We Conducted an Enjoyable Interview with Elif Kaya

SMS-TORK Board Member and Marketing Manager Elif Kaya spoke with us in a highly engaging interview. Ms. Kaya shared information about the sectors the company serves and its future objectives. I wish you enjoyable reading.  

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

Hello, my name is Elif Kaya. I am the second generation in the SMS-TORK family business. I serve as Marketing Manager.

What would you like to say about SMS-TORK? What are the criteria that define your company?

Our company was founded in 1985, serves the industrial automation sector and conducts local production. Our product range consists of solenoid valves, pneumatic actuators, pneumatic piston valves, burst valves and electric actuators. In the second half of 2017, we incorporated the VARNASAN brand into our operations and began global valve manufacturing. With TORK and VARNASAN brands, we can meet customer needs as a complete package in both the actuator and valve groups in fluid control. We conduct our manufacturing at our facilities in Dilovası, which span 1,600 square meters of enclosed space. With locally produced products designed and manufactured by our R&D team, we provide solutions to our customers. Trust, quality and innovation are the three core values of our company. We base all our work on these fundamentals. With our international quality certifications, we conduct our manufacturing with utmost precision. Quality standards are very important to us. We continuously monitor the market, customer demands and new technologies. Based on these, we set new targets and consider what next steps to take. Today, TORK brand products are present in 87 different countries. With our growing and developing team, we want to make TORK brand a world brand.  

Which sectors do you serve? What are your product varieties?

Since we produce products that control fluids, we can serve many different sectors. Today our products are used in a chocolate factory as well as in a chemical plant. At the same time they are used on ships, in buses or high-performance cars. Since our product range is wide, we develop solutions that meet our customers' needs. In addition, we also have project-based work. A customer comes to us with a need. We can develop a product for that need. The chemical sector is among the most important sectors for us. Particularly at our Varnasan facility, the soft seat stainless steel ball valves we manufacture and alongside these the Teflon-coated ball valve group we produce for use in aggressive fluids, in our pneumatic actuator group with ATEX, SIL3 certifications and ATEX-certified switch boxes and directional valves, we operate in the chemical sector. Our main product groups are solenoid valves, burst valves, pneumatic actuators, electric actuators and piston valves. Additionally, with our Varnasan brand we have begun producing stainless steel and carbon steel ball valves, needle valves, flow indicators and safety valves.  

What is your domestic and export sales volume? On what criteria do you determine your sales potential?

Currently we have 70% weight in the domestic market. However, in recent years we have begun focusing more on exports and are increasing our shipments abroad. We export to 87 different countries. Regarding this, at the Successful Exporters Awards Ceremony organized by İSİB, we have ranked first consecutively for the past two years in the "Exporting to the Most Countries" category. Abroad, we track and regularly participate in the largest trade fairs in our sector. This year we added new trade fairs to our plan. Our sales team conducts regular visits. We research the market. Based on this, we set our annual targets and progress accordingly.  

What is SMS-TORK's perspective on technology? How do you define the place and importance of technology in the sector you serve?

Of course, technology plays a large role in our sector. We closely follow new technologies and attach great importance to them. We direct our investments toward this. The world is changing. We need to follow it and keep pace. Innovation is also a value for our company. Each year all departments are given annual targets in this regard. In recent years, we have particularly accelerated production in the electric actuator product group. We are working on incorporating a system into our electric actuators that can collect diagnostic data. This way our customers will be able to receive maintenance and repair recommendations for electric actuators and the valves attached beneath them without experiencing line failures. In addition, we have a smart switch box project we continue to develop for pneumatic actuators. Our smart switch box will similarly take on a similar role by providing predictive maintenance suggestions and reducing maintenance costs.  

What opportunities do you provide to your customers in terms of technical service and support?

We have accumulated knowledge brought by years in the sector. We have begun utilizing this accumulation in terms of technical service. We always stand behind our own product anyway. When any problem is encountered, our technical service team provides support. In recent years, we have somewhat expanded this by beginning to provide service support for products outside our own manufacturing. We provide technical service and support for products such as ball valves, actuators and control valves of any brand. Currently this service is limited to the domestic market. However, of course, our support for our own products continues everywhere.  

Could you tell us about your targets for the coming years? What innovations await your company in the coming years?

We expanded our factory area this year. We currently operate in an area of 16,000 square meters. In addition, we have begun construction on our new building. We have targets such as establishing an R&D center and expanding our technical service. Our innovations for our products continue. We have reached the final stages of a product we developed with support from the KOSGEB project. We plan to move to serial production shortly. Development and improvements in our existing products continue.