Since we saw the exciting headlines in the printed and mass media in the recent months such as “Smart factory in Romania from Turkish engineers…”, “Arçelik’s new factory to become the polestar of the sector…”, “The smartest factory yet…,” we, BEYSAD, have been very proud and looking forward to visiting this examplary factory.

As we listened to Oğuzhan Öztürk, Assistant General Manager Responsible for Production and Technology at Arçelik at BEYSAD BE4 events as well as TÜSİAD Digital Transformation Meetings, witnessed his enthusiasm for this factory and the extent of vision and effort that is involved for creating this engineering marvel of a building, we dreamt about visiting it on site someday soon.

Finally on October 9, 2019, we visited Romania Arctic 4.0 factory with 40 members of ours.

We would like to thank Romania Arctic General Manager Murat Büyükerk and Romania Arctic Industry 4.0 Washing Machine Factory Director Gökhan Engin for this exclusive opportunity and Arçelik Purchasing Group Manager Aydın Dirican and the entire Arçelik and Arctic teams for supporting us with all the preparations before the organization and hosting us during our 2-day visit.

BEYSAD President Ş. Burak Özaydemir stated on the event: “BEYSAD aims to speed up the Industry 4.0 transformation of its members and increase their international activities as a part of its two main strategic goals. This visit, matching up with these goals, was carried out with a high participation rate by our members. We believe that the visit would have a significant impact in terms of both awareness and spreading practice in the sector. It is especially sublime that Arçelik plans the physical and digital architectures of its new Washing Machine facilities in Romania simultaneously, engages examplary practices for the sector, and lays a strong foundation for sustainability and future transformations, thus making a company from Turkey an industry leader  in the global arena. We would like to thank the entire Arçelik-Arctic team for their warm hospitality and detailed exchange of opinions. We hope the business will be great for Arçelik, the industry and our country and we wish the continuity of the company’s success in the future.“

First of all, in the evening of October 8, we had an enjoyable dinner with a big crowd of our members and Arçelik executives.

The factory tour started off great with the warm welcome and positive energy of all the executives on the next morning. We at first listened to the presentation given by the General Manager Murat Büyükerk about Koç Holding, its Arçelik and Beko brands and Arçelik’s impressive globalization story. He introduced to us his team and we were honored to listen to the candid story of the devoted work performed from the first person.

Next, Director Gökhan Engin presented what they envision to achieve with this factory, how this journey started and goes on realizing their dreams with enthusiasm and on strong steps.

The presentation section of the organization, carried out in Mustafa V. Koç Meeting Hall, ended by presenting BEYSAD commemorative plaques.

Afterwards we had a big surprise: We, BEYSAD family, had a signing ceremony for washing machines with all the involving executives and we were submitted an exclusive plaque containing the Romania Arctic 4.0 factory model. The signing ceremony became an unforgettable memory for each of us. We would like to extend our gratitude for this incredible kindness.

Next, we toured the factory and accompanied by detailed explanations, we had a Q&A session to keep updated on the new developments. We will be sharing the impressive explanation on the factory in the following pages with great satisfaction and pride.

We would like to thank our participating members;
Alpplas, Arma Filtre, Atasan, Bant Boru, Bolparsan, Borçelik, E.G.O., Endel, Epta, Farel, Ferel, Festo, Gençler Kablo, Murat Civata, Ono, Pasell, Ruba, San Metal, Seçil Kauçuk, Tanatar, Technocast, Tekno Kauçuk, Tora Makine, Turaş Gaz, Uğur Beton, Uneco-Üna Enerji, and Valfsan’s
executives for their participation and contributions.

In the framework of the feedbacks of the participating members, we have got tremendously happy to see the respective visit will bring vision to our members and the practices in this lighthouse of a factory will trigger special gains in terms of both awareness and expansion. We believe that this project holds critical importance for our industry and country.

Wishing good luck once again,
we hope the continuation of the success of
this exclusive structure and the Arçelik Family.

