First Chamber Building
On 28 Feb 1989, the Trade and Industry Department granted permission for the establishment of the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry. After electing its executive members, the KCI won official recognition 22 June of the same year, thereby becoming the modern version of the century-old Izmit Chamber of Trade and Industry. Yetka Eti was chosen as its first President, Şahabettin Bilgisu its first Managing Director and Mr.Hamdi Dogan as the first Secretary General.
Commencing operations in a small office in the Akbank buildings on Dar Street, the organisation developed quickly and in 1995 was able to transfer to its current, ultra-modern offices located in the Kocaeli Fair Site.
New Building
Under the terms of Law No. 5174, Chambers of Industry are professional bodies with public status, established with the full approval of the Trade and Industry Department to operate in given provincial boundaries wherever industrial development is especially dense. KCI, initially with just six operatives to serve the interests of some 457 industrial institutions, was the eleventh such body to be established in Turkey. Its geographical sphere of operation, the province of Kocaeli, includes the urban centres of Izmit, Gebze, Karamürsel, Kandira, Gölcük and the Bay of Körfez (Gulf).