Ahmet Sonay Ergül
Director General
Altınyaldız Space Frame Systems
Altınyaldız, which operates in the fields of engineering, design, production and assembly of steel space frame systems for architectural and industrial purposes, specializes in Space Frame System Projects. Can you talk about the company’s recent works and projects in general?
With the acceleration of investments in Turkey in the recent period, Altınyaldız has signed 2 new cement warehouse agreements with its experience in the design and manufacture of raw materials and clinker stock halls, space frame system roofs, especially in the cement sector. With Medcem Cement and Turkmenistan Baherden Cement stockrooms agreements, we continue to contribute to the sector with 20 years of experience and knowledge in stockhouse construction. All of the cement warehouses in Turkey, whose architecture has been created with the space frame system so far, have been built by Altınyaldız.
By making a difference in such heavy and large-span space frame systems that can be assembled with working at height, we offer our customers a reliable, economical and fast solution. Apart from the cement sector, our other space frame system projects continue in Turkey, Egypt, Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Morocco, EU countries and Turkic Republic.
As a company, you have undertaken many important projects at home and abroad. What exactly are Space Frame Systems and what are their differences and advantages over other architectural-building types?
Altınyaldız Space Frame Systems Construction is a 100% prefabricated steel structure system with mechanical connection, consisting of pipes and fully solid steel spheres for fittings. Space frame systems offer many advantages structurally. The unit square meter weights are low. Due to the 3-dimensional design of the system, it provides the opportunity to pass large openings more lightly and economically with less steel material. It is an economical solution with low infrastructure cost, fast manufacturing and fast assembly. It is a system that offers 3-dimensional design in all types of geometry. All parts used in the construction can be made galvanized, powder coated or both galvanized and powder coated according to demand.
Space frame systems are often compared to conventional steel. However, space frame systems in all structures over 25 meters span provide numerous advantages with the economy, ease of manufacture and assembly, and speed. Space frame system roof systems can be preferred especially for industrial buildings, shopping malls, warehouses, swimming pools, sports halls and similar structures.
Can you tell us about your projects abroad? Which are the most notable among them?
Airport projects and aircraft hangars can be defined as remarkable in our overseas projects. However, when it comes to projects that make a difference, the Ruwais and Habshan Sulfur facilities, which we manufactured and assembled in 2014, stand out with a powder coating thickness of 200 microns, which has never been applied before, on a 100 micron galvanized coating applied to the space frame system. Since sulfur is an extremely corrosive chemical, our paint application was carried out in specially designed paint cabins in our factory.
Paint was applied in specially designed ovens with 100 micron epoxy and 100 micron polyurethane based powder paint. This paint applied to a space frame system of 150.000 m2 has been the thickest powder paint applied to space frame systems so far.
In our airport projects abroad, we have announced the Altınyaldız brand to the whole world. Our Macedonia Skopje Airport, Georgia Tbilisi Airport and Malta Airport projects have been projects that show that Altınyaldız brand is a global brand.
You offer effective solutions for different sectors. In this context, what are your solutions and services specific to the cement sector?
When we look back at the last 16 years, our work in the sector, which started with the Çanakkale Cement Clinker Stock Hall in the form of a dome with a diameter of 130 meters, has survived to the present day with the successful completion of 16 stock halls. We aim to increase this number to 25 with the 2 stock halls we will start this year and the investments to be made next year. The cement sector is a sector that needs closed areas that require large-span interior volume. As the most equipped company that meets this structural need in our country, I think that we are distinguished by the solutions we offer and we are a preferred company. Since the cement sector is a sector that requires expertise in all aspects, including space frame systems design, manufacturing and assembly, we have gained the trust of our customers with our experience. You can follow the list of our past projects on our Altınyaldız website. We will try to be worthy of this trust in the future as well.
You have continued your growth by taking on new projects recently. Can you tell us about the details of these projects?
The Salwa Dahab Mountains Water & Adventure Park at Salwa Resort project in Qatar, which we completed the design, manufacture and assembly of in 2018, has been a very important milestone for us in terms of both design and manufacturing difficulties. This project, made with 2.000 tons of steel material, has contributed to how we should react to the most difficult and most complicated problems.
