Cevat ERDEVE / ECF Engineering – Chairman
Every problem comes together with its solutions; and this solution sometimes create new opportunities…
In 1984, I was a senior manager of an Ankara-based plant producing and selling cement. Factory used to have a rotary kiln with a 1.300 tone-daily-capacity of producing clinker. Rotary kiln was shutdown due to the collapsed middle concrete base of the three-station-kiln. Back then there were only two manufacturing plants in the Ankara, which fell short of meeting cement consumption for the summer season. The plant owners got upset and had difficulties in that the breakdown occurred in June. The middle leg reinforcement project for rotary kiln was conducted within a short term. When it came to concreting, the application was made after the concrete procurement from the only concrete plant manufacturing ready-mixed concrete in Ankara in those days. Being present in the factory during concrete application, our company owner turned and asked me “It was really fast, from which party was this cement procurement made? I said: “From us”. Then, he asked: “Well, can’t we do this?” Then, I said: “I will check it out and let you know”. As a result of our analyses, we decided to get our hands on this business. We purchased 8 mixers and 2 pumps from abroad. After purchasing crushers and screening equipment from local sources, we kicked off ready-mix concrete production and sales. And after one year, we established a new concrete plant at the center of Ankara. However, communication was a great problem. There were no mobile phones. Factory was 40 km away from the city-center. The only solution was setting up a wireless organization. For this purpose, with the permission of the government, a relay station was installed on Dikmen Hill commanding the entire city.
This application got the attention of all other companies producing cement in Turkey, making it a beginning for today’s widespread ready-mix concrete production and sales.