About Arçelik Romania Arctic 4.0 Washing Machine Factory…

Arçelik founded a washing machine factory in Romania with an investment of 150 million Euros and in compliance with the Industry 4.0 standards. 140 robots are functioning in the factory located in Ulmi, where all the technologies were developed by Turkish engineers.

Operated in about 150 countries, Arçelik brought to life a factory investment that will set an example for the global white goods industry as a part of their global vision. All the technologies used in the Arçelik washing machine factory built in Romania in compliance with the Industry 4.0 standards investing 150 million Euros were developed by Turkish engineers. Equipped with the Internet of Things, machine learning and data analytics practices, the factory employs about 140 fully-equipped robots in the assembly phase. The new factory is the white goods production facility with the highest level of automation in Europe. The factory’s annual production capacity is planned to reach 2.2 million pieces by 2020 and exports will be carried out to 85 countries from this very factory. 

Oğuzhan Öztürk, Assistant General Manager Responsible for Production and Technology at Arçelik, stated in his factory launch speech a few months ago that Arçelik crowned its digital competence with this smart factory in Romania, a milestone in Koç Group’s digitalization journey and said: “Holding the most advanced practices of the new industrial revolution, our smart factory will be a polestar in the white goods industry.”

Oğuzhan Öztürk, Assistant General Manager Responsible for Production and Technology at Arçelik, stated on the facilities equipped with cutting-edge technology during the factory opening: “We have crowned Arçelik’s digital competence in this smart factory that is a milestone in Koç Group’s digitalization journey. Holding the most advanced practices of the new industrial revolution, our smart factory will be a polestar in the white goods industry. Ranked among top 10 factories in the ‘Global Lighthouse Network’  list by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2019, the facilities gained its spot among the world’s most advanced production centers. Equipped with the technologies developed by Turkish engineers, the smart factory increases efficiency, decreases costs and brings more speed and flexibility to develop products to meet the needs of consumers from all around the world.”

Completed in 17 months
The company produces the washing machines of the future in the new smart factory built in complaince with the Industry 4.0 standards in Romania where it started investing by acquiring the Arctic brand in 2002. The factory was built in Ulmi with an investment of 150 million Euros and on an area of 713 thousand square meters. The construction process took 17 months.

Efficiency rose 30% with full automation
The factory, the white goods production facility with the highest level of automation in Europe, is equipped with machine learning, cyber physical systems, data analytics, and the Internet of Things. Equipped with digital and robotic technologies, the factory employs about 140 robots in the assembly phase, where data collected real-time from 22.000 points are analyzed, perfecting production processes. Over 70 per cent of the operations involve self-determining and self-administered systems. The quality conrol of the production is carried out with 100% full-automatic visual intelligence practices. High automation increases efficiency in the factory by 30 per cent. 

• The annual capacity of the factory will reach to 2.2 million pieces and exports will be carried out to 85 countries from this factory;
• Arçelik’s new factory is a signficant value for the Turkish white goods industry, the country being the world’s second biggest producer.
• The smart processes and algorithms engaged in Romania will spread to Arçelik’s other production bases.
• Digital transformation will be a milestone. Products will be shipped from here to entire Europe and other Arçelik affiliates.
• Arçelik’s new production facility in Romania is environment-friendly.
• It is an eco-friendly and resources-friendly facility that performs sustainable production. It was located in a way not to affect the migratory routes of bird coveys.
• It is a facility with low operating cost saving energy and water.
• The factory will consume 28 per cent less electricity per piece on average compared to businesses with conventional production technologies.
• With the renewable energy investments, energy efficiency and energy management practices, 540 tons of carbodioxide emission per year will be eliminated.
• With the waste water treatment facility and rain water collection system established, water equivalent to the annual consumption of 450 houses will be recycled.
• 8 per cent of the energy need of the factory comes from solar power.
• With the smart lightening system, 70 per cent energy efficiency is achieved.