Burak GÜNSÜR Country Manager – Bearings and Industrial Solutions
Anıl TEPE Schaeffler Sector Manager at Schaeffler – Cement & Mining
With FAG and INA branded bearings, Schaeffler is a key supplier to the industry, providing engineering and partnership solutions to many machinery and component producers, the heart of the cement business.
Schaeffler is known as a global company present in diverse regions and sectors across the world. Could you provide detailed information on your corporate organization and operations in Türkiye?
B. Günsür : Schaeffler Group entered Türkiye in 1986 when INA Rulmanları Tic. Ltd. Şti. as well as Turkish liaison office for FAG Bearings were established. In 2001, FAG joined in Schaeffler Group and continued as partners until 11 October 2016 when the title of the company was renamed as Schaeffler Türkiye Endüstri ve Otomotiv Tic. Ltd. Şti. Based in Istanbul, the company offers a comprehensive product range for automotive and industry sectors in Türkiye with LuK, INA and FAG brands under the umbrella of Schaeffler. Primary goals of Schaeffler in Türkiye include to ensure the highest possible level of customer satisfaction by offering the right technologies with its talented staff.
Schaeffler currently concentrated on the application of the sustainability strategy, focusing on seven basic environmental, social and managerial goals related to the various actionable areas such as climate neutrality, efficient use of resources, protection of environment, and occupational health and safety.
What contributions do you expect Türkiye to make to your regional growth strategies?
B. Günsür : For Schaefler, Türkiye is a significant market with a great potential. Industrial growth and strategic position of the country offer us great opportunities. For our strategic development, we have been taking important steps to expand our footprint and further strengthen our capabilities in Türkiye. For this purpose, we provide services through a wide network of authorized distributors, in addition to our own sales and technical office. This structure enables us not only to be closer to our customers but also further develop solutions we offer to the local market.
We attach great importance to the strong cooperation with our wide network of authorized distributors as well as local business partners. This cooperation plays a critical role in offering customers highest quality. Market knowledge and experience of our partners help our products and services reach the end user in the most effective way. In addition, we contribute to the continuous development of our partners with regular trainings and technical support helping them drive their successes. In a nutshell, we offer fast and effective solutions to the needs of our customers, while keeping their trust at the maximum level.
How do you evaluate the current position of Schaeffler in Turkish cement market? Could you provide information about your growth strategies in cement industry, innovative approaches towards needs of the market, and your sustainability goals?
A.Tepe : With FAG and INA branded bearings, Schaeffler is a key supplier to the industry, providing engineering and partnership solutions to many machinery and component producers, the heart of the cement business. We ensure minimum downtime and long service life, as needed by the industry, thanks to our solid engineering experience. As we closely keep up with the developments in the world, we offer a wide range of solutions for calculation of carbon footprint and digitalization (Grease App, Mounting Manager, etc.), the pressing needs of the industry.
At the same time, Schaeffler considers sustainability as a holistic and overarching subject, and fulfills both ecological and social responsibility throughout the entire added value chain.
Schaeffler currently concentrated on the application of the sustainability strategy, focusing on seven basic environmental, social and managerial goals related to the various actionable areas such as climate neutrality, efficient use of resources, protection of environment, and occupational health and safety.
We target to achieve climate neutrality across entire production and supply chain until 2030 and 2040.
What products do you offer to cement industry and what are their advantages?
A.Tepe : We have many products we offer to the cement industry. The most popular products include Profiled Roller Design, SES Bearings, Split Bearings, Repair and Remanufacturing Service and Condition Monitoring. These products are designed to boost efficiency of cement production processes, prolong the equipment service life, and optimize the maintenance processes. Profiled Roller Design improves the performance of the rollers, while SES Bearings reduce the vibrations and ensures operational silence. Split Bearings make maintenance and replacement easier. The Repair and Remanufacturing Service restores old equipment back to functionality and Condition Monitoring solutions monitor equipment performance in real time, detecting potential failures in advance.
Could you inform us about the scope of your technical support services and their customer advantages?
A.Tepe : With our MFT leasing service, we complete installation of large bearings in as short as two hours, unlike customers themselves which take two days. This fast and effective solution saves customers a significant amount of time. Most importantly, it provides a great benefit in terms of occupational safety.
Bearing repair and remanufacturing process maintains and restores old bearings of the customers back to the functionality, or restores original functionality of the deformed bearings after having undergone through various stages. Furthermore, our on-site supervision system for installation of bearing of critical equipment guarantees correct installation and therefore ensure equipment to have a longer service life.
