on a 90,000 square meters of area and in its Gebze facilities located on an area of 150,000 square meters. Gebze facilities are the first in Türkiye to be certified with the LEED Gold standard (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
Siemens has been the first to introduce many innovative technologies to Türkiye in the fields of energy, infrastructure, electrification, automation, digitalization, and healthcare. Using its experience and knowledge gained over 161 years, Siemens Türkiye today guides the country in Industry 4.0 initiatives. With more than 3,000 employees, Siemens Türkiye's indirect employment reaches 40,000 people.
Investing heavily in R&D, Siemens opened its 14th R&D center in Türkiye. Siemens Türkiye's investment of approximately TRY 60 million in R&D in 2015 is 1.6 times the average in the country.
Also attaching immense importance to social contribution, Siemens Türkiye implements many corporate social responsibility and sustainability projects, ranging from the 18-year-old Siemens Opera Contest to robotic clubs, scholarships, donations, and projects for refugees.