Interview: Baykon Software Solutions & Laboratory Scales Operations

We conducted a pleasant interview with Baykon Software Solutions & Laboratory Scales Sales Manager Özgür Çayırlı and Industrial Weighing & Weighing Processes Sales Manager Emre Dulda regarding the company's areas of activity and the services it provides to the sector.

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

Ö. Ç: I was born in Sakarya in 1979. I completed my secondary and high school education at Adapazarı Atatürk Super High School. In 2001, I graduated from the Department of Electrical-Electronics Engineering at Istanbul University. After completing my military service, I worked at several companies, and in 2006 I started at Baykon as a Sales Engineer. In 2018, I continued as Sales Manager, and currently I am serving as Sales Director for Software Solutions and Laboratory Scales. E. D: I was born in Ankara in 1977. I completed my middle and high school at Adana Anatolian High School. In 2001, I graduated from Kocaeli University's Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering. After completing my military service, I started at Baykon A.Ş. in 2003 as a Sales and Project Engineer. Subsequently, I continued as Sales Manager. Currently, I hold the position of Sales Director for Industrial Weighing and Weighing Processes. During this period, I have implemented numerous projects on weighing systems; I have designed custom systems and standard products.

Can you provide information about the sectors where Software Solutions and Laboratory Scales are used? What kind of activities does your company carry out in this field?

Ö. Ç: Regarding laboratory scales, we are the Turkey distributor for Radwag, one of the leading companies in this field worldwide. There is hardly any sector where scales are not used. We can mention sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, logistics, textiles, and automotive. In the laboratory, we have a wide range of products from ultra-micro scales at 0.1 microgram (7-digit) to coarser scales such as 1 g. We also have models and solutions suitable for our customers' needs with moisture determination devices. We also have SQL database-based software for connecting and managing all scales found in the laboratory. As software, we provide solutions tailored to the needs of all demanding sectors. Our Formulation software solutions, particularly used in the section where recipes are prepared in companies, our BakNET software solution for weighing and reporting finished packaged products at the end of the line, and our data collection software at all points where weighing occurs are used in many companies.

Can you provide information about the sectors where industrial weighing and weighing processes are used? What kind of activities does your company conduct in this scope?

E. D: Scales and weighing systems are used in all sectors including pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals, steel, packaging, and logistics. In factories, you can see them used in every area from raw material entry into warehouses to the shipment of finished products. For example, in warehouse applications, scales and weighing systems are used in the weighing/counting of incoming materials, recording and labeling them, and checking the products given to the production department while keeping them on record. In the pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and cosmetics sectors, weighing systems play an important role in recipe preparation during production. Our automatic and manual formulation systems allow raw materials to be weighed more precisely within specified tolerances, which increases product quality and maintains it at the same standard, while also preventing unnecessary raw material waste and providing savings. At the same time, through detailed reports created for the weighings carried out, full traceability is possible, and the source of any problems can be identified quickly and effectively. Our liquid filling machines used in the chemical sector offer safe and high-precision filling capabilities due to their structures suitable for operation in flammable and explosive environments. In the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical sectors, our automatic and manual control scales are effectively used in checking the weights of packaged products to ensure legal requirements are met, customer satisfaction is maintained, and company image is protected. Our weighing systems with PLC/PC communication are used for process and inventory tracking. In the logistics sector, we produce products that can meet all sector needs including software-supported mobile weighing solutions (forklift weighing, pallet truck weighing, electric stacker weighing), dimension measurement systems, digital and analog load cell truck scales. At the same time, we supply ex-proof weighing systems and scales in the fuel and petrochemical sectors. In terms of fuel security, we can supply high-precision scales for national marker weighing, and we supply automatically controlled filling scales for gas and cylinder filling systems.

Baykon recently became a member of the European Weighing Industry Association (CECIP). Can you provide information about CECIP?

E. D: Founded in 1958, CECIP today has 14 members. Among these are 11 national member associations from Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and 2 companies from Portugal and Sweden, and Baykon Weighing as a member from Turkey. The weighing industry has undergone tremendous changes in recent years with the introduction of new technologies and techniques in all sectors. Today, weighing devices play an important role in every sector and contribute to the quality of the final product and indirectly to our daily life. Today, CECIP plays its role within Europe by working towards the adoption of common and harmonized standards at the European and international levels. These standards and regulations should provide safety and quality to both consumers and users of weighing devices. CECIP aims to provide valuable contributions to improve the quality of regulations and standards. CECIP also participates in the work of international organizations. For example, OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology) and WELMEC (European Cooperation in Legal Metrology).

Can you provide information about the latest product you have introduced to the sector? What technological equipment does this product have?

Ö. Ç: In the laboratory sector, special software has been developed with Radwag for pharmaceutical sector scales. We are one of the rare companies to have CFR21 compliance and Audit Trail features built into the scale. With these features, along with user management, traceability of all operations performed is ensured. In addition, with improvements made to the weighing mechanism, much better repeatability has been achieved, resulting in improved minimum weight values and better scale performance. E. D: Particularly for the chemistry and petrochemistry sectors, our Atex-IECEx certified ex-proof weighing terminals suitable for use in Zone 2/22 class hazardous areas have been introduced to the market and have reached a wide user base. Our Magicforks forklift scales with wireless communication that can be integrated into your existing forklifts in as little as 5 minutes, transforming your forklift into a scale, have been highly appreciated and are being effectively used by our customers, particularly in the logistics and chemical sectors. Similarly, our Libra-equipped stacking machines, another mobile weighing product we use in warehouse solutions, have reached our customers.

Can you tell us about the R&D activities carried out at your company? What technologies are you focusing on in your R&D center?

E. D: In line with evolving technology and safety requirements, R&D work continues on Atex-IECEx certified ex-proof weighing terminals and scales suitable for use in Zone 1/21 class hazardous areas. Work is also being carried out on IoT and cloud systems, which are the technology of the future.

Can you tell us about the innovations you will be launching to the market in the coming days? What advantages will these innovations bring to the sector and your customers?

Ö. Ç: In the laboratory sector, we are continuously encountering innovation and development with the Radwag brand. These can be standard updates as well as custom solutions according to customer requests. With features such as automatic water scale calibration and built-in ionizer for analytical scales, we enable our customers to perform their weighings more accurately and comfortably. In the near future, scales capable of wireless communication with weighing modules will enter the market. Also among the surprises awaiting us are 0.01 microgram (8-digit) comparator scales. In terms of software, by adding certain new modules to our formulation software solution that works integrated with ERP, particularly for pharmaceutical companies, we will be meeting our customers' needs.