Hekim Holding, one of the key players in the structural steel and prefabrication sectors, continues to strengthen its position in the market with its eight companies, eight enterprises and investments. Hekim Profil Sales and Marketing Manager Kutay Dündar stated that, so that their growth rate keeps increasing in the coming years, they are following the dynamics of the sector and focusing on increasing product variety for 2017. Dündar said they will close this year with 14 percent growth. Noting that feasibility studies are being carried out for facility and machine investments that would allow Hekim Profil to produce in-house all the steel products used in the field of ‘steel construction and solar energy systems’, Dündar said, “With the recent increase in ‘solar energy systems’ projects, we have begun exporting our products to the European market as well, especially Germany.”
Explaining that production at the company’s HekimStructureROBOT lines is carried out with high precision, Dündar stated the following: “The products we manufacture are made to the relevant ‘Euro Norm’ standards, using certified, first-class raw materials. In the profiles we produce on our current line, we can respond to all projects with the capability, first and only in Turkey, of drilling holes in 56 different sizes and axes on the same profile.”
Noting that the rate of steel use in our country is quite low compared with developed countries, Dündar said, “It is inevitable for our country that great importance be given to the use of structural steel and that usage rates reach the same level as in developed countries.” Remarking that the constantly fluctuating cost of raw materials in today’s conditions is an important problem for the sector, Dündar emphasized that investors’ entirely cost-focused approaches cause the quality that should be applied in the sector to decline gradually and lead to unfair competition with other companies. Dündar answered the questions of DÜNYA İnşaat Magazine as follows:
– Could you tell us about your company, your product range and your services?
DÜNDAR: Hekim Profil is the brand of Hekim Holding — the leading company of the ready-made building sector, with its many integrated facilities and innovative power, which today operates with eight companies, eight enterprises, 191 thousand square meters of production and ready-made building showcase area, nearly a thousand employees, exports to more than 100 countries on six continents, more than 120 dealers in Turkey and abroad, and more than 50 thousand references — that produces quality building profiles for multi-storey light steel structures, industrial facilities and special projects with wide spans. Founded in 2014, Hekim Profil is a profile production center where steel is cold-formed with specially designed weld-free construction technology. Hekim Profil manufactures the ‘light steel building and solar energy’ system mounting profiles (C, C+, Z, Sigma, Sigma+, U) in line with our customers’ requests, on production lines with the latest technology. The profiles we produce are drilled in the desired size and axis according to the project details submitted by our customers, and are manufactured with burr-free cutting, inkjet marking and packaging, lengths and sizes tailored to the request, with high precision to Euro Norm standards. We carry out our production at the 111 thousand square meter Hekim Yapı production campus located in the Hendek 2nd Organized Industrial Zone.
– Could you assess 2016 for your company and share your targets and expectations for 2017?
DÜNDAR: As is well known, 2016 was a year full of difficulties for all of us in every respect. Through our marketing activities, we will close this year with growth of about 14 percent by increasing the number and variety of our customers. We will continue to closely follow the dynamics of the sector so that the growth rate we have maintained since Hekim Profil was founded keeps increasing in the coming years. For 2017, we are focused on increasing our product variety and on how we can make a difference for our customers.
– Could you tell us about your new projects and investments?
DÜNDAR: At Hekim Profil, feasibility studies are being carried out for facility and machine investments that would allow us to produce in-house all the steel products used in ‘steel construction and solar energy systems’, the fields we serve. Our goal is to ensure that our customer obtains the best service, in the best quality, from the right address.
– Could you talk about your domestic market and export activities? Which regions do you mainly sell to, and what kinds of products?
DÜNDAR: Our customers in the domestic market, where we carry out our sales and marketing activities, work on large projects in almost every region of our country. You can see the Hekim Profil brand in prestigious projects in the steel sector in our country. We export our profiles to many countries abroad. Our exports to Turkmenistan and the Arab countries are more intensive. Recently, with the increase in ‘solar energy systems’ projects in particular, we have begun exporting our products to the European market as well, especially Germany.
– What is your position in the sector and what features set you apart?
