MALAZLAR KİBRİT: Türkiye' nin Son Kibrit Fabrikasının Trajik Sonu

The story of Malazlar Kibrit begins with Şükrü Malaz, who hails from Kayseri, purchasing Safina Kibrit in Pendik in 1967. This step laid the foundation for the Malazlar Match Empire. Between 1970 and 1990, the company experienced its golden age. With brands like “Yak Kibrit” and “Türkay,” it entered almost every home, diversifying its operations with side investments like Kartonsan and Teknik Kasa. Within the family, everyone had a clear role, with a well-defined division of labor. However, cracks began to appear amid this rise. Major labor strikes erupted in 1978 and 1990. Workers resisted for months and eventually succeeded in bringing their employers to the negotiating table. This situation left its mark on both the company's and the family's management philosophy. By the 2000s, cheap lighters from China, rising production costs, and changing technologies put the factory in a tight spot. Production stops in 2008, and in 2013, Turkey's last match factory closes. On the night of the closure, workers and bosses bid farewell together, tears flowing. In the following years, the family split into two. Ömer Malaz turned to the luxury yacht sector and was successful there. On the other side, Ali Şükrü Malaz got into a major legal battle with KİPTAŞ and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality over the factory land in Pendik. This process led to revelations and some arrests. By 2025, the Malaz family is writing a success story in the yacht industry while continuing to struggle amid the ashes of the match empire. In the end, Malaz Matches has become a symbol of the collapse of an industry and a family's struggle to rise from the ashes in other fields