In this issue, we visited our ARSEL ELECTRONICS company, which produces only Emergency Lighting Fixtures and Emergency Routing products. We asked Sebahattin Aydoğmuş, General Manager of ARSEL ELECTRICITY, who moved to the larger production center, about the point of the brand and the targets of the company.
- First of all, can you give information about yourself and the field of activity of your company?
We have successfully carried our journey to these days, which started in March 2004. I'd say arsel electronics is the result of 30 years of knowledge.
From day one, we put in place some principles. We have adopted our primary goal as 'To be sustainable by producing quality products and to do the job we know in the best way'. Over time, we have experienced major changes in staff and production area. We have made some additional investments, especially the machinery track. Since we are always open to innovations, we have carried our brand to these days by constantly updating ourselves according to changing conditions. Initially, our work was related to the fire detection, camera and safety systems sector. In fact, emergency lighting also stands out as a safety product. We have entered the top five companies of Turkey in the production of Emergency Lighting products.
- Arsel Elektronik manufactures Emergency Lighting Products. Can you tell us about your Product Groups and the specifications of these products?
As mentioned above, we were initially producing emergency lighting products together with fire detection, camera and safety systems. These works that we carried out in our organization continued in this way until 2011. With a decision we made, we turned to emergency lighting products completely. We have transferred our existing customers to the companies we know without victimizing them. The decision we made was a big risk. Decisions made in this way always involve risks. But we had confidence.
WE HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING.
After 2011, we started to progress completely in Emergency Lighting products. We took more time. We've improved the quality of our business. We've come to this day without being involved in anything else.
- What do people understand when we say Emergency Lighting? What do you think emergency lighting is?
Emergency lighting is a safety product. They are products that show the emergency exit routes in the structures that people use extensively and that always contain the risk. It helps to quickly evacuate buildings in undesirable situations such as fires and earthquakes. Hospitals, Public buildings, Schools, Metro, Airport, Shopping Malls, multi-storey structures, facilities that produce flammable and explosive materials can be called. When we say Emergency Lighting or Emergency guidance, sometimes it doesn't make a complete sense. We're making a statement about it. As a company, we position ourselves in the Emergency Lighting and Emergency Guidance sector. Arsel Elektronik produces emergency routing products together with emergency lighting. At the point where we cannot provide normal emergency lighting products, we give emergency lighting converter kit and battery. Customers are turning it into an emergency lighting product. The structures where you will use emergency lighting products are also very important. With the metro station you have to use very different products in the factory. The ceiling heights of the buildings, human circulation, the purpose for which the building will operate is very important.
Many conditions have been imposed within the scope of Fire and Occupational Health Safety Regulation in our country. In this sense, what would you like to say about the adequacy of directing?
In our country, this issue was made mandatory in a provision of the law enacted by presidential decree in 2008. Applies to all buildings except apartments. In many buildings such as Schools, Hospitals and Metro stations, this article is obligatory to be applied. When you apply to the relevant places of municipalities so that you can obtain an opening license when you open a business, the official; fire detection systems, fire escapes and emergency exit products. Up to this stage, everything proceeds as stipulated by law, but then there are no audits. Apart from building owners, insurance companies pay attention to emergency routing fixtures and whether emergency routing products work when it is common. Let's also issue a warning here.
AUDITS MUST BE CARRIED OUT
Emergency lighting products must also be checked in fire inspections carried out after the licensing process. Unfortunately, emergency lighting products are not taken into account. In a sense, it's at the mercy of the building owners. I would say that the inspection of emergency lighting products in insured buildings is mostly carried out by the owners of the buildings. These products have a certain lifespan. The battery and battery run out after a certain time. Pcb cards are even damaged in densely humid and smoky environments.
- Multi-storey structures have become a part of our lives. Lighting in these buildings is now controlled by the DALI system. Emergency lighting products were also included in this system. What would you like to say about this as a company?
Yes, the DALI automation system has provided a lot of convenience to the lighting industry. Emergency lighting fixtures can be checked through the system without visiting the site. If there is a problem with the system, you can intervene at that point. Although the installation cost is high, it gives you a significant advantage in its sustainability and checkpoint. This system also minimizes the cost of technical teams. Instead of checking every three months, you can self-check the system on your own. It can react to you instantly when there is a malfunction.
Imagine that this is a shopping mall and you have to check individual products.
Although it is a little costly when buying, you are wasting your staff in the later process. When you consider that each product is checked individually in the building where 750 products are installed, you can easily see the advantage of the DALI system.
OUR PRODUCTS ARE COMPATIBLE WITH THE DALI SYSTEM.
As Arsel Elektronik, we also produce products that comply with the DALI system. We tell our customers about our product groups integrated into this system together with their technical characteristics. Since the DALI system is a very new system, we have never used such a system in our products before. The ARSEL ELECTRONIC products we adopted from the first day we started would be of high quality, long life, low current, spend little energy and most importantly, recycle. We made sure that the disassembly and installation of our products and the replacement processes of the batteries were practical.
Another issue is that it is energy efficient, i.e. energy flow is at low levels. When we compare with competing products, we see that there are huge differences between us.
- With all the differences, we're definitely talking about a technically strong team. What kind of R&D studies do you do at this point?
As I mentioned above, knowledge and experience are the greatest advantages. Although its software is not always – even if we get external support – we are able to directly intervene in other issues. We do not produce products by following the example of other companies. We're making more tailor-made designs. But we see a lot of companies that imitate our products. It's not ethically pleasant. The designs of all the products we produce are ours and the design processes and technical controls come out of our R&D department. We visit the fairs held especially in Europe and closely follow the work done there. Instead of copying one-to-one products, the materials used in the product, technological systems are of more interest to us. After the necessary drawings, it takes a period of three months to make the strings together with the mold stage and to finalize the product.