DÜNDAR: Hekim Profil, which began operating in 2014 under the roof of Prefabrik Yapı AŞ, one of our Hekim Holding companies, is our brand that in this short time has become a trendsetter in the sector and is on its way to becoming the leader. We produce our products with high precision on our HekimStructureROBOT lines (52 thousand tons/year capacity). The products we manufacture are made to the relevant ‘Euro Norm’ standards, using certified, first-class raw materials. In the profiles we produce on our current line, we can respond to all projects with the capability, first and only in Turkey, of drilling holes in 56 different sizes and axes on the same profile. With the notching we apply at the ends of the profiles and the 90-degree connection tab bends, we make application easy for our users. Thanks to our high production capacity, flexible production capabilities and our state-of-the-art machine park, we respond to our customers’ wishes in the most accurate, high-quality and fast way. In addition, with the automatic packaging station on our production line, we can package the profiles we produce accurately and quickly in line with customer requests. Packaging by item mark helps our customer place the right product in the right area at the construction site, preventing losses of time and labor.
– Is there a new product/innovation you will launch soon?
DÜNDAR: At Hekim Profil, we are concentrating on how we can make a difference for our sector customers in the coming period. As in every sector, the importance you give to innovation always takes you one step further. For this reason, Hekim Holding attaches the utmost importance to innovation for every product it manufactures. Starting from this, the exposure of the steel profiles used in ‘solar energy systems’ to corrosive environments makes the corrosion resistance of the profiles an extremely important issue. We constantly work in close contact with producers on improvements that can be made to the raw material we use in production. We believe that an innovation in this area would bring serious benefits to the sector.
– When we compare steel structures with other structures, what kind of cost dimension arises?
DÜNDAR: In terms of cost, a one-to-one comparison of steel structures with other structures can show serious differences depending on the project details. For this reason, an advantage-focused comparison will lead us to more accurate results. In short, if we look at the advantages of steel structures, the flexibility they provide during project design, a much faster installation process, particular resistance to earthquakes, and the possibility of strengthening work in completed or ongoing projects clearly show the strong points of steel structures compared with other structures.
– What is the image of technologically advanced countries’ use of structural steel compared with Turkey’s use?
DÜNDAR: The rate of structural steel use, which varies between 30 and 55 percent in developed countries, is unfortunately below 5 percent in Turkey. It is known that 92 percent of Turkey lies within earthquake zones, 95 percent of its population lives under earthquake risk, and 98 percent of its large industrial centers are located in earthquake zones. For this reason, it is inevitable for our country that the utmost importance be given to the use of structural steel and that usage rates reach the same level as in developed countries.
– How can the steel construction industry take a larger place within the whole construction sector in Turkey?
DÜNDAR: Existing habits need to change and the steel structure solution needs to be adopted at the design stage. For this, serious responsibilities fall on the sector’s organizations. All players in the sector should follow innovations in the global market, provide the necessary promotion and training in this regard, and manufacturers should make technological investments in this direction. As Hekim Holding, we are aware of our responsibility and use our HekimStructureROBOT line, the state of the art, in the production of the Light Steel Building and Solar Energy Systems mounting profiles we manufacture.
– Considering every stage of steel construction, what is the state of training, and what is being done?
DÜNDAR: For steel structures to become widespread in our country, all employees need to be trained and specialized in this direction. Most of the companies involved, from the design stage to the application, carry out their work without receiving technical training in this field. Since the project stage is the first leg of this work, the necessary training should be given to architects and engineers by the relevant organizations by following the latest developments in the world, and the information should be kept up to date at all times.
– Could you state the main problems experienced in the sector and share your suggestions for solutions?
DÜNDAR: The most important of the main problems we experience in the sector is that the cost of the raw material we use constantly fluctuates in today’s conditions. This causes serious difficulties for the manufacturer, the applicator and the investor alike. From the project stage until the completion of the building, costs may vary in unpredictable ways. On the other hand, unfortunately there are many companies operating outside the relevant standards among manufacturers and applicators in this field. Investors’ entirely cost-focused approaches cause the quality that should be applied in the sector to decline gradually and, in particular, cause companies like us that do not compromise on quality to face unfair competition from other companies.