Interview with Gürsel Güler, Deputy General Manager of Gökkaya Makina

We conducted an enjoyable interview with Gürsel Güler, Deputy General Manager of Gökkaya Makina, discussing the company's development process and the products it provides to the industry, as well as the state and development of Turkey's chemical sector.

Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself and your educational background?

I was born in 1962 in Karşıyaka, İzmir. I attended elementary school at Faik Muhittin Adam Elementary School, middle school at Havva Özişbakan High School, high school at Çınarlı Industrial Vocational High School, and university at Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Mechanical Engineering. My professional career began in 1977 at Çınarlı Industrial Vocational High School and has continued for 41 years. The greatest feature of my profession is that by embracing production without ever giving up, it makes me love my work more with each endeavor, and it has given my life an inexhaustible energy that sustains my efforts. For this reason, my advice is that those who choose this type of profession should keep pace with continuously evolving technology and proceed with increasingly productive and innovative thinking.

Could you tell us about Gökkaya Makina's development process from its founding to today?

Gökkaya Makina was founded in 1970 as a company that has made quality and innovation its principles and aims to maintain customer satisfaction at the highest level. It has gained recognition through innovations it has made in Turkey and has become the industry's closely-followed company with its quality. Our manufacturing process, which began with a single universal machine tool, has evolved into a company that can process all of its components in-house and operates with CNC machine tools. Our project department, which started with a drawing board, has transitioned to a zero-defect production process with a project team that can monitor each stage using Solidworks. Gökkaya Makina is a company that uses the latest technology in project and production stages.

Which sectors does Gökkaya Makina primarily serve, and what types of products does it supply? Can you provide information about your products, brands and services?

Gökkaya Makina provides machinery and spare parts services to the paints and coatings (construction, automotive, industrial, ink, wood, bobbin, cataphoretic, epoxy, mastic, steel putty, etc.) and agrochemical (SC production) sectors. Our main products are: High-speed Mixers (Dissolver), Low-speed Mixers, Horizontal Grinding Machines, Basketmill, Presses, Fully Automatic Tank Washing and IBC Washing Machines, and Butterfly Mixers. On the other hand, following the crisis in the market in 2008, we began manufacturing machinery for the food sector. We produce filling machines that serve both the chemical and food sectors. We have new machinery productions on our agenda in the coming days.

What activities are you undertaking at Gökkaya Makina to increase your domestic and international customer portfolio?

Gökkaya Makina holds ISO Quality Management System certification, CE marking, and ATEX certification. Through advertising and internet-based efforts and the success of innovations, it has managed to develop its domestic and international customer portfolio. Through the successful work of our export department, we have exported to 27 countries over the past 12 years. Some of these include the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, China, Thailand, South Africa, and India. We also focus on dealership matters in countries with a significant paints and coatings sector to provide support.

Can you provide information about your R&D activities? Do you have special projects you have developed in this scope?

Gökkaya Makina, as I mentioned at the beginning, has gained recognition through innovations, which places a special responsibility on us. In recent years, there has been demand in the paints and coatings sector for high-capacity machinery, but these were not being manufactured in Turkey. We decided to manufacture them. In 2015, with TUBITAK support, we undertook the manufacturing of high-tonnage paint production machinery. For approximately 1-2 years we have been working on a new dispersion machine, and trial runs are progressing very favorably. We aim to bring this machine to market toward the end of 2018. We are making our future plans in line with the Industry 4.0 objective. We aim to transition from universal machine tools to smart machinery, use time more efficiently, and increase production, quality and exports, thereby increasing the value added produced per unit of time.

How do you evaluate the paints and coatings and chemical sector in Turkey? Do you have any recommendations for further development of the sector?

Although paints and coatings and chemicals are interrelated concepts, we need to address their situations in our country separately. At the point we have reached, Turkish paint industry ranks as Europe's 5th largest producer. In terms of manufacturing technologies used and investment in new technologies, it continuously renews itself. From this perspective, major producers stand out. Unfortunately, most medium and small-sized companies cannot allocate sufficient resources to R&D and technology investments. The main reasons for this are increasing competition, financial constraints, and costs. I believe that company mergers and acting together for common interests could provide a way out for these companies. The chemical sector, of which paints and coatings is a part, unfortunately has not developed as much as the paints and coatings sector. While many large and small companies operate in the Turkish chemical industry, they largely depend on abroad in terms of raw materials they use. There is almost no production of high-value-added raw materials. For this reason, reducing external dependency in the chemical sector and producing high-value-added products should be one of the top priorities. Universities in particular have a major role to play here.

How is 2018 progressing in terms of your targets?

2018 is, frankly, progressing much better than our expectations. Looking at the first six-month figures, we see an increase in domestic orders. Along with this, our annual exports were typically in the range of 30%-40% of our turnover; in the first six months of this year it has risen to 60%. With the implementation of serious projects we are discussing in the second six-month period, I believe we will have a good year.

What do you do in your spare time to get away from the stress of business life? What are your hobbies?

Playing sports is the best way to get away from stress. Particularly playing football is a must for me. Whenever I have the chance, I go fishing.