The life story of Halit Eryiğit, President of UMUDDER, is, in fact, the success story of a village boy.
INTRODUCTION
Halit Eryiğit is one of Turkey’s leading industrialists, entrepreneurs, and civil society volunteers in the fields of health technologies, biomedical devices, and biotechnology. Raised within the manufacturing culture of Anatolia, he entered the workforce at a young age and, through his entrepreneurial spirit, determination, and innovative perspective, has built one of Turkey’s most significant success stories in the field of health technologies.
Throughout his multifaceted career—spanning from manufacturing to R&D, from technology to entrepreneurship, and from education to civil society initiatives— he has made significant contributions to the development of domestic and national health technologies, the increase in high-value-added production, the strengthening of university-industry collaborations, and the establishment of a biotechnology ecosystem.
A JOURNEY THROUGH INDUSTRY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Halit Eryiğit began operating in the fields of health technologies, biomedical devices, the defense industry, and industrial production with Eryiğit Industrial Machinery and Medical Devices Inc., which he founded in 1991. What began as a small-scale manufacturing venture has, over time, evolved into a strong industrial enterprise that develops high-tech solutions, focuses on R&D, and competes in international markets.
He also served as the founding chairman of the OSTİM Medical Industry Cluster, spearheading the development of the health technology cluster model in Turkey.
Today, Eryiğit Medical Devices operates with a broad product portfolio that includes sterilization systems, central sterilization units, operating room equipment, operating tables, oxygen production and storage systems, medical gas infrastructure, biological medical waste sterilization technologies, and water treatment systems.
Thanks to its domestic production capacity, engineering expertise, and technology development capabilities, the company ranks among Turkey’s leading manufacturers in the healthcare technology sector and exports its products to many countries around the world.
He played a significant role in the development of diagnostic kits for various infectious diseases, particularly COVID-19, and in establishing Turkey’s capacity to produce primary probes; these efforts were recognized with special awards granted at the presidential level as part of TÜBİTAK-supported projects.
VISION FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
One of the most distinctive features of Halit Eryiğit’s career is that he has integrated industrial and manufacturing activities with scientific research and technology development processes.
He has pioneered the spread of a culture of R&D in the field of health technologies in Turkey; he has developed, managed, and successfully commercialized numerous projects supported by the European Union, TÜBİTAK, KOSGEB, and various public institutions.
As part of national and international collaborations, it has been among the first pioneering initiatives in the field of biotechnology in Turkey; it has led the establishment of biotechnology laboratories, the development of research infrastructure, and the implementation of commercialization processes.
In addition, he spearheaded the establishment of one of Turkey’s first MDR Biocompatibility Testing and Analysis Centers, founded with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Technology; he has made a significant contribution to the development of the testing and analysis infrastructure required by the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors in our country.
Through its efforts to develop domestically produced operating tables, sterilization systems, healthcare infrastructure technologies, and advanced medical equipment, the company has helped reduce the healthcare sector’s reliance on imports and strengthen domestic production.
ERYİĞİT MEDICAL DEVICES’ CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION
Halit Eryiğit believes that education is one of the key elements of sustainable development and has supported the integration of education and industry throughout his career.
It has provided students with internship, practical training, and research opportunities across a wide range of programs, from apprenticeship schools to vocational high schools, and from vocational colleges to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs.
As an industry representative, he has supported numerous oral presentations, scientific papers, and poster presentations at national and international conferences; a significant portion of these works has been recognized with various awards.
Throughout his educational journey—from apprenticeship to a Ph.D.—he has championed the importance of hands-on training and the one-on-one internship model on every platform; he has made the development of qualified human resources one of his core principles.
INVESTMENTS IN THE FIELD OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
In line with its commitment to technology and innovation, it has also made significant investments in the field of biotechnology.
He has spearheaded the establishment of research infrastructure in the fields of molecular biology, genetic technologies, molecular diagnostic systems, biomolecule development, and biomedical innovation; provided support as an angel investor to three different technology startups and contributed to their commercialization processes.
In line with this vision, he has led the creation of structures that bring biotechnology and health technologies together within the same ecosystem; he has also carried out various projects and collaborations to foster the development of biotechnology entrepreneurship in Turkey.