Our digital tools provide great convenience in maintenance and installation processes. Grease Check is used to calculate the correct amount of grease to use. Mounting Manager helps conical bearings to be installed correctly and practically. Medias EasyCalculation calculates CO₂ emissions. Origin Check enable us to check bearings for authenticity.
We provide theoretical and practical trainings to our on-site maintenance teams. In addition, we offer the most suitable solutions by providing OEM companies engineering support in bearing selection and design thanks to our Bearinx Program.
What measures do you take to minimize environmental impacts in bearing production? What innovative technologies and strategies do you use to improve environmental sustainability and reduce carbon footprint of your products?
A.Tepe : Cement industry invests significantly on various alternative additives, admixtures and fuels to reduce carbon footprint in order to avoid additional tax liabilities in the future. In this context, we have many digital tools that cater to the needs of the industry. One of this, Schaeffler Medias EasyCalc makes it possible to calculate both CO₂ amounts released for bearing production (Upstream) and CO₂ emissions on the equipment basis.
When we look at the details of the High Pressure Grinders used to grind the large parts in the plants, we see important opportunities in terms of sustainability. For example, by designing and selecting bearings with reduced friction and optimized service life, it is possible to directly reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 530 tons. In addition, felt-sealed bearings can reduce the grease consumption, thus, cut CO₂ emission directly by up to 19 tons. And installation of bearing using right installation tools can reduce CO₂ emission indirectly by up to 6 tons. Furthermore, bearing repair and remanufacturing will make it possible to reduce CO₂ emission directly by up to 24 tons thanks to reduced levels of raw materials and energy. All these measures provide great benefits in terms of both environment and economy.
It is also possible to make similar calculations for conveyors. It is currently available online in German and English, and Turkish version will also be released online during the year.
We have many digital tools that are designed to meet the needs of the industry. One of this, Schaeffler Medias EasyCalc makes it possible to calculate both CO₂ amounts released for bearing production and CO₂ emissions on the machinery basis.
We know that you have recently taken your customers a trip to Romania. Could you inform us about the purpose and contents of the events you organized for Turkish cement industry? And, do you have any other such upcoming events?
A.Tepe : Yes, we organized an event at our factory located in Braşov city of Romania in the first week of July, where we introduced to our solution partners our solutions developed exclusively for the industry. It is followed by a tour at our factory where over 5,000 employees work.
We also continue our preparations for two new events that we plan to organize during 2024. Further, our preparations, in cooperation with our authorized distributor Özevren, continue for an event in Istanbul by the end of September for valuable representatives of cement industry from all over the Türkiye. In November, we sponsor Gala Dinner at 17th Technical Seminar organized by Türkçimento. For this event, we will bring our Lifetime Solutions truck from Germany and showcase our solutions in the event venue.
Besides minimization of the carbon footprint,cement industry started to focus on the digitalization investments in line with Industry 4.0.
How do you think cement plants will evolve technologically in the future? What contributions does Schaeffler plan to make to this future vision?
A.Tepe : Besides minimization of the carbon footprint, cement industry started to focus on the digitalization investments in line with Industry 4.0. Certain facilities have already taken these digitalization steps, while others plan to launch these projects in the upcoming years depending on their budgets. One highlight of the digitalization process is the Condition Monitoring Systems used as part of protective maintenance.
As Schaffler, we provide services with a wide range of products to the industry in this area. We offer cement industry optimal engineering solutions with Prolink, our continuous condition monitoring system for critical equipment, and our AI-capable and mesh network ready OPTIME wireless sensors to troubleshoot and communicate problems to user for all other equipment.
Could you share milestones of your career and journey towards Schaeffler Türkiye? Could you provide detailed information about the roles you play as a manager responsible for cement and mining industries in Türkiye?
B. Günsür : I started my career 15 years ago as a field service engineer. The practical experience I gained in the field provided me with valuable technical and operational insights. Over time, I wanted to expand this experience to broader areas and took on various roles, from technical management to training, pricing, business development, and sales. Each step added a new vision and skill set to my repertoire. In addition to my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, after more than a decade in my professional career, I earned an Executive MBA to strengthen my strategic perspective in business. Currently, as the Country Manager for the Bearings and Industrial Solutions divizyon at Schaeffler, I continue to contribute to the growth of our company.
A.Tepe : I worked as Sales and Technical Engineer in powertrain industry for six years after my bachelor’s degree in Engineering. I was also responsible for management and development of the distributors in region under my responsibility. And my career path intersected with Schaffler Türkiye in 2021, where I was started as a Regional Executive, today continuing as Cement and Mining Industry Manager for the last two years.
Our Goal is to share knowledge and experience we have with all industrial stakeholders. All our efforts are focused on making industry more sustainable and credible in line with this goal.
