We met with Fahri E. Eryilmaz, the General Manager of Alpke A.S., which offers services in the production and insulation of copper and aluminum conductors, and talked about the increasing demands from the transformer sector, as well as the future of the sector. Eryilmaz, who gave important information about the transformer sector from Türkiye and abroad, also shared the history of Alpke A.S., which exports to dozens of countries on three continents.
Could you introduce yourself a bit?
I was born in Berlin in 1974. I am the child of a working-class family and we are three brothers. I attended elementary school in Tarsus, middle school and high school in Mersin. I completed my university education at Yildiz Technical University Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. After a short working experience in Istanbul, I went to Germany to complete my master’s degree at the Technical University of Berlin. I worked in Germany for six years in the telecommunications department of Siemens. I mostly worked as a project manager with different tasks each year. Afterwards, I did business development studies in Belgium and Istanbul for a long time and finally decided to establish Alpke.
“As Alpke, we export to about 30 to 50 countries.
Our average annual turnover is 70 million. “
Can you tell us the story of Alpke?
Alpke was founded in June 2010. It’s named after my son, Kerem Alp Eryilmaz. We have operated by outsourcing our production and selling products for a long time, but after reaching a certain stage, we decided to take over the company that makes this production along with all its equipment. We needed a leap that would offer us a market share both in Türkiye and abroad. Alpke is a company with 4 shareholders and our biggest goal is to transfer our power to the future. We work by empowering each other. At Alpke, we produce flat and round cross-section copper and aluminum wires used in the production of windings in all kinds of transformers, motors and generators.
Is the production taking place in Türkiye?
Yes, we produce at our 7,000m2 factory. We sell about 70 percent of our products in the domestic market, and export 30 percent. With our project management staff, we are the only engineer-based company in Türkiye. Compared to the neighboring countries, Türkiye is a paradise for transformer manufacturing. We provide services to both the transformer industry and the motor generator industry. We use two types of manufacturing technologies: “dry type” and “oil type” transformers. Thanks to the government incentives, everyone became aware and began to make significant investments in this sector. Several foreign companies, from India to Spain, have started to shift to domestic production. We also supply conductors to companies in this field.
“We provide services to both the transformer industry and the motor generator industry.”
Can you tell us about your annual production capacity?
Our annual average is 3,000 tons. Since we produce copper and aluminum together, orders are developing outside our control. Aluminum production is more difficult compared to copper due to its softness. In a time we produce one kg of copper, we can produce three tons of aluminum. This also reduces our production capacity.
How many countries do you export to?
Exports form the heart of our industry. As Alpke, we export to about 30 to 50 countries. Our average annual turnover is 70 million. Foreign investors are also very interested in domestic production. We test every product meticulously in our laboratories, report them with all their values, and deliver them to our customers. We are working intensively with Germany, the heart of industry, as well as the Balkan countries.
Does Türkiye rank among the best countries in the sector?
We can consider Italy, Spain and Germany as our competitors. Although production is difficult due to the high cost of finance and low profit margins, our country is quite rich in terms of customer potential. Production is widespread in India and China; however, when we take into account the determining factors such as delivery times, we cannot consider them as competitors to Türkiye.
How is the interest of European companies in Alpke?
Alpke is one of the rare Turkish brands recognized in Europe. Representing Türkiye, we have always attended the world’s largest industrial fairs held in Italy and Germany, and made significant investments in our brand, and we will continue to do so. The most important fairs we have participated in are Cwieme in Germany and Coiltech in Italy.
How has the year 2018 affected your industry in general?
Alpke started manufacturing with a joint investment in 2013. We have made major investments in Alpke, a newly born company, for many years. Of course, we have seen the negative effects of the US dollar’s increase, as we operate on foreign exchange basis. Therefore, we had to take some precautions. Important issues related to the country’s agenda also directly affect our sector.
“At Alpke, we produce flat and round cross-section copper and aluminum wires used in the production of windings in all kinds of transformers, motors and generators.”
How will the year 2019 go for Alpke and the sector in general? What are your expectations for the new year?
Our biggest concern is about how to increase export. Thanks to the cooperation of foreign companies with their domestic partners, we will continue to be the domestic partner of many European companies as long as this structural sustainability is maintained. With the conductors they buy from us, we provide 90% domestic product production. Under this, we hope that investments will increase and the interest rate power will decrease.