The difficulties encountered in both project management and space frame system design and the fact that the entire project was modified by us and yet completed on time shows the point Altınyaldız has reached.
In 2019, the 96-meter Span Coal Stock Halls project in Soma and the Tufanbeyli Lime Hangar, Tufanbeyli A3 crusher and subsequently the A4 Crusher Hangars, where important investor companies worked with us, relying on the strength of our company, in the shadow of the increasing risks with the pandemic in 2020, contributed to our growth as high-tonnage businesses.
In 2021, an additional 53.000 m2 will be completed in October as a continuation project of the Soma Thermal Power Plant Coal Stocks.
All of these projects were completed recently as locomotive projects in the years they were made as a result of the trust in our company.
In your opinion, what should be considered in terms of architecture and design in a cement factory or production facilities?
We, as Altınyaldız, think that it will be beneficial to be a part of the design while the architecture of the project is revealed in the raw material or additive stock halls. We prefer to be involved in the space frame system thickness, modulation and technical specifications shown in the architectures from the very beginning. In this context, we emphasize the importance of correct project design during our visits to all architectural groups.
The aim here is to ensure that the stock halls are symmetrical in load distribution, and to allow the most economical module spacings to be made with the correct column axis spacing. As a result, our aim is to reveal the space frame system structures with the highest strength during the design phase. One of the most important features that makes us different is that we are a company that provides our customers with gains at the design stage thanks to our engineering experience.
You are one of the rare companies in Turkey that works in an area where you need to be very strong in terms of design and R&D. Can you tell us about the vision of the company in this field and its work in general?
As Altınyaldız, we continue to work on automation in our production and invest in technology. In our factory, we make improvements, environmental regulations, trainings and investments related to our production line.
We have developed a laser system that monitors our space system roofs after they are completed and warns when there is a displacement problem with the roof.
With laser sensors mounted on the space frame system, we designed a system that warns when horizontal or vertical movement is observed on the roof under earthquake, wind, snow or other factors. According to the laser sensor measurement results, we have developed a software that sends warning messages to our customers’ computers and mobile phones via the cloud. We started the tests in our factory by making laser sensor device prototypes.
The aim here is to establish early warning and evacuation systems, such as evacuating the building or shoveling the roof, as a result of approaching the limit displacement values after an extraordinary snowfall or wind etc. that may be experienced after delivering the space frame roof to our employer. We plan to start sales and marketing for laser sensors soon, breaking new ground in monitoring the structure and taking action.
What changes do you think will happen in the future of concrete and cement? What kind of development and future do you foresee, especially in the areas you serve?
As in every sector, the role of some sectors is gradually increasing due to the increase in international competition. We feel the same competition in space frame system projects. The cement sector is one of the building blocks of economic growth for a country. I think that exportbased production will increase in the cement sector in the coming period. We are planning to get a share of this competition as we offer an economical and fast solution to our customers. As Altınyaldız, we have built cement warehouses and coal warehouses abroad in the past. We will continue to support investors as a solution partner.
How will your goals and strategies for the next period be shaped?
Cement investments for the next period will of course be in our follow-up. We are planning to include 3 projects, which are cement and coal stock halls, that we follow abroad, in our references list. Apart from these, as Altınyaldız, we are targeting projects that have a high degree of difficulty and that will enable us to use our 40,000 m2 monthly production capacity efficiently. Our factory has been working in double shifts for 2 years. We have targets such as new investment or new product development according to economic indicators and the state of the markets. The related works for new investment and new product continue.
As Altınyaldız, our design power and high manufacturing capacity lead us to challenging and heavy works. While determining our strategy, we are entering new markets by knowing our strength and taking the trust of Altınyaldız brand behind us. In addition, we aim to add new customers to our solid and good customers from the past. Our post-pandemic goal will be to increase our exports to developing African countries and to export to Middle Eastern countries, which have been stagnant for a while due to the pandemic.
Altinyaldiz-Cement and Coal Stockholes
