Tankut Soydan
General Manager of Traçim Cement
“In recent years, we’ve focused on enhancing our effectiveness, particularly in human resources, by revitalizing and rejuvenating our entire staff to better serve our purpose. We displayed our company and individual values by prioritizing efficiency through competent employees. We cut costs by optimizing electricity and fuel consumption, two of our largest expenses. With our expertise in product development and quality management, we have established ourselves as one of the most sought-after companies in our region. We can see that our products bring value to our customers.”
As Traçim Cement, you operate according to environmentally friendly production principles. Could you tell us about the company structure and your work in general?
Regardless of your actions today, it is crucial to have sustainability policies and a passion for the environment that are fully embraced by your employees. Additionally, when regulations and rules are implemented, it is essential to transition all business models into environmentally compatible and sustainable formats. Failure to do so may result in exclusion from the system.
We are one of the newest and best-equipped cement facilities in the country. Since 2008, we have obtained all the necessary permits, licenses, and documents required by legislation to ensure the highest level of service, particularly for our readymixed concrete channel and all our customers. Looking at Traçim from an external perspective today, you can witness its seamless integration with natural surroundings.
Based on these principles, we have implemented a proactive management approach across all levels of our organization, focusing on environmental and social aspects to enhance the sustainability of our cement production. With our focus on the environment and people, we strive to manage our activities to the best of our ability amid uncertainties and changes, particularly within the framework of the Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism. We continuously refine our plans and actions to effectively address this issue through committees established within the company.
By integrating our thoroughly renewed corporate governance approach into our policies and management processes, our aim is to contribute to sustainable development through work that upholds environmental and social values.
You are carrying out important work in both production and employment with your factory in Kırklareli. Could you tell us about the features of your factory and the technologies used?
Our factory, situated in the Vize district of Kırklareli, spans an area of 300,000 square meters and includes an integrated limestone and marl quarry covering 400 hectares. Traçim Cement completed the investment process between 2006 and 2008 and started production and sales activities. Through the capacity increase project implemented in 2017, our daily production capacity was boosted to 6,500 tons of clinker per day.
The crucial main equipment in the production facility has been carefully chosen from the top brands in the industry. For instance, we opted for Gebr. Pfeiffer for the raw meal mill and Claudius Peters for rotary kiln cooling. The system includes two pre-crusher ball mills from TCDRI, each with a capacity of 180tph. Our factory has a storage capacity of 20,000 tons of cement and 95,000 tons of clinker. To expand our product range, we are investing in the construction of a three-compartment silo with a capacity of 15,000 tons.
The final products manufactured in our facility include CEM I 42.5 R, CEM I 52.5 R, CEMENTRA, and CEM II/B-L 32.5R Following the production process, our products are delivered to customers in bulk, slingbag, bigbag, and pallet-bagged forms.
With our focus on the environment and people, we strive to manage our activities to the best of our ability amid uncertainties and changes, particularly within the framework of the Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism. We continuously refine our plans and actions to effectively address this issue through committees established within the company.
We are committed to minimizing environmental impacts and utilizing natural resources efficiently by embracing the principle of sustainability. Our factory remains dedicated to delivering reliable and long-lasting solutions to our customers. With our newly revitalized management team and industry-leading quality control processes, we are setting the standard in cement production. In our quality management systems, we conduct all our activities in compliance with various ISO standards, including ISO 45001 for Occupational Health and Safety Management, ISO 9001 for Quality Management, ISO 50001 for Energy Management, ISO 10002 for Customer Satisfaction and Complaint Management, ISO 14001 for Environmental Management, and ISO 27001 for Information Security Management. An application for the ISO 14064-1 Greenhouse Gas and Emissions Management System was submitted in 2023, and it is scheduled to be integrated into our system in 2024.
Seventy-five percent of our colleagues employed at our factory reside in close proximity to the facility. We can say that we are a good source of employment for our immediate environment. Our core principles are cooperation, respect, and fostering a fair working environment.
What do you do in terms of R&D? What kind of structure do you have in this field?
In our factory, the R&D laboratory, which falls under the Quality and Business Development Directorate, conducts product development, customer demand analysis, and traditional cement and concrete testing. We have a large quality team. My colleagues dedicate much of their time to conducting studies and analyses on cement types outlined in national standards, as well as exploring environmentally friendly cements with low carbon footprints. Additionally, they perform strength and consistency protection tests on various concrete classes. We monitor the behavior of new products in both consistency retention and atmospheric conditions through in-field applications.
