We Had a Pleasant Interview with Mr. Ümit Makal

We conducted a pleasant interview with Ümit Makal, Research and Development Manager at Ravago Petrokimya. Ümit Makal shared valuable information with us about the company's activities in the TPU sector where it serves.  

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

I started working in the polyurethane field while still an undergraduate. After completing my degree in Chemistry at Koç University, I pursued a doctorate in Polymer Science and Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University in the USA. Following my doctorate, I began working in the R&D department of the TPU business unit at Lubrizol in the USA, and after spending 15 years there, I decided to return to Turkey and took on the role of Research and Development Manager in Ravago Petrokimya's Ravathane® TPU business unit. Throughout my entire academic and professional career, I have authored a total of 28 publications, 10 of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and hold 25 EU and US patents.  

Could you share with our readers the founding history and development process of your company?

Raf Van Gorp laid the foundations of Ravago in 1961 when he purchased the facilities of a dynamite company in Arendonk, Belgium. This gave him the opportunity to work on an idea he had in mind: the recycling of production waste from petrochemical companies producing plastics. Through the venture that began here, Ravago has become a comprehensive service provider that continuously pushes the boundaries of plastic applications in the petrochemical industry and consistently advances the (re)use of plastics to the next level with a commitment to sustainability. Over the years, the desire for global expansion and market leadership in polymer and chemical distribution, recycling and processing of compounds, and building materials became reality. Ravago's production activities in Turkey began in 2001. Subsequently, in 2013, all locally acquired plastic raw material production companies were consolidated under the umbrella of Ravago Petrokimya Production Inc. (RPU). RPU has become one of the leading and most important plastic producers in Turkey and the region, operating in two production facilities spanning a total of 255,000 m2 (Taysad, Kocaeli and Aliağa, Izmir).   [caption id="attachment_146238" align="aligncenter"] TPU Business Unit Director Selim Yener, TPU Domestic Sales Manager Ayfer Oktav, Ravago Turkey Board Chairman Sami Amira, Research and Development Manager Ümit Makal[/caption] RPU's production activities began in 2001 with Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) in Gebze, Kocaeli. This was followed by the Engineering Plastics (EP) Business Unit, which became operational in 2004. In 2019, these two business units were relocated to Aliağa, Izmir, alongside the EPS business unit for Industry 4.0-compliant production. Polymerization and chemical systems operations represent RPU's next expansion area. In 2011, the Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Business Unit was established, making Turkey's first and only TPU producer. With the acquisition of the Polyurethane Systems Business Unit in 2014, both operations merged at the production facility located in Taysad, Kocaeli. This merger not only expanded our product range but also increased our effectiveness and presence in the polyurethane sector. The global acquisition of the Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Business Unit took place in 2012. Our EPS production facility in Aliağa/Izmir, located alongside the EP and TPE compound facilities, is Turkey's first and largest, and one of Europe's top three EPS production facilities. Ravago's future will be determined by the inherent strength of the people who are part of the company: group members will continue to integrate and come together around shared objectives, the company as a whole will continue to grow both internally (by attracting young talent) and externally (by being ready for further expansion), and operations will continue to adapt to rapidly changing environments.

Could you tell us about your production activities in the thermoplastic polyurethane sector and the product groups you offer to the industry?

We are the first and only producer of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) in Turkey. We established our production facility in 2011. We produce TPU using reactive extrusion process. At the same time, we are the first and only TPU production facility in Ravago Corporation worldwide, in other words we export the know-how we have developed in-house to Ravago Corporate. TPU is one of the most valuable products produced and sold by Ravago under the trade name Ravathane® TPU. TPU is a thermoplastic elastomer material with high wear resistance, elasticity and good mold definition. TPU can be used in many processes including injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, solvent casting and lamination. Urethane chemistry is versatile and highly different TPU formulations with different final properties are possible simply by varying the initial monomer types and/or their total loadings. Essentially, we take advantage of this chemistry. We designed our entire process from quality control of raw materials to drying silos. Everything we do is our own technology and accumulated knowledge. This enables us to maintain a very broad quality portfolio serving many different markets and applications such as shoe soles, pneumatic hoses and tubes, diverse injection and extrusion applications, automotive, conveyor belts, textile lamination, solvent casting processes, adhesives, profile extrusion, wire and cable, bonding, film applications. Compared to our competitors, our portfolio may seem limited, but we expand our product offerings every day to enable us to enter new markets and applications. I can truly say that all our new formulations ultimately become entirely new commercial products. Having such technical capability makes us an irreplaceable development partner for our customers. In fact, to better serve our customers, we develop special formulations with our customers (we call them development partners).  

