Akzo Nobel, the world’s largest global dye and coatings company and the primary producer of special chemicals, has been providing service in Türkiye with Marshall, the leading brand of the Turkish market since 1954.
Collaboration with EEC has being preferred for almost 30 years for the safety of life and property of Marshall Kocaeli Factory. The installation and maintenance processes of Edwards Fire Detection System and FirePro Automatic Extinguishing System of the plant are carried out with EEC.
Marshall Factory is located on an area of 75.000 m2 and has been providing service with its approximately 200 employees for over 40 years at this location. At our plant that currently has an annual production capacity of 50.000.000 liters, our production area is divided into two, namely water-based paint and solvent-based paint. We have also a reaction unit which we call auxiliary department. We store raw materials in our tank field. Our plant is a large-scale and valuable plant globally under the roof of not only Marshall, but also Akzo Nobel. We are constantly developing through periodical large-scale investments.
Our Fire Detection System was installed by EEC almost a quarter century ago. Our collaboration with you has been ongoing for long time by means of our continuous renewal and maintenance works. Collaboration that has been ongoing for over 25 years is an important reference for us. In my personal belief, it is a great success to be able to maintain such an important system with one company for many years.
We use Edwards brand in our fire detection and alarm system. There has been no abnormal incident occurred for many years. It is very important for us not to experience such a risk. In certain systems, misleading alarms received by the system may adversely affect the operation of the plant while there is actually no problem. Our current system, on the other hand, provides us with great advantage because it does not cause such confusion.
The detection speed of the system is also an essential evaluation criterion for us. We have never had a problem arising from the devices so far today. It does not go out of order and cause the need for replacement. It does not make us question its quality. Therefore, we have not had to seek for alternatives so far today. It is uttermostly beneficial for us to have long-lasting devices.
Perhaps, we will not use this system at all for 10 years; however, when we will need it just for one day within the 11th year, it will save life on that day. We hope we will never experience such a day, but it is our most important criterion to keep the system stable until such a day.
The provision of the in-panel fire extinguishing system with a solution that will not distort the form of the panel is highly important. We appreciate that the system can be designed accordingly. We are considering expanding the system and working with EEC for this purpose.
The point we care about most is the service and communication stage following the purchase of any equipment. After you have purchased the product, what makes difference is the quality of service and communication. These two factors are very precious for Marshall. Eventually, we are doing our own business at this plant. There are so many different services being provided at our plant. It is not possible for us to have specialty in every field. It is extremely important for us to work with a company that is specialized in its field and to be able to have confidence in such company for the aforementioned needs.
We aware that we can receive answers to our questions from EEC just with a phone call. Such communication gives us confidence for a system that is of critical importance such as fire detection system. We are also aware that when need arises and we call them even at the midnight, a team will arrive and make effort until our problem is solved.
Another important point of reference, on the other hand, is that EEC uses its own team in the field. As you know, sometimes, working with third party companies may cause problems. However, the fact that your team is specialized in its field and good at communicating provides us with great comfort and confidence.
We are pleased with the product quality, and we do not feel the deficiency of anything. The properties of the product also meet our needs. The price-quality performance of the product is really good. It meets high-score criteria for us. We move forward in collaboration of our global team on such sensitive and risky matters. We start to work by consulting with both you, as the expert of the business, and our global team on how to select and design the products. In this sense, EEC and its products meet our global standards.
Your sales team’s being available and determining a transparent communication method are the most distinguishing factors for us. Likewise, we also have had favorable experiences with the technical team within similar processes. On the other hand, we have never needed to call you at your phone number on call.
We are also comfortably moving forward in our service and maintenance procedures. We have a process that we can mutually manage. We had problem in terms of the delivery of work just for once. We had a very dense schedule for inspection. They provided the materials, but they could not provide support for the installation. We had to have the installation carried out by a third party company. We were not satisfied because the installation was not checked by ECC even though there was no sufficient time for planning. In such cases, we pay attention to necessarily have the installations checked by EEC within our periodical control periods.
Our top priority at our plant is the safety of process. Marshall and Akzo Nobel considerably give importance to the fire safety as an essential part of the safety of process. This is because there are flammable and combustible substances at our plant. We have ATEX areas. Our plant contains such materials that may cause extreme hazards. Accordingly, the risk of fire is our most important parameter in all our monthly-yearly analyses, risk assessments and works carried out with independent specialists.
We constantly keep the risk of fire on our agenda and attach importance to keep our system active. For this purpose, we have entered into a service and maintenance contract with EEC. We want EEC perform the periodical controls so that we can promptly make any possible adjustments. In our structural changes, the equipment may require displacement. We also need to adjust the fire system that is one of the parameters by commissioning the change management because our plant has an expanding structure. Our continuous improvement and development approach includes fire safety.
Finally, I would like to add that the fire detection system is one of the most important pillars sustaining a plant, and therefore, it cannot be neglected.
