AUTOMOTIVE AND MACHINERY

Supplying Machinery, Equipment and Building Materials to Construction Projects: Conformity, Defects and Rental

German and Austrian manufacturers are among the important suppliers of formwork systems, construction machinery, cranes, construction chemicals and specialised building materials to construction and infrastructure projects in Türkiye. These products are often sold or rented through Turkish distributors or dealers, and sometimes directly to the contractor. A problem arising on site, however, simultaneously raises the question of the responsibility of every link in the supply chain.

Experience shows that product disputes in construction projects arise because the manufacturer's supply contract, the distributor's contract with the contractor and the contractor's responsibility towards the employer are not aligned. The following sections address the main points that manufacturers supplying machinery, equipment and building materials to construction projects in Türkiye should consider.

Conformity and documentation

Placing construction products on the market in Türkiye is subject to technical regulations largely harmonised with European Union rules. Documenting the declared performance of the product, the presence of the required markings and the ability to provide technical documents in Turkish are important both for market surveillance and for acceptance on site. For construction machinery and lifting equipment, the machinery safety obligations of the manufacturer and importer and the periodic inspection obligations of the employer using the equipment must be considered separately.

Missing documentation may, even where the product itself is free from defects, lead to acceptance being refused on site and to project delays. The supply contract should therefore clearly specify which documents are to be provided by whom and at what stage. General product safety obligations are discussed separately in the product safety article in the Consumer Products and E-Commerce sector.

Defects and the supply chain

Where a building material or piece of equipment proves defective on site, claims in practice often move from the employer to the contractor, from the contractor to the distributor and from the distributor to the manufacturer; this is, however, not a mandatory order of recourse in every case. The inspection and notification rules applicable to each contract in the supply chain must be assessed separately. Failure to exercise rights in time in one relationship may make it factually or legally more difficult for the parties to bring claims against their own suppliers.

Defects in building materials often become apparent only long afterwards, during use of the building. The duration and scope of the manufacturer's warranty and of the warranty the distributor gives the contractor should therefore be aligned, defects resulting from improper installation and storage excluded from the warranty and the consequences of failure to follow the instructions for use clearly regulated in the contract.

Equipment rental

Formwork systems and construction machinery are often rented rather than sold in construction projects. The rental agreement should separately regulate the condition of the equipment on delivery and return, the distinction between normal wear and tear and damage, liability and insurance in the event of loss and damage, extension of the rental period and recovery of the equipment if rent is not paid. Where the equipment is rented with an operator, the nature of the contract may change; liability for damage caused by the operator's activities should therefore be determined separately.

Although ownership of rented equipment clearly remains with the lessor, physically recovering the equipment from the site may become difficult if the contractor gets into financial difficulty. It is therefore advisable to identify the equipment precisely, to have its location on site notified and to regulate the right of recovery in the event of late payment expressly in the contract.

Securing payment

In construction projects, payments often depend on the progress payments the contractor receives from the employer, and project delays have a direct impact on payments to suppliers. Security such as retention of title and movable pledges should be considered separately for machinery and equipment; the requirements for these instruments under Turkish law are discussed in the machinery sales article in this sector. Since building materials can no longer be recovered as separate items once incorporated into the building, securing payment through bank guarantees or letters of credit is more effective for these products.

Conclusion

For manufacturers supplying machinery, equipment and building materials to construction projects in Türkiye, risk depends not only on the product's performance on site but also on the alignment of the contracts in the supply chain. Clearly allocating documentation obligations in the contract, aligning inspection and notification periods and the scope of warranties along the chain, regulating damage and recovery in detail in rental agreements and choosing a form of payment security suited to the nature of the product limit the consequences that problems on site may have for the manufacturer. General questions on distribution relationships are addressed on the page of the relevant practice area.