Could you describe the R&D work you conduct to develop your products and the resources you allocate to these activities?

First and foremost, our Ravago R&D center plays a very important role for both our TPU business unit and the R&D work of our other RME business units. In our R&D center, we can perform almost all tests and analyses available in the market. In addition, if necessary, we can send our samples to external laboratories or universities for analysis. Since the most valuable resource we have as Ravago is people, we prioritize the development of our employees. We organize polymer material and polymer process training within the company. Particularly for equipping our R&D engineers, we emphasize their development both academically and industrially. Moreover, we constantly encourage our engineers to participate in domestic and international seminars or training programs.

Have you recently introduced an innovative product to the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) sector?

First, I would like to note that TPU chemistry is highly diverse and broad, and by varying the types and loadings of monomers used in the formulation, very different performance and property end products can be obtained. As Ravago, we produce some of our monomers ourselves and manufacture all our TPU formulations in-house. In this context, our formulation and process are entirely unique to us and represent a technology offered only by us in our country. Of course, we have a technology roadmap and we implement these developments sequentially. I can list a few of the innovative products we have recently introduced: TPUs with enhanced non-flammability for use in manufacturing charging cable sheaths for electric vehicles in the cable sector, adhesives in granular form that are soluble in many different solvents for every process in the textile sector, TPUs that are breathable and have increased water vapor permeability, rigid TPU products with significantly reduced softening temperature, TPU materials for film production that become opaque over time or remain transparent, radioopaque TPU materials used in biomedical imaging, TPU materials used in conveyor belt applications with high creep resistance.  

What aspects do you focus on to maintain quality during production?

To consistently produce high-quality materials, we use the best raw materials in our processes, closely monitor our process conditions and strive to minimize variations. In this regard, we maintain our equipment with great precision and continuously make improvements. On the other hand, in our quality control unit, which is one of the most critical points in our work, we conduct continuous analyses during production to guide production and operate in line with our goal of providing the best product to our customers.

Could you describe your export activities for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) product groups?

Ravago has one of the world's largest polymer distribution channels. Through these channels, we export our materials to virtually any market or customer anywhere in the world. We export more than half of our TPU products. We work closely with these distribution channels to make them aware of our products, educate them about our product portfolio and technology, and provide them with the highest technical support when they face customers. In fact, we spend much of our time traveling to the EU, North America, North Africa and other countries, visiting our current and potential customers. In this way, we provide services and solutions to meet our customers' needs. We also continuously conduct market research, identify unmet needs in the market, and develop technologies to address them. The Ravathane® TPU team is highly flexible and highly motivated, which enables us to respond very quickly and efficiently, something highly appreciated by our customers and distribution channels. Close monitoring and participation in trade fairs related to the TPU market and the subsequent necessary actions are also very important for introducing Ravathane® TPU to the market and making it a widely accepted product. In this context, we would like to inform you that we are continuing our meticulous efforts to introduce Ravago family's newest member, Ravathane® & Ravasafe® TPU, with great precision.

How do you evaluate the development of the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) sector in Turkey?

TPU materials are very specialized and high value-added products. First and foremost, we take justified pride in both being able to produce the product in Turkey and being the only facility in Ravago Global capable of producing this product. TPU is an elastomer with a very wide range of final applications. It is used in many different and diverse areas, from shoe soles to flame-resistant cable sheaths. It is used in highly technical and critical applications. In Turkey, there is a market that wants to undertake technical and high value-added applications, develop technology, and compete globally in doing so. Supporting this market with correct technical materials and materials is very important. We develop both technology and new products with such business partners and create this accumulated knowledge in our country. In short, our country now has investors and entrepreneurs who want to develop much more value-added products and technologies using technical materials like TPU rather than commodity products. In this sense, we see ourselves not as a simple material supplier but as a solution provider. Considering all of this, we are highly motivated and work very hard to provide the best service to our customers.  

Digitalization has caused changes in industry. How do you benefit from digitalization in your own processes?

We aim to elevate our level of digitalization to higher levels. We receive full support from our senior management for implementing all necessary changes and modifications in our existing equipment and new investments at our facility. This is an ongoing process, and we continuously work to make our processes fully automatic and as independent of human involvement as possible. We believe these efforts will result in much more advanced, higher quality and efficiency. Currently, at our facility, we implement control and monitoring of process parameters, predictive maintenance through online vibration measurements from certain equipment, and energy consumption analysis and tracking in our digital environment. We are not close to where we want to be but we are confident that we are on the right path and continuing to move towards our goals.