Osman NEMLİ – General Manager
As one of the major actors in the cement sector, Bursa Cement fulfilled substantial efforts and accomplishments recently. Can you tell us about the company’s recent efforts in general?
We pay attention to achieve growth by placing importance on the environment and technology. We are taking action accordingly in our efforts as well. We are recently working on various projects. The studies we had been carrying out with a German company on grinding technologies produced results of high importance. We are still working on adapting this to larger scales.
We also carry out studies on different cement types and the use of alternative raw materials. Energy efficiency is among our priorities. We have various projects aiming this, as well. Year 2022 goes on as a highly active year featuring different agendas after a challenging 2021. How did the year start in your point of view? Can you provide us an overall assessment of the sector?
Unfortunately, we started to experience difficult times due to the unprecedented increases in input prices last year. Being one of our most important inputs, coal prices and electricity increased by more than 150% and 70% in dollars, respectively. These increases are still going on and unfortunately no estimation can be made regarding the course of this circumstance. It is very difficult to state an expectation especially when we consider the exchange rate changes along with the increases in coal prices.
Also, Russia’s attack on Ukraine has an impact on different sectors in our country. One of these sectors is the cement sector which uses the coal imported from Russia as an input. Experiencing difficulties in procuring coal from Russia will adversely affect our industry apart from the ongoing distress in terms of coal in our country. Challenges in the supply of coal will lead to difficult circumstances for our sector besides the rapid price increases.
What are your expectations for 2022?
As I have mentioned, the costs in our sector are increasing every other day. Coal prices are changing constantly. These two factors are highly significant for us as the majority of our cement production costs consists of electricity and coal. The rapid change in our input costs needs to be eliminated in order to ensure continuity of the development of our sector. Therefore, our greatest expectation from this year is to eliminate the changes in our input costs.
Turkish cement companies focused on exports as a result of the contraction in the domestic market due to various reasons in the process that started with the pandemic. And you were able to achieve significant success in this field. What is the course of your efforts in the field of export?
We supply products to all kinds of construction and construction material production plants (construction chemicals, manufacturers of prefabricated structures, etc.). We also export as far as our capacity allows. Europe, Africa and Former Eastern Bloc countries can be spelled as our chief export markets. We can direct 10-20% of our production to export depending on the changes in domestic demand.
Bursa Çimento also found its place on the agenda with the new major investment it has made recently. Can you broadly tell us about this huge investment of 110 million Euros?
We are improving our rate of success every other day. We approach very sensitively to the development of our region and to the protection of the environment. Accordingly; we initiated a modernization investment for the environment and technology in our existing plant. We planning to complete our investment of approximately 110 million Euros in the first quarter of 2023.
We have places utmost importance to the environment and technology since the day we were founded. We demonstrate this sensitivity once again with the new investment to be realized adopting the motto of “Bursa Çement Being Renewed for a Sustainable Future”.
This investment is not just about cost. In addition to low cost, it also focuses on environmental and technology investments. Energy consumption will be minimized while the calorific consumption will decrease in the plant thanks to our new investment. This will also ensure 10% less power consumption, 35% less CO2 emissions due to combustion, 10% less natural raw material use and water consumption, 50% less number of chimneys, 40% less NOX emissions, 25% less environmental dust emission. The investment will also enable us to create a indoor stock area that is 6 times larger and to make a contribution of TL 100 million TL annually in terms of current deficit.
What will be updated in your plant in terms of technology and automation with respect to this new investment?
We became a pioneer in many areas as a company that closely follows technology and digitalization. We have already implemented a number of applications such as “expert systems” for automated control, automated sampling and analysis systems, OHS access control and communication software. Many changes will happen within our plant with the new modernization project to be realized and I believe that we will reach to a pioneering position in the sector by integrating the systems we use together with the state-of-the-art machinery and equipment to be delivered additionally.
We will make use of the best technologies in the world with our new investment. As an exemplary plant in our sector, we will become a cement plant with the highest level of technology among the other cement plants in Turkey when we complete our new investment.
What made you to decide on such an investment? Do you consider that the timing of such an investment is right when thinking of the overall economic conjuncture?
Although the most advanced technologies have always been chosen for our production plants in the course of their establishment, the systems installed can fall behind in terms of performance when considering the constantly developing technologies and innovations. As a consequence, we are making modernization investments in our plant in different periods and we follow state-of-the-art technologies and put them into practice.
In fact, we have decided to implement this investment, which was contemplated long time ago, both as a retrofit of the outdated technology and as an exemplary project in terms of sustainability addressing the environment, the neighbors and the country. Our act of making such this decision despite the challenges in the conjuncture is an indication of the confidence we have in Turkey and Bursa Çimento, and this investment will be Bursa Çimento’s project of change and development.
Technologies in the cement sector are being updated constantly and your company is closely following these developments. In particular, green energy and many other environmentally friendly systems are on the agenda. What are you into in this field for now and for the future?
Particularly the Paris Agreement and the Green Deal processes, which are intensively included on the agenda took place among our principal targets from the moment we planned the initial investment. We are realizing our projects one by one as a requirement of the environmentalist approach we adopt.
We aim to achieve a plant that meets and exceeds the requirements of the environmental regulations in force in the European Union, minimizes dependence on imported products while ensuring such compliance, reduces in-plant handling and transportation rates by more than 50%, minimizes the use of natural raw materials and water and has completed its digital transformation.
As Bursa Çimento, we continue to fulfill our responsibilities towards our city, country and planet in cooperation with all of our other stakeholders while investing in our business .
We are aware of our responsibilities for safeguarding the future of our planet and building a better future.
We focus on social and environmental benefits in addition to the financial returns in our investments with our perspective on the environment and life. Our goal is always to add value to the future while ensuring continuous improvement in our existing investments.
We are very excited about our new investment with the intent to contribute to the realization of a sustainable and low-carbon world in harmony with nature thanks to its clean investment and clean technology attributes.
On the other hand, we are foresting the surrounding of our plant. We are growing fig and pear trees. We are planting einkorn wheat. We will carryout an heirloom project in the future. And we carry out these activities with no commercial concern.
We are aware of what we need to do and what our responsibilities are in order to disseminate awareness of sustainable environment and to hand down a better environment to the future generations. We will continue to create value and undertake efforts with this intent.
How will the new investment to be made contribute to your employment capacity?
While this investment will have no impact on employment, it will provide further contribution for the troublesome period we are going through, since an average of 600-700 people will be employed in different positions throughout the project.
What kind of innovations and efforts will Bursa Çimento demonstrate in the upcoming period? What is your overall strategy and plans for this year and later?
We continue to carry out our efforts with the goal of continuous development. We closely follow the latest worldwide developments in our sector and adapt them to our plant. We always take future-oriented steps. Within this scope, we will go on following the rapidly developing technology closely and developing our plant in a way to always set an example while also focusing on R&D and new product researches