Çorum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TSO)
The Çorum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TSO) is a professional organization with public legal entity status, founded in 1910 and operating under the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB). With over 5,000 members, it is the oldest and largest umbrella organization of the Çorum business world.
History
Chamber organization in Türkiye dates back to the 19th century: a legally unsupported Chamber of Commerce was set up in İnebolu in 1870, followed by the formal organization of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce in 1882. The “Regulation on Chambers of Commerce and Industry” of 31 May 1910 transformed chambers into professionally elected organizations; under this regulation, Chambers of Commerce and Industry were established in provinces including Afyon, Çorum, İzmit, Kırşehir, Ödemiş, Bayburt and Zonguldak. Çorum TSO was thus founded in 1910.
Interesting records from the chamber archive:
- Ahmet Turşuoğlu, who began his business in 1303 according to the Rumi calendar (1887), is among the first registered members with registry number 17.
- Nuri Kalelioğlu, who started as a draper in 1903, is among the first registered members with registry number 3.
- The first Assembly President was Şükrü Tütüncü (1911) and the first Board President was Mehmet Tütüncü (1927).
- To date, 19 Assembly Presidents and 10 Board Presidents have served.
Buildings: From Wooden Mansion to Fair Complex
The chamber served until 1965 in a two-storey wooden building in Kunduzhan Mahallesi. The building on Gazi Caddesi was built on land purchased in 1963 by then Board President Vahit Benderli and opened in 1965. Construction of the Fair and Exhibition Complex began in 2002; its first phase opened in 2004 and its second in 2007. In October 2018, the chamber moved to its new service building next to the Fair Complex on the Samsun highway. A modern conference hall was inaugurated in early 2026.
Duties and Services
Established under TOBB Law No. 5174 to meet the common needs of its members, facilitate their professional activities and promote the development of the profession in line with public benefit, the chamber provides the following documents and services in particular:
- Trade registry transactions (company formation, registration, capital changes, activity certificates)
- TIR carnets, ATA, A.TR and EUR.1 circulation documents, certificates of origin
- Domestic goods certificate, capacity reports, price approval
- Invoice copy certification, surety annotations, letters of good standing
- Construction machinery registration documents, insurance agency compliance certificates
- Foreign trade delegations and fair organizations, member training
Structure
The chamber is governed through a democratic electoral system consisting of 21 professional committees and assembly members. The Board President is Çetin Başaranhıncal. According to 2023 figures, 5,808 member firms registered with the chamber provide a total of 20,071 jobs.
Position in the Innovation Ecosystem
Çorum TSO is one of the founding actors of the city’s university-industry collaboration ecosystem:
- It is a 19% partner of the Çorum Teknokent Managing Company.
- The OKA Çorum Investment Support Office operates within the TSO service building.
- Joint training and consultancy programmes are carried out with the Hitit University Technology Transfer Office.
Contact
- Address: Karakeçili Mah., Fuar Cad. No:2, Merkez/Çorum
- Web: ctso.org.tr
- Location: On the Samsun highway, next to the Fair Complex