INDUSTRY AND CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES
Halit Eryiğit believes that the sustainable development of industry and technology is made possible by a strong culture of collaboration.
For many years, he has been conducting work aimed at the development of the biomedical and biotechnology sectors within the Ankara Chamber of Industry; he is among the founding representatives of the sector.
For approximately fifteen years, he has been contributing to the development of the biotechnology and biomedical fields under the auspices of the Ankara Chamber of Industry; he is one of the founders of ASO Professional Committee No. 2 and continues to serve as a member of the ASO Assembly.
Through its work in the areas of university-industry partnerships, technology development zones, entrepreneurship, and high-tech manufacturing, it has made significant contributions to Ankara’s transformation in the fields of health technologies and biotechnology.
MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION (MEBİD)
With the aim of establishing an institutional framework for the body of knowledge accumulated in the fields of health technologies and biotechnology, he spearheaded the founding of the Medical Biotechnology Association (MEBİD) and served as its founding president.
Through MEBID, it carries out initiatives that bring together the academic, industrial, public, and entrepreneurial ecosystems; it supports education, research, technology transfer, commercialization, and internationalization activities in the fields of biotechnology and medical technologies.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND CIVIC CONTRIBUTIONS
Halit Eryiğit is also actively involved in social responsibility initiatives.
He has played a role in the establishment and management of civil society organizations, particularly those working to combat addiction, protect young people, and raise public awareness.
He continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Association for the Fight Against Substance Abuse (UMUDDER), of which he is a founding member, and leads various corporate social responsibility projects in the field of substance abuse prevention.
ACADEMIC COLLABORATIONS AND UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY INTEGRATION
Halit Eryiğit, who advocates for the academic world to forge stronger ties with industry, is developing close partnerships with higher education institutions and actively supporting their educational, research, and technology transfer activities.
He is also a student in the Biomedical Device Technologies Program at Ostim Technical University and in the Business Administration Department at Anadolu University.
As part of the TÜBİTAK 2244 Industry-Based Ph.D. Program—the first of its kind in Turkey in the field of university-industry collaboration—it has carried out significant research and implemented a model that enables Ph.D. students to conduct research directly within the industry, in line with the goals of high-tech production and localization.
As part of this initiative, seven doctoral students conducted their thesis research at the Eryiğit Medical Devices R&D laboratories; as a result of this work, more than 35 scientific articles have been published at the national and international levels. Numerous patents and utility models have been developed as part of this research.
He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at Atlas University, where he contributes to efforts aimed at strengthening the university’s health sciences, engineering, biomedical technologies, and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
QUALITY, EXPORTS, AND INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
The companies operating under the leadership of Halit Eryiğit continue their operations with production and management systems that comply with national and international quality standards.
Organizations that hold ISO, CE, and various international quality certifications carry out production in accordance with the principles of quality, reliability, and sustainability.
Throughout his career, he has been honored and recognized by various institutions and organizations for his contributions in the fields of technology development, domestic production, R&D, exports, education, and social development.
VISION
Halit Eryiğit is a leader who brings together his roles as an industrialist, investor, R&D leader, civil society representative, and ecosystem founder under one roof.
To enable Turkey to become globally competitive in the fields of health technologies and biotechnology, the country continues its efforts to train qualified human resources at the master’s and doctoral levels, to transfer scientific knowledge into production, and to support technology-focused startups.
Its vision is to contribute to the creation of an ecosystem where scientific knowledge is transformed into economic value, university-industry collaboration is strengthened, domestic technologies are successfully represented in global markets, and Turkey becomes a leading global player in biotechnology and health technologies.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
First Name, Last Name: Halit Eryiğit
Occupation: Industrialist, Entrepreneur, R&D Leader
Areas of Expertise: Health Technologies, Biomedical Devices, Biotechnology
Responsibilities:
- Founder and Chairman of the Board of Eryiğit Medical Devices
- Founding President of the Medical Biotechnology Association (MEBİD)
- Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Association for the Fight Against Substance Abuse (UMUDDER)
- Member of the Ankara Chamber of Industry Assembly
- Member of the Board of Trustees at Atlas University
Marital Status: He is married and the father of four children.
