Interview with Can Merter, Marketing and Communications Manager at Krohne Türkiye

In this interview with Can Merter, Marketing and Communications Manager at KROHNE Turkey, we discussed the company's areas of activity, R&D efforts, and significance for Turkey.

Could you briefly tell us about yourself and your professional background?

I completed my entire education in Izmir, the city where I was born. After graduating from the Mining Engineering Department at Dokuz Eylül University in 2002, I completed my master's degree in the same department. During my university years, I worked in different fields, from the legal department of a holding company to congress services. I can say that the work I did during this period contributed greatly to my career in the following years. I began my professional engineering career in 2005 as a production shift engineer at Ege Seramik A.Ş. It was here that I first became professionally acquainted with field instrumentation. In 2007, I worked as an instrument sales engineer for more than three years at Birleşik Endüstriyel Sistemler A.Ş., which was the representative of Yokogawa at that time in Turkey. In 2011, I began my role as "Regional Manager for the Aegean Region" at KROHNE, where I continue to work today. During this period, I can say that I was on site through almost every stage of field instrumentation work. Between 2015 and 2018, I worked as "Sales Manager" at KROHNE Turkey, and since the beginning of 2018, I have been working as "Marketing and Communications Manager".

Could you provide our readers with information about KROHNE and KROHNE Turkey's activities?

First and foremost, I should mention that KROHNE is one of the world's most important and leading manufacturers of field measurement instruments. With over 90 years of experience, KROHNE is one of the world's leading companies that designs, manufactures and develops flow, level, temperature, analysis and pressure measurement products used across all industrial sectors globally, utilizing innovative and reliable process measurement technologies. I would like to emphasize that KROHNE, founded in Germany in 1921, is first and foremost a 100% family company. With 17 production facilities in 12 countries worldwide and more than 3,700 employees, KROHNE has a team of 350 people dedicated to R&D activities and continuously invests in research and development. Active in Turkey since the early 1970s, KROHNE is one of the country's leading instrumentation companies, as it is worldwide, and is at the forefront in applying advancing technology. All of KROHNE's activities in our country are conducted directly and solely by KROHNE Turkey. Through this, KROHNE is able to continuously keep its finger on the pulse of the industrial world in our country. Headquartered in Istanbul, KROHNE Turkey is an ever-evolving organization with sales and service personnel distributed across six regions based in European Istanbul, Anatolian Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Adana, working to meet all instrumentation needs throughout the country.

What are your product varieties and the sectors you serve?

The concept of automation is fundamentally composed of three main pillars. These can be classified as the measurement and electrical transmission of physical quantities (flow, pressure, temperature, etc.), the control pillar that enables decision-making based on measured quantities, and the action pillar that is implemented under the management of the control pillar. KROHNE operates in the "measurement" pillar, which is the first and most important pillar of automation as we have briefly outlined. In this scope, KROHNE manufactures a wide range of field instruments, including electromagnetic, ultrasonic, Coriolis mass, vortex and variable area flowmeters, as well as guided and non-contact radar level gauges; pressure and differential pressure transmitters, temperature sensors and transmitters; and analytical measurement devices such as pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and free chlorine analyzers. The production range covers almost all industrial areas such as oil&gas, iron&steel, food&beverage, water&wastewater, energy, chemistry and petrochemistry. For all the industries mentioned here, KROHNE also has custom instrumentation solutions in addition to its standard products.

What pre-sale and after-sale services does KROHNE offer to its customers? How does this process proceed?

First and foremost, according to KROHNE's operating principles, the KROHNE Turkey team aims to be alongside end users at all stages of instrumentation work. Sales teams are equipped with detailed instrumentation training in all relevant areas. At this point, extracting correct process information within the framework of industrial end-users' process management plans, implementing correct instrument models, and delivering within the required timeframe are processes that KROHNE aims to manage with extreme care. However, our responsibility does not end there. The installation of the field instrumentation provided by KROHNE at the point of application and the smooth continuation of the operation process are among the most important points of focus. At this point, we also have a highly competent and well-trained service team. Our goal is to conduct customer-focused work from the instrumentation design stage through the operation process. The fact that KROHNE is growing extremely rapidly in Turkey is, I believe, the best proof that we are following the correct strategy.

What is your perspective on R&D? What is the importance of R&D for KROHNE?

Process industry measurement device manufacturing encompasses not only standard applications but also producing solutions tailored to special requests. For this reason, KROHNE combines the experience derived from long years of proprietary knowledge with the concept of continuous innovation, aiming for continuous improvement in production. KROHNE's objective has always been to meet and even exceed our customers' expectations. Nearly 10% of the workforce globally works directly on R&D activities. For this reason, I can say that R&D is a very important matter for KROHNE.

Could you provide information about your approach regarding the general situation of the Water and Wastewater Industry as KROHNE Turkey?

