An Enjoyable Interview with Samet Genç from Atılım Makina

Atılım Makina Design and Project Manager Samet Genç discusses the company's turnkey projects, export activities and R&D work.  

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

Hello, first I would like to thank the Chem Media editors for this interview. Between 2002 and 2006, I was introduced to design in the field of Plastic Technology at PAGEV Anadolu Vocational High School. Although our department had many different business sectors, becoming a designer became my target profession from those years onwards. In the following years, I completed my education by graduating from Ege University's Plastic Technology program and then Anadolu University (AÖF) Department of Business Administration. After working at several different companies, primarily in the plastic injection mold sector, I joined Atılım Makina in 2015, transitioning into the machinery and chemical sectors. Over this seven-year period, as Design and Project Manager, I have carried out numerous machinery designs, process designs and factory installations. I had the opportunity to work with leading companies in the sector both domestically and internationally. Designing facilities and taking an active role in installations that we have established in many countries has added very important experience to my professional life and given me the opportunity to meet valuable people who shape the sector.  

Atılım Makina's founding process and the stages it has gone through to date—could you provide information about this?

Our company has been manufacturing all types of processes, turnkey facilities, construction, standard and special machinery that the chemical and paint industries require since 1986. We are one of the oldest companies in the sector; over the last 10 years we have worked with 70% export focus, serving in many countries around the world, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. We had long-term partnerships with Oliver & Battle, a Spanish company, one of the world's giants in the sector. We are aware that experience and training together produce perfect results. For this reason, our company achieves excellent results with our technical team of experts and experienced personnel in their respective fields and master craftsmen who have been working with us for over 30 years since our establishment. Despite navigating many difficulties in this challenging process that we began many years ago, both nationwide and within our company, we are now working on projects in many countries around the world with our activities focused on design-oriented technology.  

What are the main sectors and product groups you serve as Atılım Makina?

We are adding new members to the chemical and paint sectors by establishing turnkey production facilities. In this process, we assume all responsibility from machinery production through facility installation, first product production and personnel training. Along with having knowledge of many processes such as plasticizer facilities, polyester facilities, P.V.A facilities, stren acrylic facilities, alkyd resin facilities, formaldehyde facilities, biodiesel facilities, thinner facilities, varnish facilities, water and solvent-based paint facilities, ink facilities, hot melt facilities and more, with our ongoing R&D activities and process information from our customers, we are able to establish any type of facility in the chemical and paint sectors. We primarily serve major companies in Turkey and in many countries around the world in the chemical and paint sectors by producing machinery and providing mechanical solutions partnerships. Reactors, mixers, bead mills, stock tanks, heat exchangers, decanters, bunkers, filters, columns and washing systems are our main productions.  

Could you describe your export activities? To which regions do you primarily sell what types of products abroad?

Approximately 80% of our production is export-oriented. Generally we carry out "Turnkey Chemical Facility" installations; in addition, paint machinery and process equipment are also part of our exports. When we say turnkey, once the capacity of the chemical to be produced is specified, we carry out the entire process from all necessary equipment, lines, automation and software systems through first production and personnel training. In short, we carry out the entire process of taking a project from construction stage and turning it into a functioning production factory. Due to proximity to chemical raw materials, we export primarily to Middle Eastern countries. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Iraq and Syria are the Middle Eastern countries where we generally have carried out facility installations and machinery exports. Additionally, Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary are European countries where we have recently carried out facility installations. We also intensively carry out facility installations and machinery exports to countries with different markets such as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine and Bangladesh.  

Could you discuss your R&D activities? How do you evaluate the contribution provided by university-industry cooperation in the R&D field?

We continue our work to establish an R&D centre within our company. On the other hand, we are the only company in the sector with locations and pilot facilities at two different universities. At our facility in Gebze Teknik University, we have our pilot facility and laboratory where we have conducted R&D activities for many years, and we are also able to use the university's own laboratories. We have R&D studies that we have been conducting for many years with support from our professors at the university on chemical processes. The new generation DOTP production process supported by TÜBİTAK is one of the fruits of these efforts. Additionally, we have recently begun conducting joint R&D work with Istanbul Teknik University, where we also have a pilot facility.  