A similar approach also applies to our concrete applications. We monitor the behavior of cements in concrete on a daily basis, focusing on the perspective that the final product is concrete. We examine the effect of concrete chemicals through air content testing in fresh concrete. As part of our R&D activities, we conduct studies on permeable concrete, colored concrete, and lightpermeable concrete.
As a result of these efforts, our new product, CEMENTRA, was introduced to the market in 2023 and quickly captured 40% of our bulk cement sales. CEMENTRA, a product renowned for its low carbon footprint, environmental friendliness, and high durability performance, represents the collective achievement of our entire team’s collaboration. CEMENTRA, introduced to the market after about a year of R&D studies, demonstrates performance comparable to our CEM I 42.5 R cement in terms of both consistency retention and strength.
Our high early strength clinker, a significant advantage in the market for us, will play a crucial role in reducing Traçim’s carbon footprint in the future. Under the guidance of our R&D team, it will enable us to introduce new low-carbon final products to the market.
In the past year, the Borderline Carbon Regulation Mechanism and competitive market conditions have shifted the focus of our R&D activities towards addressing these issues. In the second half of last year, we also conducted analyses on all alternative fuels and their effects on cement-concrete. Our waste laboratory also became operational in the latter part of 2023.
You strive to prioritize sustainability in all processes you follow. What kind of work do you do in this field?
It is truly encouraging to see the entire team embracing sustainability as a core aspect of our business approach, prompting us to reevaluate our current work through a sustainability lens. We are making improvements with a strong team.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues serve as the primary criteria in all our practices as we determine our sustainability approach. We have grounded our sustainability approach on environmental preservation across all our activities and on fostering transparent relationships with our stakeholders.
We prioritize sustainability across every facet, spanning Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Management, Human Resources Management, and Corporate Social Responsibility. Our focus extends to our management approach, economic performance benefiting key stakeholders, international market positioning, social impact, and efforts to reduce environmental footprint, particularly in energy and emissions management.
As we are all aware, we are currently in a period where the significance of circular economy and resource efficiency is growing, alongside a heightened awareness of creating social impact. In this context, we aim to be an important actor in the decarbonization journey of the cement industry, which is the first sector to report CO2 emissions globally. In this direction, we have established our short, medium, and long-term goals, solidifying our plans until 2030. Our commitment to sustainability persists through ongoing environmental, social, and governance studies aimed at enhancing the sustainability of cement production. Additionally, we are actively developing new sustainable products to augment our existing product portfolio. In addition, as I mentioned above, we started investing in a new cement silo to achieve our goal.
At Traçim, we prioritize reflecting our commitment to sustainability across all areas, implementing social, economic, and environmental measures accordingly. During our afforestation efforts aimed at rehabilitating our activity area, we established 1,837 green areas covering a total of 34,352 m2 to reintegrate the mined areas into nature. Additionally, we have planted a total of 131,126 saplings outside the factory to date. Furthermore, our company continues and plans to expand projects such as planting 10,000 saplings annually and providing environmental awareness training to schools in the surrounding area.
Due to the insufficient capacity of our Waste Derived Fuel facility, we initiated an additional investment in 2023 to increase capacity to 30 tons/hour, which has been commissioned as of 2024. In this way, we aim to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and enhance our carbon emissions profile through the utilization of fuels with lower carbon equivalents. We have begun calculating our emissions for 2023 in accordance with the ISO 14064-1:2018 standard and we are scheduled to have our Carbon Footprint verified during the first part of this year.
While we currently surpass the sector average in female employment rates, we aspire to elevate our female employment rate to significantly higher levels by 2030 through the establishment of our own targets Not only within administrative units but also within our technical group. We aim to ensure equal opportunities for all our employees, regardless of gender, by implementing the ISO 30415 Management System. We will persist in our social investments, enhancing social impact through collaboration with all our stakeholders.
What kind of steps do you think need to be taken in the coming period for the sustainability of the cement industry?
The cement industry is characterized by its openness to innovation and its rapid adaptation to regulations. Nevertheless, given environmental risks, high fossil fuel consumption, significant energy usage, and its carbon-intensive nature, there are numerous sustainability measures that must be undertaken within the sector. The most important environmental impact of cement production is carbon emissions. We must enhance the technology in our integrated facilities to develop products with high added value and low carbon emissions. Naturally, these considerations should be made in tandem with assessing financing requirements.
Cement production is an energy-intensive industry. Improving energy efficiency not only mitigates environmental impacts but also lowers production costs. To achieve this goal, the expansion of practices such as heat recovery systems, advanced grinding technologies, and process optimization is essential.