Water and wastewater management is of great importance in shaping our future together. In our country, very significant investments are being made in water management by both the public and private sectors. For this reason, I can say that the water and wastewater industry is at the top of the sectors that KROHNE prioritizes. KROHNE has solutions for all stages: from water procurement from the source, through transmission and distribution lines, treatment for drinking water use, storage, collection as wastewater and treatment to return to nature. Although very large investments have been made in water processes in our country in recent years, unfortunately measurement and control are still not being performed at many stages of water processes. However, well level and flow values in water wells; line pressures in distribution lines; and measurements such as pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and free chlorine at storage and treatment points should be continuously performed, and most importantly, these measurements should be monitored through a single screen or interface and necessary controls should be provided through remote access. The ability to consolidate physical measurements across such a large field on a single software platform and, when necessary, to make physical interventions without traveling to the point of application; will enable the prevention of large quantities of water loss, transfer in correct quantities to correct locations, and return to nature in the desired manner. For this purpose, there is a need for correct equipment to be used at correct points through proper designs and the establishment of an efficient automation system. While KROHNE Turkey has been involved in many correct water management projects in our country to date, we certainly do not consider what has been done so far as sufficient. We do not wish a single drop of our country's water to be wasted. For this purpose, special KROHNE solutions developed within the scope of the "water management" concept contribute to the goal of a sustainable nature to be passed on to future generations.

What are the smart solutions that KROHNE has developed for the Water and Wastewater Industry? Do you have solutions that you also aim to contribute to nature?

First and foremost, the biggest problem is the gradual depletion of water resources. As you know, our world has a very sensitive balance on this issue. Both groundwater sources and surface water sources must be used in an extremely controlled manner, and water resources must be given the opportunity to renew themselves. With the instrumentation solutions developed by KROHNE, remote control of water well levels and flow rates can be provided, well levels can be used in parallel with natural renewal processes, and the reckless depletion and deterioration of our wells can be prevented. The same applies to both surface water level control and monitoring and control of aquifer conditions. In this context, we have had many collaborative projects with municipalities over time. Within the last ten years, I can safely say that thousands of water sources throughout the country have been saved from depletion through precise measurements and correct usage practices. However, such measurements can be difficult when considering the conditions and locations of water sources. Measurement points in particular may be located far from residential areas and industry. Energy supply may be an issue for equipment to be used at these points. At the same time, there may not be cable lines required for transmitting measured values, or there may be a need to lay cables for kilometers. KROHNE has developed special solutions for such situations.

For example, the WATERFLUX series electromagnetic flowmeters, specially designed by KROHNE, are battery-powered and require no energy for periods reaching up to 15 years.

However, with special solutions that enable data transmission via GSM, there is now continuous measurement and data transmission capability at every application point where measurement is needed. We have many applications throughout the country that serve as examples of this. On the other hand, in the stage of treating water used in cities, to ensure this process does not harm the natural cycle, many parameters such as flow values, pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen must be continuously monitored and kept under control. KROHNE has developed technological solutions based on experience and expertise for nearly every point of the management systems I have tried to outline here. With the OPTIFLUX series electromagnetic flowmeters, which are widely used in production and transmission lines, flow values can be measured with precision reaching 0.2%, and this measurement can be sustained continuously for many years. During these flow measurements, the internal linings of the flowmeters that come into contact with flow in the lines are manufactured with special materials selected as suitable for drinking water such as polypropylene, hard rubber, and PFA, and international institutions provide certifications guaranteeing that harmful substances threatening human health will not dissolve in the water passing through the flowmeters. In addition, in KROHNE's level measurement solutions, the OPTIWAVE series non-contact radar, OPTIFLEX (TDR) series guided radar level gauges or OPTISOUND series ultrasonic level gauges enable very high accuracy level measurements and engineering structure volume calculations at storage points. On the other hand, KROHNE has very important solutions for wastewater applications, which form the most important part of the water sector. There are significant solutions for almost every measurement point of wastewater treatment processes.

These can be listed as volumetric or mass flow, level, pH/ORP, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, free chlorine and turbidity measurements.

Legally, wastewater management is also subject to very serious procedures. Within this framework, very sensitive processes are applied in both domestic and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. With its OPTISENS, OPTISYS and OPTITUR series products, specially developed for analytical measurements such as pH, conductivity, free chlorine and turbidity analyzers, KROHNE aims to create a continuously operating controlled laboratory environment in the field. In addition to the goals of continuous online process operation, innovations that provide long service life in terms of product durability and maintenance are also targeted to reduce operating costs. In this context, to give an example, KROHNE's free chlorine analyzers, unlike many other manufacturers, have a self-cleaning membrane feature. In summary, the "measurement" pillar, which is the most important and fundamental pillar of the system we call automation and which consists of "measurement," "control," and "action" pillars, is critical. Through KROHNE's measurement solutions, an entire water system can be managed from a single screen without the need for on-site human intervention.