Have you recently introduced any innovative or novel machinery production to the sector?

Over our long years in the sector, we have had many innovative processes and machinery manufacturing that have made contributions. I would like to explain three important ones of these. First, I would like to speak about our R&D work related to "Development of Oil-Based Polyester Polyol Production Process". Polyesters and polyols are basic plastics used today in the textile, packaging, plastic, construction, automotive, electronics and other sectors. The polyester-polyol formula to be developed within the project scope improves the production of polyurethane foams used in the construction and insulation sectors. The aim is to develop a production process that will add value to the PU product within the project scope. In the studies conducted, after the polyester-polyol polymerization reaction is completed, before conversion to the polyol mixture, "Vegetable Oil" loading is performed at optimum process conditions (temperature - mixing speed) and at the ratio determined in the laboratory, providing a homogeneous mixture. The process provides improvement in material properties important for the sector such as mixture homogenization, flammability class, adhesion ratio to metals, trimer structure stability and dimensional stability. With these improvements, we aim to increase the global competitiveness of the domestically demanded vegetable oil-based polyester polyol product through its superior quality properties to the end user. Secondly, a project from earlier years that brings joy to a nature lover like myself is a machine that I believe is very important for both environmental and worker health: the 'Boiler Washing Machine'. Although the Boiler Washing Machine was requested and designed to reduce labour, time and cost losses, it holds a very important place for worker health and environmental pollution. The best thing that can be done for environmental pollution in the chemical and paint sectors is to produce as little waste as possible and to be able to recycle it. Boiler washing machines are a system that accomplishes these two tasks together in their field. Mobile boilers of different sizes and capacities are used in many companies that produce paints, food products, adhesives and similar products. In this sector, as is the case with many pieces of equipment, equipment must be cleaned when there are product changes. To dissolve and clean certain chemicals, solvent-based solvents are used. Mobile boiler cleaning is generally done manually by workers. Here the solvent is used only once, and the worker is forced to continuously inhale and come into contact with the solvent. The boiler washing machine we developed using TÜBİTAK R&D support washes boilers of different diameters and lengths in a closed environment in short periods, minimizing solvent use and loss, while also separating and recycling used solvent for multiple uses. Finally, I would like to mention a chemical process we developed that has led to our company being frequently mentioned in the sector: 'DOTP (Dioctyl Terephthalate) Production Process'. DOTP is a phthalate-free plasticizer (plasticizer) that is a diester of terephthalic acid and branched chain 2-ethylhexanol. In recent years, it is a product expected to be banned in Europe and other countries on the grounds that DOP chemical material shows carcinogenic effects. DOTP is a type of plasticizer produced in recent years as an alternative to this product. As a result of our long experience and trials, we have managed to achieve 75% reduction in energy and labour costs compared to classical production methods and reduce the 18-hour production time to 8 hours.  

Could you discuss your quality policy? What are the main points you pay attention to in order to provide better service to your customers?

We manufacture special machinery and processes on a made-to-order basis; since we do not have serial manufacturing work, we first analyze customer requests. Do the demands really meet their needs? Are there more suitable solutions we could recommend? What will be the profitability of the project to be executed, what is the break-even point? We start work by searching for answers to all these questions. Many of our customers generally want the result or output of the work and leave the solutions in between to us. If their demands are incorrect or insufficient, or if we have a better solution available, we direct them in that direction. Our job is to produce mechanical and physical solutions, so we first want to understand the outcome or problem our customers want to achieve. Once an appropriate solution is found, we determine the necessary quality standards. ISO and CE certificates are our company's and our products' standard certifications. In addition, depending on demand or requirements, we can also provide certifications such as ASME, ATEX, API650 or Domestic Product Certificate.  

What are your goals for the coming years?

To shape our future, we are progressing under three main headings: R&D, quality and process development. Each year we undertake larger projects; in the future we want to sign mega projects and mega investments. Among our main goals is to develop more environmentally friendly chemical materials and production processes, particularly products that are not manufactured in our country; ensuring profitable and long-term sustainable growth.