Page 3 - 2026 Pilsan Catalogue

History
Our story started in the 1940s. It was the times when it was trendy to listen to gramophone
records, to follow the news from the agency and to go to Europe for education... Despite the
challenging conditions of the period, our founder Yakup Çetinalp loved toys so much that he
changed his sector and embarked on the world of toys. Fortunately, he did so. Let’s see how
things proceeded afterward…
When Yakup Çetinalp started to manufacture lead soldiers, machines making manual printing
were in use. His total manufacturing area was limited to only 40m² and the toys sector in
Turkey was almost inexistent. His son Hasan Faruk Çetinalp joined his father when he was
only six and together they traveled around Anatolia and sold those lead soldiers manufac-
tured in that small atelier. Besides, marketing techniques had not been invented yet and the
agencies to promote them were to be found after decades.
Over time, lead soldiers were replaced by plastic soldiers. The father and son used their crea-
tivity and applied probably the first lottery marketing technique in the sector. They wrapped
the soldiers with ‘lottery’ papers and made people experience the excitement of winning
presents and sold toys. They put 260 pieces of carefully packaged lead soldiers in a large
lottery bag. 30 of these soldiers had surprise gifts. Randomly picked a package from the bag,
the child was to win the toy corresponding to the number in the package he/she picked if
there was any number. Imagine doing that in the 1940s…
A real marketing achievement!

When one does his/her work with love, he/she definitely gets the reward, they say. Such
ambition and enthusiasm of the father and son did not remain unreturned. While several
companies headed to the dusty shelves of the history, Pilsan gradually grew. It has grown, but
has not lost the child within…

Time has changed, gramophone records were replaced by the digital, news are followed from
the social media, instead of agencies. Of course, we have also changed, developed and kept
pace with time. Today, we manufacture with state-of-the-art machines in an indoor space of
85,000 m², led by Hasan Faruk Çetinalp. As we mentioned before, Hasan Faruk Çetinalp has
never lost his childhood enthusiasm and made Pilsan the most established toy manufacturer
in Turkey.

Our investments in 40,000 m² of production and 10,000 m² of storage space are continued.
Started with lead soldiers, our journey is going on with hundreds of products aiming at chil-
dren in all age groups. Is it only children? We have a toy for everyone who has not lost the
child within, regardless of his/her age. The Northern Castle that became a legend in that
period, battery-powered cars dreamt by almost all children or a cute slide…
Our story has not ended here. We could not fit in the atelier of 40m² in İstanbul – Silahtar
and opened out to Turkey and then, to the entire world. Who knows, maybe the same Pilsan
toy that your child cannot do without is also the best playmate of another child at the other
side of the world …
For sure, our journey has not ended here; we still work with the same enthusiasm and our
objective is to manufacture the toys made by no one and to keep on leaving nice traces in
your lives.
We are more than happy to see you with us in this pleasant journey.

Our Mission
We love children and know that despite colorful toys of ours, the actual color of life is chil-
dren. For this reason, all our products are designed carefully by our professional team and
manufactured to suit children’s health and development. Our purpose is not only to entertain
children but also to contribute to their mental and physical development. We want to touch
the lives of every child in the world through our environmental-friendly, innovative and
modern manufacturing approach.

Our Vision
We believe that it is every child’s right to access to quality and fun toys made of healthy
materials and lead the sector by combining the technology with imagination and getting our
toys reached more children all through the world. Based on this understanding, we intend to
get worldwide the same sector leadership we gained in our country.