One reason for your brand's global presence is undoubtedly advanced technology. In this context, could you tell us about the technologies you use?

KROHNE uses specially developed technologies for all product groups it manufactures. I would like to explain some of these to you here. In general, it is impossible to perform measurements in two-phase fluids with many flowmeters. For this reason, gas or air content in liquid fluid lines severely affects measurement quality. With the "EGM (Entrained Gas Management)" technology that KROHNE has developed for its Coriolis mass flowmeters, trouble-free flow measurement can be performed even in lines where there is gas content within the liquid fluid. Coriolis mass flowmeters equipped with this technology can perform measurements without problems in a wide range of gas fractions and complex flow conditions thanks to powerful control algorithms. From a pure liquid phase to a gas phase or vice versa—that is, even with gas content ranging from 0% to 100%—the flowmeter will continue measuring without hesitation. The use of this technology is becoming increasingly widespread as it addresses many measurement requirements in industry. However, I would also like to mention KROHNE SMARTPAT analytical sensors. Conventional analytical sensors work in conjunction with external electronic units.

However, specially developed SMARTPAT series sensors have their electronic units integrated on the sensor itself.

In addition to the ease of installation and maintenance and cost-effectiveness this feature provides, it also allows use in hazardous areas. SMARTPAT sensors store all data and transmit it bidirectionally and digitally. They also have 4-20 mA analog signal output with HART protocol. SMARTPAT sensors can be easily configured and calibrated with PACTware software. With its offline calibration feature, it provides continuous accurate measurement and long service life. This allows for less labor and greater functionality. Similarly, I would like to mention KROHNE OPTICHECK field verification devices. One of the important issues in flowmeter field applications is the verification of the flowmeter during operation. An OPTIFLUX series electromagnetic, OPTIMASS series mass or OPTISWIRL series vortex flowmeter currently operating in the field can be verified on-site with the OPTICHECK device. This makes it possible to extend recalibration intervals. This provides important advantages in terms of both workload, operational continuity and costs. Without going into further detail, to summarize, KROHNE possesses many new technologies in all product groups it manufactures that create advantages for users in terms of both workload and costs, while continuously striving to develop these technologies further.

What are the benefits that Industry 4.0 brings to your business? Where is Turkey positioned in the Industry 4.0 process?

Nowadays, the human factor is decreasing day by day across all industries. This is not a choice but a necessity. Risks arising from human error can be greatly reduced in a self-managing operation. Furthermore, the slow and quality-prone work habits of humans are increasingly struggling to meet the needs of a growing global population. For this reason, we are talking about self-managing facilities with a production method in which the human factor is minimized as much as possible. KROHNE develops and manufactures all field instruments with an Industry 4.0 vision. Developments in this field have significant application areas in our country as well. While it is clear that our country still has a long way to go at this stage, when compared with the rest of the world, we can say that it holds an important position. On the other hand, as KROHNE, we organize "KROHNE Academy" events worldwide and simultaneously in our country, which are shaped with an Industry 4.0 vision and aimed at enabling industry users to closely follow technological developments. In this way, by bringing together both end users in industry and system integrators with experts in the field, we are trying to make important contributions to technical development and progress in our country.

What are your targets for the coming years? What benefits will these targets provide to the sector and your customers?

In our country, particularly in the Water and Wastewater Sector, but in almost all industrial fields, there are still institutions and businesses that have not been brought under measurement control and continue their production using traditional methods. At this point, as KROHNE, our goal is to contribute correct instrumentation solutions to correct projects to be developed in these areas and to increase operational efficiency through high-precision measurement technologies developed with the latest technology. We must not forget that no process management that is not properly designed and cannot perform correct measurements can be efficient and purposeful. Our aim is to ensure the highest efficiency, lowest cost and greatest environmental benefit through the field instruments we have developed in all industrial fields in which we operate.

What would you like to say about the Water and Environment Sector?

Globally and in our country, we desire the correct and efficient use of every milliliter of our water. To this end, important work and investments are being carried out in our country every day. From the production stage onward, sustainable water use, prevention of losses and leaks, and proper return of water to nature after it reaches users are vital not only for us but also for future generations to come. The development of the sector will only be achieved through proper engineering work. Drinking water treatment plants, water storage facilities, drinking water purification plants, water pumping stations, water transmission and distribution lines, sewerage networks and treatment facilities must be reorganized with the opportunities brought by the latest technology. Within the scope of these efforts, our company KROHNE and ourselves are working to perform our responsibilities in the best possible way.

Thank you for informing us.

I thank you on behalf of myself and my company. I wish you success in your publication.