MANUFACTURING

Constant innovation and finding ways to add value to the final product ensure manufacturing companies stay ahead of the competition.

Yunus Teksan

GENERAL MANAGER, TEKSAN

Ersin Şahin

GENERAL MANAGER & BOARD MEMBER, ERİN MOTOR

Sinan Gider

CEO, BANTBORU Bantboru initially produced pipes for the white goods sector, but eventually expanded to the automotive sector as well. From a manufacturing standpoint, how has the company evolved since its founding?

Bantboru was established in 1972, which means we have nearly 50 years of experience. We were initially established to supply the Turkish white goods sector in the early 1970s. In the early 1980s, the company introduced its products to the automotive market, with the first customer being Renault in Turkey. We then expanded our customer base to Ford and global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Turkey. We are still involved in these two sectors, with around 85% of our current business coming from the automotive sector and 15% from the white goods market. In 2008, we moved our manufacturing facilities from Istanbul to Gebze after a huge investment that started in 2006. With the move to our new facilities, we increased our production by around 50%. We have two separate facilities in Gebze. One is our main production site and the other is our chemical operations site. We have an additional plant in Izmit and our most recent expansion location is in Saarbrucken, Germany, where we have a 1,000-sqm warehouse, with an additional 1,000sqm of land to expand. In Germany, we manufacture many of the machines that are used at our production site in Turkey.

To what extent are your investments in both the automotive and white goods sectors a hedging strategy?

When the 2008 crisis hit, the automotive sector was down by 35% to 40%. At that time, we were fully invested in the industry. We needed to diversify our business and reinvest in the white goods industry. We began producing products and developing new ones for the industry. Within the white goods sector, we do not have much local competition, as all the competition comes from Europe or China. We had to offer high-quality products to compete against European ones, but we also had to offer the best cost for the customer to compete against China. Many of our R&D investments from the automotive sector helped us find the right balance to compete against Europe and China. It was tough, but we are a well-known company in Turkey. Taken together, these are the reasons why we were successful in penetrating the market and are developing new products still.

As an inventor, you recently developed and patented a new energy-saving device for boilers and especially for vehicles with the brand name Ceomax. Can you tell us about the technology, and how it allows for increased fuel efficiency?

I am the inventor and owner of the patent. The patent is applicable in the US, Japan, the the EU, Switzerland, Turkey, China, Russia, South Korea, India, and Indonesia. Ceomax is the registered brand for our new invention, an improved and more effective and efficient energy saving device which could be installed onto the vehicles or boilers only in 15 minutes and has a long-term warranty. The apparatus is simple—it is mechanical, not electric, and when we install it in a vehicle, we do not modify any part or unit. the relevant vehicle manufacturer companies. So our next step will be to present our invention to the vehicle manufacturers around the world. However, the market is not limited to be used by the vehicle manufacturers and end users. The device is compatible with generators, yachts, airplanes, and any other kind of fuel-consuming engine—including the consumption of benzine, gasoline, diesel, propane, and natural gas. Up to this point, Ceomax has invested in R&D and the application and follow up costs for the patents to be granted. Soon, we will give presentations to the car manufacturers, and if we will get a positive response, we will formulate our next steps. We are focusing on producing this product in two main countries: Germany and Turkey. We would like to run and operate this business via our company in Berlin, which is one of the most important cities for global vehicle manufacturers. I want to be realistic, so we will invest EUR10 million to establish a huge factory to produce our apparatus. We may look for some partners, though we do not need investors since we have the financial capacity to invest ourselves.