We met with ASAŞ’s Energy Maintenance Group Manager in order to discuss the user experience of our Fire Detection and Alarm and Automatic Extinguishing Systems installed by us at ASAŞ Aluminium’s Akyazı Campus.
I am the Energy Group Manager at ASAŞ Aluminium. I have been serving at ASAŞ for 15 years. ASAŞ was founded in 1990 as one of the leading industrial enterprises in Turkey, producing aluminium profiles, aluminium composite panels, aluminium flat products, PVC profiles and blinds at its campus located on a total area of 925 thousand sqm, including a 300 thousand sqm indoor area and has 2750 employees in 5 production facilities equipped with the latest technology in Sakarya. Our company, which is ranked Number 63 in the ISO 500 2020 list, has robotic welding and CNC mechanical processing lines that process long and wide profiles with the largest extrusion press in Turkey to better serve its customers.
There are many companies in the sector operating in the field of building control systems. We were introduced EEC on the occasion of a trade fair held in 2012. I can say that we were both excited and cautious because EEC was a new company. Also, we were impressed that your company was generating "integrated project solutions" for smart building and control systems. After we signed an agreement for the first joint project, EEC managed the process professionally, and the scope of the consulting services provided gave us confidence. Upon the end of the first project, EEC became one of the solution partners for ASAŞ as a company that provides services in the field of the smart building and control systems to be used by us at our campus. We are currently obtaining services and support from EEC at many points of our campus.
One of the most important factors for us in our business partnerships is to maintain easy and fast communication. EEC has a very professional organization in terms of customer relationships. This allows us to conduct our business more easily from both technical and financial perspectives.
As the health of our employees is one of the most important elements for ASAŞ, occupational health and safety is a topic that is handled very sensitively and is continuously improved with the participation of the employees. Therefore, safety is more important than costs in all matters that directly affect the health of the employees, such as the fire detection system. Accordingly, integrating a perfectly-functioning system at our facilities was an important matter for us. Thanks to our business partnership with EEC, we implemented a high-quality control system with a high level of technical competence in the market at an affordable cost. The system, which has successfully passed the test processes, is currently used in almost all parts of our campus efficiently.
Our production facilities in Sakarya operate in an area of almost one million square meters, as I have previously mentioned. There are many areas in our factory that need to be protected. We have 18 substations, 2 main distribution centers and miles of tunnels. Likewise, we have many auxiliary systems such as chiller cooling systems, compressor rooms and hydraulic systems. All of these areas are at high risk and require immediate intervention in case of danger. It is vital that the fire detection systems operate smoothly in such a large area. We believe that instant control and intervention should not be left to the human factor. We continue to increase our investments in Industry 4.0 to instantly control each location of such a large area and to make an intervention in the fastest way in case of necessity. At this point, the reliability of the system we installed with EEC gives us the opportunity to control the entire area from a single location.
We had two incidents to experience the functionality of the system at the time of the actual incident. Thanks to the warning issued by the system, we noticed the fire that broke out inside the panel and prevented it without any damage. If we consider the opposite scenario, the late detection of the breakout of the fire could have caused irreparable damage. Besides, the VESDA "Quite Sensitive Aspirating Smoke Detection Systems" used at our substations warned us at many points and enabled us to take early actions. I think these are very important examples.
Finally, I should mention that we currently continue with the digitalization process of our service unit (auxiliary systems); this means that by digitizing the fire detection, extinguishing system and energy monitoring reports partly, we both prevent people from making mistakes and avoid dependency on people. Let me explain it concretely; we had 12 repeater panels, but it was very difficult to manage this system efficiently. In this system, which was dependent on the performance of people, when a fire notification was issued the relevant officer would go to the area where the control panel was located if he was at a different location at that time, learn the area for which the warning was issued on the panel, and then go to the relevant area. This process management system would result in a waste of valuable time and could cause delays. Now, we have gathered all the systems into a single structure through a central software and integrated them into the camera software. The system is now running automatically, the alarms appear on the screen in front of the operator at our control center, and the operator watches the relevant area through a camera. In this way, the entire process is controlled and analyzed in a single area, and the necessary actions are taken rapidly.
The most important benefit provided to us by EEC is accurate engineering. Under the leadership of EEC, we analyzed our needs and worked in detail until we reached full agreement on product selection, system installation, project design and commissioning. It is very important to design the project accurately, implement it accurately, follow it properly and ultimately ensure the proper functioning of the system. We sat at the table with EEC many times during this process and worked on the questions "How can this be implemented, how can it be implemented accurately?" We made applications and trials in the field. After completing all processes safely and smoothly, we switched to the project design and approval phase. We decided on the system and initiated our long-term, trust-based business partnership with EEC.
The most useful properties of the systems installed at our facility are that they are fast, accurate and user-friendly. We used the VESDA detectors in the substations and cable ducts. As promised, the system detects quickly and accurately. Our EATON fire detection system also gives us confidence because it has never given false alarms. The reliability and user-friendliness of our repeater panel is crucial and enables us to take quick actions no matter how big our facility is. We have witnessed the significant benefits of installing a central monitoring management system. We are very satisfied with these three points about the products.
As a person that has assessed your products and services firsthand, I can explain our satisfaction. We view EEC as a company that is technically competent, doing its job properly, accessible at any time and offering user-friendly products.
For ASAŞ, obtaining regular support after installation is an important criterion for the selection of the company that will provide these systems because the systems that are not properly and regularly maintained cannot be expected to operate properly. As a result, we installed the systems and applications in which we have made investments, not for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the legal regulations, but for providing a safe environment.
There are dozens of employees in the Health, Safety and Environment Department of our company. All of them fulfill their duties smoothly and with great attention because even a small mistake may cause unavoidable results. We all work with this awareness. Instead of obtaining support from external organizations, we created our own fire crew that is available for response on a 24/7 basis. Thanks to all these prudent efforts, we return home with peace of mind. Briefly, security for ASAŞ is an issue that cannot be compromised and pushed into the background. We will continue to execute our workaccording to this principle.
The after-sales support by EEC is satisfactory for us. Being able to communicate easily is a fact that gives confidence for both parties. We are happy that we have not had any problems so far.
As a company, we place importance in establishing sustainable business relationships. ASAŞ is a company that grows and develops continuously. Therefore, we always need new systems and new projects. We would like to cooperate with EEC on alternative projects as well. The synergy that we have achieved in our work so far will enable us to express ourselves more easily in the work we are planning to do in the future.
As EEC is a 100% domestic company, its services are very critical for our country. Technology companies in Turkey like EEC are mostly foreign companies. EEC is a big company that reduces the dependency of high-capacity companies like us on foreign companies in terms of security. I fully believe that they will further develop themselves in the fields of R&D and P&D. I wish EEC continued success, and hope that they will become a more remarkable company in the international arena. We thank them for their professional business mindset and support.
