Interview with Samet Akgül, General Manager of AKG Makine

AKG Makine offers innovative solutions in numerous fields, particularly in blasting and wet painting systems. In an interview we conducted, AKG Makine General Manager Samet Akgül provided information about the company's areas of operation and the products it offers.

Could you tell our readers briefly about yourself and your professional background?

Hello, I am Samet Akgül. I was born in Istanbul on 7 April 1993. I am originally from Çankırı. After completing primary and secondary school in Istanbul and finishing high school at Çankırı Anatolian Technical High School, Mechanical Engineering Department, I graduated from Istanbul University's Mechanical Engineering Department. I am married. I first became acquainted with the surface treatment sector in 2013, and after developing myself in the field of blasting and wet painting systems, I established my own company. For 13 years, I have developed myself from the ground up, observing practical applications rather than theory alone. For approximately 10 years, I have been actively engaged in the field in both sales and application in blasting and painting, which has brought us to the present day. [caption id="attachment_158751" align="aligncenter"] AKG Makine General Manager Samet Akgül[/caption]

Could you provide information about AKG Makine's founding process and areas of operation?

Our company is based in Tuzla, Istanbul. I founded the company based on gaps and inexperience in the blasting and painting sector, combined with my growing experience in the sector. When establishing our company, while trying to apply the domestic manufacturing motto that we adopted as a principle, we also concluded dealership agreements with 3 countries abroad. The most recent of these occurred when we participated in the Europort fair in the Netherlands. AKG Makine operates across a wide range in the blasting and painting sector. Primarily, it provides services in shipyards, automotive, furniture, food, steel machinery, steel containers, iron and iron products sectors. The company continues to serve as a solution provider in the sector in the areas of blasting facility design and construction, blasting machine manufacturing and technical service, as well as wet painting facility design and construction, wet painting machine spare parts and technical service.

Could you provide information about the products and services that AKG Makine offers? What sectors are among your target markets?

As a domestic manufacturer, our company provides manual and automatic blasting facilities, blasting machine spare parts, and blasting facility maintenance and repair services in the blasting field. In addition, in the wet painting group, we provide wet painting facility design and construction, dry-type paint booths, pneumatic and electric painting machines, painting machine spare parts and painting machine technical service.

Could you provide information about AKG Makine's domestic and international operations?

With 13 years of experience, 8 painting dealers and command of the field, our company continues its active sales, maintenance and revisions, and new facility construction domestically. Within Turkey, we continue customer visits and sales to the main regions of Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Tekirdağ, Bursa, Bolu, Ankara and Izmir through weekly and monthly routes with our daily sales consultant colleagues, while maintaining active online sales to other regions. Our company continues to introduce itself internationally, develop, and seek international partners. Focusing on certain countries we have identified for ourselves, including Russia, Romania, the Netherlands and Balkan countries, we continue to honour our domestic manufacturing motto through exports by concluding dealership agreements both through online advertising and direct visits.

Could you speak about the importance and potential of blasting applications in the sector?

Blasting application is, in essence, an indispensable part of the painting and surface treatment sector. Blasting, also called rasping or rust and dirt removal – this application, which has different names in each sector – has as its principal objective the removal of dirt, rust and corrosion from the surface to be painted before painting is applied. A blasted part or equipment is delivered with a guarantee after painting is applied, the paint adheres to the surface, and eliminates situations where the paint might peel off or be removed. Over the past 20 years, blasting processes applied in our country, particularly over the last 10 years, have gained popularity and become further established through regional exhibitions and promotions as internet access has accelerated. This application also seriously increases the quality of the paint. The development of industry and manufacturing in our country, combined with export incentives, has raised product quality, and in doing so, has subjected our companies to research. These investigations have demonstrated to painting companies the blasting process and its effectiveness.

Could you provide information about AKG Makine's sustainability approach and environmental policy?

Our company understands the climate crisis and its importance and acts accordingly while directing our manufacturing in this manner as well. The filters and equipment we use in blasting facilities are entirely designed for this purpose. Additionally, the dry-type filters we use in paint booth facilities are prepared so that paint dust will adhere to the filters within the paint booth and not harm the environment.