Project Cargo Professionals
Hareket’s Mustafa Şener: Building Heavy Projects With Personal Discipline
20 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What role does Türkiye play in the global project logistics landscape?
In Turkey, we will continue, but definitely Middle East and Africa region is going to be the biggest and highest growth area where Haraket will be definitely leading in the highest level possible.
We have invested quite significantly and continue to invest and even enhancing our service portfolio, not only heavy lifting and engineering and heavy transportation, but also on the maritime with bringing in new barges.
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We're back in Dubai for another episode of Voices of Breakbolt Middle East. And today I'm with Mustafa Sena from Haraket. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for taking the time to come in after just getting back from Istanbul last night. Yes, no, thank you so much for having me. So interesting to talk to you. I know you've got a couple of passions, project logistics and fitness.
Perhaps we'll get onto that a bit later on. But to start, why don't you tell us a little bit about Haraket?
Yeah, so Hareket is a company already in the entire project engineering industry for over 68 years. It's founded in Turkey. Today, the group CEO is a third generation. So it's a very strong rooted family business, but grown collectively.
quite significantly over the last 68 years to a really global, more and more global, but also regional power company in the whole engineering and project logistics environment, basically.
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Chapter 2: How is the Middle East evolving as a major player in project logistics?
But overall, if I say from a heavy lifting crane perspective, The country is well equipped and also with the whole SPMTs and the heavy transportation equipment, there is plenty of supply available in the market.
And you guys have got a very strong brand in Turkish Airlines, flies to more countries or more destinations, I forget, than any other. Does that benefit Haraket in some way? Is there work for you in the aviation sector?
Well, absolutely. I mean, Turkish Airlines has become one of the global leading airlines. The service quality, the network that they have enhanced is simply outstanding and but also not on the passenger side, also from the cargo side, the capabilities that they have enhanced is definitely something that helps the project logistics world as well.
And Istanbul being a perfect location and a hub, like I mentioned between East and West. So the whole project and logistics corridor Turkey has become with Turkish Airlines a major player and more to come.
It's also like the infrastructure that is coming around it and all the buildings and the projects that are coming with the expansion of the airport, of the distribution centers, the warehouses and so forth. So it's a major positive impact that Turkish Airlines is growing and we are happy to see it.
And moving beyond Turkey, Turkey economically, diplomatically has been focusing a lot on Africa. Is that the same for Haraket?
Yes, absolutely. Africa has become for all our Turkish-based clients a major growth area. And Hareket being the customer-centric provider, of course, we are going with our customers and providing our services, whatever we have done in Turkey, also in the African countries.
And yes, there's definitely a major opportunity for our Turkish customers, EPCs and providers that are going into the power industry. energy, logistics, energy projects, infrastructure, mining is a big topic in the African region. So these are areas where we see definitely growth. And we have done a number of projects within the African region and continent. And what about CIS?
Well, CIS is definitely very close also from a cultural perspective to Turkey.
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Chapter 3: What distinguishes asset-based engineering specialists in today's market?
always focused on the heavy lifting and heavy transportation and the excellent engineering part. And a lot of clients have asked Hurricane also to provide the global freight forwarding opportunities as well, which was always done in-house in a smaller team. But at one point, we made a decision within the board that
We want to have Haraket focus on the core competencies within Haraket, which is the engineering, which is the heavy lifting, the heavy transportation. And why don't we create a separate, independent, global freight forwarding project logistics organization, SHPL1, focusing on the basically forwarding project logistics activities that we can
provide to every client all services across all the project logistics requirements, not only the heavy lifting, but also can offer additional value add services. And at one point also opportunities to go beyond the Harriket equipment as well, because an asset company has an equipment as soon as the assets are fulfilled until the reinvestment, the re-investment,
Investments are done and the supply are here. We don't want to lose the momentum to provide to the project world our services also done from a logistical perspective.
It's a different business, right? Keeping the fleet operated and servicing a project?
Absolutely. It's a complete one. It's a full asset-based operation and that's where we want to focus on. We want to strengthen our governance model. We want to strengthen our
our services and at the same time we want to focus on the international freight forwarding project logistics activities which is completely separate non-asset based organization and really focusing on bringing all the parties together
And we hear a lot about digitalization and AI, tech tools for project logistics. How much of a difference has that made to your business so far? How far along are we on that journey?
Well, yeah, that's a topic that I'm very passionate about, which definitely is one part that in the board I'm a very vocal member of. I mean, Hareket has done significant positive development when it comes to technology, when it comes to digitalization, including the road service. We have had awards within the industry as well. So there was in the past,
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Chapter 4: How does personal discipline impact leadership in high-pressure environments?
And the big part of what really motivates me is the people connections, the people community that Hyrox has created, that you can go to a gym, work out together, prepare for a race, It doesn't matter which fitness level you are. Everybody can do it. So you're working out together. You're preparing for a race. You're going for the race. So you're starting people at all levels of fitness.
And all level of fitness. Okay. So don't be put off then. It's not for the hardcore. Absolutely not. I mean, sometimes on socials, you see all these six packs.
Yeah, we see fit people like you.
Yeah. Yeah, but it's for everybody basically. And also from a corporate or from a business perspective, I truly believe the team building event, when we talk about the wellbeing in organizations that a lot of companies have invested on finding what type of wellbeing opportunities are out there.
I mean, High Rocks is the perfect, perfect sport, if you will, that helps companies to build stronger team. to build stronger teams around the people connections, the networking that can train, work out together, do business together, and then go to events together and have fun and enjoy themselves as well. And that's why I'm a big fan of High Rocks.
I'm supporting High Rocks and I'm trying to motivate everyone I can find to do sports and participate in High Rocks. That's my mission.
So are you speaking from experience? Can we take it that you weren't always as healthy as you are now?
Well, not always, to be honest. I always tried.
But in this business, you travel a lot, you eat unhealthy, you eat on planes, you sleep on planes. It's not healthy.
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