ACK Lighting is a company that has gained 25 years of experience in the sector, has become professional in the application and production side and has operated only by specializing in lighting since the first day it was founded. We calculate fine details in lighting and offer excellent solutions. We had a nice interview with ACK LIGHTING Chairman A.KADİr YILDIZ, who started his remarks that we produce domestic products with ic space lighting fixtures, outdoor lighting fixtures, industrial lighting fixtures, LED and conventionally approximately hundreds of products.
Can you tell us about your company’s establishment process and structure?
As ACK brand, we have served our dealership network with the products we produce abroad in line with our quality principles. At this stage, our company, which serves the sales network only with product development, innovative product discovery and an effective technical service, started to operate in its building, which serves as a production and logistics base today, thinking that “we must now take part in production” in line with the maturation of conditions and the demands from the market. In this center, a string line consisting of electronic chip and component typesetting machines, 3 automatic bulb production lines, metal processing line, molding and casting line, assembly line, paint shop, measurement laboratory and R&D department can be produced integrated . In silivri Selimpasa Industrial Zone, this building has a closed area of 18,000 m2 and we also have a logistics center and warehouse that provides services to all our dealers. The most basic principle of our institution is to make those who use our products feel the ACK guarantee. We think that’s the most basic understanding that’s brought us to this day. ACK guarantee means quality products as well as providing the highest quality service and technical service to all our customers, creating a quality working environment for our employees and in short, striving to make all our stakeholders happy. Since these efforts will not make sense without being supported by a developed ERP and MRP system, our company is also making a continuous breakthrough in digital and managerial struturing. I can say that we have a structure where a production – accounting/finance – sales network – marketing – logistics – strategic planning wheel, which is completely digitally and administratively controlled, operates regularly.
As ACK Lighting, what investments have you made since your establishment.
We have always made our first and greatest investment in our human resources. All our subsequent investments are investments that have emerged together with our human resources. We have invested a comprehensive ERP and MRP in order to easily access the reports that provide the most important inputs in our effective measurement, management and strategic decision-making processes. In order to organize our purchases abroad, we opened a representative office abroad. You can see as our important investments all equipment and production lines, logistics service investments, R&D investments, investments in R&D, training investments, sales network investments made to maximize our communication with our dealers.
Briefly for ACK Lighting; You’re describing your work as “Human Approach First.” What is the basic philosophy here?
Without people, there’s no production. You cannot produce products or services. Thanks to our “human first” approach, our company and brand have been able to get to where they are today. With this approach; we cover our employees, suppliers and sales network. So not only our own employees, but all our stakeholders should be happy. This idea brings with it other investments and developments.
What has changed in the lighting industry from the past to the present.
Since the 1990s, there have been revolutionary changes, especially in lighting technologies. In its simplest form, encandesan bulbs were replaced first by compact fluorescent bulbs, which are considered economical, and then to led bulbs of a revolutionary nature. With the development of LED technology, there has been a major transformation not only in light bulbs, but also in all other fixtures. The fixtures, which we had to use with a number of bulbs due to their structure, quickly became integrated with LED components. In addition to bringing great savings to energy use, this development has also paved the way for much more technical and complex production and technical service services. All these technological developments have led to an increase in product diversity and changes in company management. A lot of the big players in the market have either withdrawn or shrunk, there are now those who can adapt to technological development and new players. In order to exist today, you have to closely follow all these developments and adapt.
Can you share the point of your product range as ACK from yesterday to today?
With sectoral and technological developments, production processes have changed and product diversity has increased a lot. When we compare our product catalogs that we produced in the first years with our catalogs today, there is a big difference. However, we are still concerned that we are able to keep up with some varieties. Previously, it was possible to do some things with 50 kinds of products, but today it is necessary to express this number in hundreds.
What should come to the forefront when defining the ideal lighting product and Quality production.
The quality of a lighting product is determined by the individual quality of all the components and components used and the harmony they put together. In addition, it is necessary to look at how much efficiency the lighting product converts energy into light. Many factors such as high lumens, low wattage, efficient lifespan, ease of use and installation, aesthetic structure, minimizing health risks come together to create quality. Of course, you can also achieve high lumens values by using low-quality components, but you will not find solutions to such issues as how long this product will work efficiently, how much radiation it will emit, how much energy it will consume. The quality for a lighting product is really a total quality. All studies carried out in order to produce a product of this quality should be meticulously planned, measured, produced and undergo quality controls from R&D stage to assembly stage. Even the quality of the manufactured environment determines the quality of the product produced.
Today, lighting is undergoing transformation. Electronics and Software have become more of a voice in lighting. How much of this transformation do you have as a company?
Now it is possible to create smarter houses, offices, factories, warehouses thanks to these technologies. It is possible to do many smartening operations that used to be done with very demanding planning, wiring, control units in a very simple way today using wi-fi switches, modules, hubs, and wi-fi products. Even end users can use Wi-Fi products to make their homes smarter and control them via smartphones. We have related products in this field and we are continuing to work on many new products.
Do you export abroad as ACK LIGHTING? How do you carry out your overseas structure. Which countries do you export your products to?
As ACK brand, we export to the Balkans and several European countries, especially near and middle eastern countries. Exports are a priority for us and we are in a continuous development in this field.
Intermediate goods used in lighting products (led-kompanet-driver) are imported. What is the reason why there is no production and investment in this regard in our country?
In fact, in addition to LED chips, some components and drivers are produced in our country, our country’s technological infrastructure is extremely suitable for producing such products. We are a company that is in a position to produce these components and drivers, but since it is cheaper to import such products than to produce them, such a path is being followed now.
What are our pros and cons compared to Turkey and abroad in lighting?
When you say abroad, you have to separate those countries. We rate countries like India or Kenya differently than countries like Germany. It’s about the standard of living and purchasing power of those countries. In every country, both cheap and extremely expensive and sophisticated products are sold. The same goes for our country. There’s definitely a product that fits everyone’s budget. But we should not try to provide this cheapness with products that will waste our already expensive energy and create a number of health problems. This problem has been solved to a certain extent by encouraging the import and production of products that will meet the basic requirements. As I mentioned earlier, the quality of a lighting product determines the quality of the component and components used and their harmonization.
Due to the Covid Pandemic that occurred at the beginning of 2020, supply chains have changed. How did it reflect on your company?
First of all, we are a company that works with a certain amount of stock. We have a minimum stock quantity in both finished and intermediate/raw products. During the pandemic, we also experienced problems in the supply of some products. We continue to live, but there has been no problem for our consumers as we have made our plans according to the new conditions. We can say that we were mostly affected by dollar-deno increases in raw and intermediate products from the lack of products. But this is already a general problem of all sectors, and over time all the stones will fall into place.
How you managed the pandemic process. What is your general assessment of the raw material problem currently in the present?
At the beginning of the pandemic, we created isolated environments for our office workers to work from home, a larger working environment for all employees, eating and drinking tea. We made informational posters, brochures and meetings. We carried out PCR tests in our company with certain periods. We applied the mask, hygiene and distance rule in a controlled manner. To date, we have not experienced a number of cases that will affect our production. I would like to thank our employees for their sensitivity in this regard.
What are your future goals as ACK LIGHTING?
Produce but produce more value-added products and services. That’s our goal. To make all the necessary investments in the field of buildings, teams and equipment in order to achieve value-added production.