What makes us different here is R&D. All designs of the cards are made by a good team. The card is very important in the product. Just check if the card works for a long time. Many technical issues such as heating, circuit break, battery life and battery are checked here in as little as three months. After the process is completed, the necessary purchases are made and the product is produced and access to our catalog is provided. When making purchases, we supply components, batteries and batteries from proven approved companies. Thus, we are moving away from all kinds of negative risks that will come our way in the future. After the strings are made, the necessary tests are carried out. Upon completion of the tests, after the labels are hit, we ship them to the customer after the packaging stage.
WE ARE OPEN TO CUSTOMER DEMANDS…
Although we have already designed the product, we also take into account customer demands. For example, if you want to use Practical dismantling and installation of the product took its final shape in line with the demand from a customer. At the end of the day, we found that it gave the product an advantage. We have made changes in this direction in our other products. We're always evaluating new ideas.
- Arsel Electronics products are mainly used in projects. In what process do you get involved in the project? Can you tell us about your roadmap for projects?
Although ARSEL ELECTRONIC products are sold through our dealers at many points of sale, we also give products to projects. Our project teams are taking new jobs from the field or from the reference projects we have done before. The customer can find us either from the fair or through digital. Of course, we don't have a different product making situation. We only make changes to issues such as hangers or colors from ceiling height differences. We also go to the regulations in the size of the products. The incoming requests are evaluated by the project teams and we visit the customer on site and provide the necessary information. We explain the innovations in our products by making regular visits to engineering companies that develop or implement projects in addition to institutions such as Tokİ, EMLAK KONUT, KIPTAŞ.
Another issue is that we do not do much practice in projects. We only supply products. That's why we lose projects. When it is very insistent, we refer the business to partner application companies.
WE OFFER PRODUCTS SUITABLE FOR EVERY STRUCTURE
We ask what the building will be used for incoming requests. It is not possible to use the same products in the school and factory. Drawings and product dimensions are prepared according to the condition of the structure. We choose the product accordingly. The regulations and the problems to be encountered are necessarily conveyed to the other side in the form of a presentation.
- Today, there are many companies in our country that produce emergency routing fixtures. Many products also do not meet the standards. What should be considered in this regard?
There are too many unchecked product inflows into the market. There are thousands of poor quality products of Far Eastern origin. We see that some of these are entered through companies or security companies that do advertising printing. This also affects our share of the pie. Inspections need to be increased to sell products that comply with standards. Emergency lighting products must be in the risky products group. In our country, the number of companies making emergency lighting products like ours seems to be many. It does not exceed the five firms that are seriously leading the way.
Since moving to a new area is a bit about capacity, doing new work causes us to move away from our main job. When you exceed a certain capacity, including our own work, it brings extra burden.
In principle, we said that we will only produce Emergency Lighting fixtures and Emergency lighting routing products. Apart from this, although different demands have come in, we stand by our decision as a company.
- What services do you offer at the service point?
Once the products are delivered to a project, we're done. The next process is entirely up to the owner. The life of the battery and battery is certain. Our products are easy to replenish for such needs. Battery and battery life in dusty and humid environments is two years. The batteries and batteries we use belong to brands that are above a certain standard. If warranty coverage continues when there is a failure, we request its return. Other than that, the product is requested and sent back to the customer by carrying out the necessary testing and revision. We've always been behind our products. The less service you do if you do quality work.
- There are serious certificates in emergency lighting products. What certificates are in your products? What kind of service do you offer to your overseas customers?
We have CE, TSE, TÜV and ISO certificates as certificates. We also have certificates that provide entry to certain countries for abroad. We have test reports from independent labs. Our biggest problem is that the costs of the document are high and the approval periods for these documents are long. We will definitely test a new product in our laboratory and send it to another accredited independent laboratory. With the result, we start selling the product.
The buyers of the product must master it. How can I supply a product that these friends usually make cheaply? At the end of the day, maybe they're achieving those goals. They tell us that over time, they exceed the cost of their expenditure due to product failures. A detailed comparison of the products must be made. We guarantee our products.
- What would you like to say about your overseas export efforts?
Since we were founded, we have aimed to do everything in due course. We ship our products to many countries abroad. Sometimes it is sales that come directly from customer demands with the project. We are making the export department more institutional in our newly moved building. We plan to carry out marketing activities in many countries together with the Light + Building Fair in Germany. I think we're more prepared for this now as a brand. We see that our product quality reacts positively. We also produce products with our own brands to several companies.
- ARSEL Elektronik, which has 23 years of experience, continues its growth by moving to its new building. What are your product and company plans after this as a company?
Yes, it is not easy to draw a framework for this. There was a beautiful motto used in an ad called "Uncontrolled power is not power", which I have always believed. If you're doing it, you need to do a job with the best quality. Anything you can't control can make you pay a big price. It's very important that you move forward correctly. We have certain goals, but we didn't think about entering a different area. We don't understand that we should move to a larger area with a very large staff. What we do is we do the best job and offer qualified products to the market. We're not going to be involved in any allegations. Our goal is to make it work. to further our brand by maintaining its position. On my behalf, I don't live with plans. Let's see what happens. I have a personality that says. Since 2004, our product quantities have become more. Manufacturing companies have proliferated.
Despite this, we can see that manufacturing companies are developing in our country. It's so different where we're at. We see that buyers are still turning more to the cheap product. More checks are required to ensure the entry of quality products into the market. This must be done with the means of the state. Tightening inspections and supporting certain quality, especially in sensitive matters, will benefit manufacturers. We're thinking of capturing Europe with the means at our disposal. For this, we will not compromise on quality.