Vol.4 Special Interview
Interview with Head of CLPA Turkey
A new CLPA branch opens in Turkey The new branch accelerates the adoption of CC-Link in developing countries
The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) opened a new branch in Turkey, where industries are expected to significantly grow against a backdrop of rapid economic growth. We asked Mr. Tolga Bizel, who is responsible for CLPA-Turkey since its beginning in March 2014, about the future direction and trend of FA (Factory Automation) in Turkey. He has been engaged in the FA industry for more than 20 years, and says that the adoption of CC-Link and CC-Link IE is increasing.
—What would you say is the reason why CLPA-Turkey was opened?
Mr. BizelFor the past five years, the economy of Turkey has been steadily growing. Even while the economy of the developed countries was in recession, the economy of Turkey was still strong. Today, the economy of Turkey still has great potential. To expand business in Turkey, the next 10 years will be a very important period, I think. This is why the CLPA established a new branch in Turkey and increases the activities here.
—Would you tell us about the trend of FA in Turkey?
Mr. BizelBecause the Turkish government has set out a policy of increasing machinery exports , the demand for FA devices will greatly increase.
The Turkish government has set a concrete goal of achieving an annual export growth rate of 17.8%, 100 billion dollars or more in export figures, and a global market share of 2.3% by 2023. If the government achieves this goal, the machinery export percentage will increase to 18% of the total exports of Turkey. Furthermore, more and more manufacturers will improve their production facilities with the economic growth, and I am quite sure that this will accelerate the increase in the demand for FA devices.
Although it may take some time for Turkey's machine industry to become competitive with big companies in Europe, the presence of Turkey in the global machinery industry will be strengthened because Turkey has great potential, like fresh human resources that can be trained and educated from now on. Accompanying the growth of the machinery industry, the market will also be expected to expand into the FA field.
Supporting local users and vendors
—In Turkey, where the momentum of the FA market growth is increasing, what kind of activities is CLPA-Turkey going to conduct?
Mr. BizelWe provide the latest information to the CC-Link and CC-Link IE users, and promote the networks by supporting the business of the compatible device vendors, as well as the other CLPA branches.
For these purposes, we are going to increase our actions, and we roughly classify these actions in two ways.
The first is education and awareness campaigns. We will hold technical seminars for local companies in the four major cities of Turkey; Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Konya. This is because these cities take the lead in the development of Turkish industry and the need for automation systems are increasing there.
The other is to conduct conformance tests for CC-Link- or CC-Link IE-compatible devices developed by partner companies in Turkey. The conformance tests are conducted for every product so that interoperability among CC-Link- or CC-Link IE-compatible devices is ensured. This will enable users to build highly-reliable FA systems.
Contributing to growth of Turkey's manufacturing industry
—Does the CLPA-Turkey work only in Turkey?
Mr. BizelThe CLPA is a global organization. It has its headquarters in Japan and branches all over the world including South Korea, Taiwan, North America, Europe, China, and India. CLPA-Turkey is one of such branches. By closely cooperating with each other, we and the other bases in the world help user companies and partner companies promote their global activities.
—Would you tell us about the prospect for the results of the CLPA's activities?
Mr. BizelThe fields in which manufacturing industry companies in Turkey are engaged are varied, and their needs relating to FA are similarly varied. I think, thus, that there are many chances to create new solutions. For the development of new solutions, CC-Link and CC-Link IE, which have high reliability and interoperability, can contribute in various ways.
The CLPA intends to help enhance the competitiveness of Turkish companies in the global market by promoting these sophisticated technologies.
Mr. Tolga BizelCLPA-Turkey
Director
[On-site report]
Media gathered at the opening ceremony Introduction of the Marmaray project accomplishments
The CLPA held an opening ceremony for CLPA-Turkey in Istanbul, Turkey on March 19, 2014. The ceremony was held alongside the major FA-related exhibition "WIN Automation-World of Industry Fairs", and was attended by many key media and industry people.
The ceremony began with a greeting by Mr. Masahiro Fujisawa, President of Mitsubishi Electric Turkey. Members of Mitsubishi Electric, the developer of CC-Link and CC-Link IE, and the CLPA also gave speeches. Ms. Naomi Nakamura, Global Director of the CLPA, emphasized the advantages of CC-Link and CC-Link IE over various other industrial open networks, and Mr. Haruyuki Otani, CLPA Technical Task Force Chairperson, explained the technical features of CC-Link and CC-Link IE and their value to industry.
Among various speeches, the speech given by Mr. Nurettin GEÇGEL, Deputy Division Manager of Mitsubishi Electric Turkey, especially drew the attention of the attendees. He introduced the "Marmaray project", which is one of the most important CC-Link and CC-Link IE application examples in Turkey.
The Marmaray project included the construction of a 1,397m undersea tunnel linking the Asian and European sides of the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, along with a 13.2km railway linking these sides through the tunnel. The railway was opened on October 29, 2013. CC-Link IE networks were installed throughout the underground stations, above ground stations, ventilation facilities, and power generation facilities. This permitted the lights, elevators, pumps, and air-conditioning facilities to be controlled in an integrated way. CC-Link IE, with its large capacity and high transmission speed, was necessary to control the vast number of devices involved.
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