Ford Otosan announces management changes at the Craiova plant

Ford Otosan announced today that, effective June 1, Fırat Elhüseyni will be appointed President and Director of Ford Otosan Craiova, replacing Müjdat Tiryaki, who will take on new responsibilities at the company’s headquarters in Turkey as Next Generation Manufacturing Lead.

Elhüseyni started his career at Ford Otosan as a process engineer in the Body Section of Ford Otosan Gölcük plant in April 2002. During his 22-year career, Fırat spent 6 years in China, Vietnam and Russia and also worked at the Kocaeli and Eskișehir plants in Turkey. This experience has allowed him to work with multinational Ford teams in diverse environments. He has been involved in the design, installation, commissioning, start-up and operation of production lines. From October 2018 to April 2022, he served as Operations Leader of the Engine Production Section at the Eskișehir plant. In April 2022, Fırat became Director of the Eskișehir plant, overseeing truck and engine production.

Müjdat Tiryaki, who has more than 24 years of experience at Ford Otosan, will take on new responsibilities as Next Generation Manufacturing Lead. As President and Director of Ford Otosan Craiova, Tiryaki has been instrumental in ensuring the successful transition of the Craiova plant to Ford Otosan, as well as transforming the working systems, strengthening Ford Otosan’s recognition by Romanian institutions and launching the new Ford Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier models. In his new position, Tiryaki will focus on Ford Otosan’s future investments and projects in the Turkish and Romanian production facilities, contributing to the company’s strategy to develop and launch products aligned with the global dynamics of the automotive industry.

Fırat Elhüseyni will be responsible for overseeing all vehicle and engine production operations at the Craiova plant, which plays a key role in Ford Otosan’s electrification plans with the upcoming launches of electric vehicles, E-Transit Courier, E-Tourneo Courier and the Puma Gen-E model. Fırat’s official start date will be determined depending on work permit approval.

“I am very happy and proud to take on this new role and lead a state-of-the-art plant like the Ford Otosan plant in Craiova. Not only do we have one of the most modern production facilities in the automotive industry, but we also have an extraordinarily skilled and talented team in Romania and I am very proud to lead them all on our new journey into the electrification era,” said Fırat.

Fırat Elhüseyni graduated from Istanbul Technical University’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, received a Master of Science degree from Sakarya University and is currently working on his PhD thesis at Sakarya University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.