The raw materials used in cement production are natural resources. In order to sustainably utilize these resources, it iscrucial to conduct studies such as the development of alternative raw materials and increasing the utilization of waste. Another critical issue to address is the conservation of water utilized in cement production.
We are committed to minimizing environmental impacts and utilizing natural resources efficiently by embracing the principle of sustainability. Our factory remains dedicated to delivering reliable and long-lasting solutions to our customers. With our newly revitalized management team and industry-leading quality control processes, we are setting the standard in cement production.
You are also included in the list of Major Industrial Enterprises with the work you do as a company. To what do you owe this success?
I can summarize the main reasons for this success under a few main points: In recent years, we have focused on enhancing our effectiveness, particularly in human resources, by revitalizing and rejuvenating our entire staff to better serve our purpose. We displayed our company and individual values by prioritizing efficiency through competent employees. We cut costs by optimizing electricity and fuel consumption, two of our largest expenses. With our expertise in product development and quality management, we have established ourselves as one of the most sought-after companies in our region. We can see that our products bring value to our customers.
Although our current ranking is a testament to our efforts, we are confident that our position will improve in the 2023 results compared to the 2022 data from the Istanbul Chamber of Industry. As Traçim Cement, we remain committed to being a significant player in our industry, consistently creating value for both our business partners and ourselves.
Education stands out as one of the other areas you care about. How are your educational activities progressing?
One of the best things we have done in recent years, and in my opinion, the key to the increasing success graph, is to focus on people, reduce the levels in company management, and increase communication efficiency to the optimum level. This led to an incredible period of ownership of work and institutionalization. We transitioned from overarching goals to individual objectives, enabling each person to recognize their significance within the broader context. We still have a long way to go.
Through the job analyses we conduct, we align competencies with job requirements and tailor our training programs accordingly. In response to these needs, we foster the development of our employees by offering professional and personal development training, equipping them with essential knowledge and competencies. Moreover, we strive to enhance their job satisfaction and motivation, thereby supporting their career advancement.
Recognizing the crucial role of education in enabling institutions to adapt to the rapid changes of our age, we consider it a pivotal factor in enhancing institutional efficiency. We intend to maintain the training initiatives we offered to employees at nearly every level last year and prioritize them to ensure their continued contribution to our workforce this year.
You are one of the brands that represent the Turkish cement industry in the world. What do we need to do to increase our strength in this field? What kind of steps do you think need to be taken in the coming period for the sustainability of the cement industry?
The Turkish cement sector has become one of the largest in the world due to the significant production capacity it has attained. The sector operates at a capacity utilization rate of two-thirds, with approximately 25% of the cement produced being exported. When comparing the sector’s export data for 2022/2023, nationwide cement exports decreased by 16%, clinker exports decreased by 53%, and overall exports decreased by 28% in quantity. Türkiye must uphold and bolster its current position in cement export markets, leveraging its high production capacity.
However, the shift in international trade conditions triggered by the pandemic, coupled with the Russia-Ukraine conflict and subsequent tensions between Israel and Palestine, along with the volatility in energy prices and rising production costs in energy-intensive sectors like cement, have adversely affected our country’s exports. Consequently, North African countries have gained traction in Turkish cement export markets due to their advantages in energy, labor, and freight costs. Türkiye will undoubtedly remain a preferred destination in global cement purchasing markets, thanks to its high production capacity, advanced ports and handling facilities, skilled workforce, and commitment to quality production. However, it is undeniable that as international competition conditions become increasingly challenging, state support is crucial in this regard. We are pleased to note that our Ministry of Commerce offers essential information support to companies seeking to export but lacking sufficient knowledge and experience in this area. This support is provided through commercial attachés and DEIK country desks in target countries.
Another issue that is equally important as the production cost of cement is the expenses associated with logistics and storage. Approximately 90% of commercial transportation worldwide is conducted by sea. Our sector is facing significant challenges in terms of competition due to the increases in the maritime transportation sector, which is highly sensitive to international developments, resulting in higher arrival costs. The support and investments that our state will provide to exporting companies in this field will result in a positive impact on our country’s exports.
Additionally, the implementation of the Border Carbon Regulation mechanism in EU countries by 2026 is anticipated to pose challenges for our sector in terms of export opportunities in this market. High financing is required to make investments aimed at reducing product CO2 levels. For this reason, our sector requires support to access credit opportunities.
Considering all these factors, the Turkish Cement sector should prioritize foreign investments with government support. By making strategic investments such as grinding, terminal, and packaging facilities in developing countries, the sector can solidify its presence in these markets and boost export figures.