Kamil Tolon

After graduating from university, Tolon started to work at Posta ve Telgraf Teşkilatı (lit. transl. Post and Telegraph Agency: PTT) as an inspector. He was sent to Anatolia for his first inspection, though he resigned almost immediately after an encounter with an extremely poor villager.[6][11] He went to an engineering school in France for a brief period, before opening a shop in Bursa in 1937, which he named Tolon Makina.[4][12] In 1942, Tolon met Fahri Batıca. The two started a workshop together on Cumhuriyet Street, where they manufactured wheel hubs for cars and Jacquard machines.[6] They split up two years later in 1944 after Batıca said that engineering was a thing for Tolon and not for him. Following this, Tolon started to work at the workshop with his wife.[13]

In 1944, Tolon was drafted into the army and was sent to Nara, Çanakkale.[14] He continued his work during the army; most importantly producing machines to cut mines,[15] which were used to neutralize naval mines in the Dardanelles left over from World War I.[16] He spent 5 months cleaning mines and assisting soldiers in the use of his machine. Following regular electricity outages in his military squad, he made an electricity generator, as well as a portable washing machine for soldiers who were traveling. The washing machine was assembled in the back of a truck and was used in the army for several years.[17]

A washing machine of Tolon from the 1950s

Tolon returned to Bursa from the military in 1945. That same year he made power looms, sawing machines and drills in his workshop.[15] In 1948 and 1949, Tolon manufactured a combine harvester and water pumps for farmers.[16] The government decided to buy the harvester, but needed to test the machine. A European manufacturer also joined the testing, but secretly installed iron bars on the farm land where the test took place, causing the harvester to break.[18]

Tolon also manufactured washing machines and dishwashers in his workhop, which were the first manufactured in the country.[8] He received the patents for these products in 1953.[19] Washing machines at the time were only owned by the wealthy, as the need to import them made them expensive. Tolon's machine allowed many more families to acquire one.[17] The copper wires needed for the machines were processed in his own workshop and everything apart from the engines were built by Tolon.[20] The engines were imported from abroad and had an import quota.[8] Tolon had trouble selling the dishwasher, as locals at the time thought that washing dishes by hand was cleaner: as a result, he stopped production.[18]

While visiting Bursa, then–prime minister Adnan Menderes told Tolon that he was not allowed to import engines anymore, and forced him to manufacture his own engine. This led to the manufacture of the first electric engine of Turkey, which were used for Tolon's machines.[8] The first engine had a power of 0.35 kilowatts (0.47 hp).[21] The improved version that went into mass production had a power of 30–40 kilowatts (40–54 hp).[22] The machines were considered to be of high quality, with Hürriyet reporting that "these domestic washing machines are the same as, or even more durable and practical than European goods."[lower-alpha 2]

In December 1957, Tolon bought a 14-acre (5.7 ha) field near the village of Soğukpınarlı. On 24 August 1958, a major fire destroyed 1130 shops at the bazaar (kapalıçarşı) and Cumhuriyet Street in Bursa, including Tolon's shop.[8] Taking advantage of the chaos, several of his machines were looted by people.[24] Despite the fire completely burning down his workshop, he temporarily continued his work in tents of the Turkish Red Crescent.[21] Tolon was one of the first to resume production among those manufacturers who were affected by the fire.[24] Following the fire, Tolon started to plan a factory at the field near Soğukpınarlı. Construction began in 1959, with Tolon himself making the drawings and being the architect.[8] Production of machines at the factory started in 1960.[24] Sales increased with the new factory, with Tolon opening stores in 64 of the 67 provinces in Turkey.[25]