"Thinking globally, seeing the whole world as a market, and thinking that you can sell to many countries means having a new vision." Mustafa Devedaşı, General Manager of Devas Elevator, said that with this vision, Devas not only limited to the Middle East, but also commissioned new generation home and handicapped elevators with proven quality and performance all over the world, including Europe. Stating that the basic principle in making them export 60 percent of their production capacity is due to the power of their products to appeal to every place, every country and every customer, especially the company's experience of more than a quarter of a century and product quality, Devedaşı said, "In addition to the quality and safe products we bring to the industry, we are a preferred brand because of the expertise we have and the consultancy services we provide to the disabled elevator industry." 

Hello Mr. Mustafa, how was 2021? What are your 2022 export projections?
Hello. We all know that 2020 recorded in history as a year in which the economy, trade, production, and ways of doing business were deeply affected by the pandemic. Of course, 2021 was a very active year after a year in which economies experienced deep turmoil, except for a few industrys and the shrinkage of economies all over the world reaching 20 percent and the most serious recession in the economy. Undoubtedly, it is useful to underline that we have succeeded in this stagnation by positively differentiating ourselves from our competitors with our strong infrastructure, our ability to adapt to challenging conditions, the radical decisions we have taken and the new generation elevator systems we have added to our product portfolio. We worked hard with all our units, we never stopped, and we achieved our monthly, 3-month, 9-month and 12-month export targets one by one. In 2022, we will continue to walk towards bigger goals with the same faith and determination. With the change in the global supply chain, the rising demand of the elevator industry and the normalization in the economy, we will work non-stop to increase our export targets and double our 2021 export figures. The old normals in trade left their place to a new understanding due to reasons such as shipping, production, and epidemic-based wide closures after the pandemic. Our company, which has survived the first deep shock of the epidemic and now sees the future from a clearer perspective, has determined its 2022 targets and started to implement them.

What have you determined for the sustainable export policy of 2022?
A new potential for the industry has emerged with the increase in the demand for low-rise and garden houses after the pandemic, the use of summer houses all year, and the increase in the need for access between floors, which is ignored in summer houses. Our anticipation of increase in the renovation market led to the emergence of new products with the joint roadmap of our sales and R&D units. We will increase our market share by guaranteeing "comfort" by diversifying the transportation between floors with different and correct products, and that this need, which is seen in multi-comfort buildings and houses, will take place more in our agenda in the coming period; we will continue our export activities uninterruptedly to increase our exports to Europe, Turkic Republics, Africa, the Balkans, Asia, and the Middle East. For Turkish companies to become a worldwide brand, Turkey must first become a brand. If the word 'TURKEY' becomes a worldwide brand, Turkish companies will overcome the branding problem more easily. We have all the necessary opportunities and capacities for this profession, and we are ready to do our best in this regard.

What kind of work are you doing to increase your market share?
The pandemic, which spread around the world and changed the course of the economy, social life, and daily functioning, stopped production in all industrys with its size and conceptual uncertainty, leaving strategies meaningless. However, our ability to manage crises and our memory of coming out of many crises by getting stronger with our R&D and flexible production capabilities have enabled us to turn this global crisis into a victory. It is very important for us to introduce new products to the industry in line with the needs of the elevator market and the demands of our customers. For this reason, we have a success indicator that we have been following for many years; the share of new products in our turnover, namely the “innovation coefficient”. Currently, the share of new products in our turnover is 23.5 percent, so we can say that one out of every 4 products demanded by the market is a new product. We will maintain this goal in 2022 as well. We are also aware that the concept of innovation is not just about a new product. For this reason, besides production, we focus on efficient packaging, transportation, easy transportation, advantageous storage, and easy assembly of the product, and we try to produce rational solutions for these issues. Currently, the MRP system, which improves production and planning activities with the investments we have made in our facilities and in the digital field, has started to be used and functions such as "Quality, Environment, Occupational Health and Safety" have been integrated into business processes. We act with the awareness that in order to achieve successes that will represent our country in the global arena, we must first develop ourselves and achieve regional successes.

Could you tell us about your current investments and R & D studies?
2021 has been a year in which we have continued our investments without interruption. Instead of meeting our laser cutting needs by purchasing services from our suppliers, we have commissioned our laser sheet and profile cutting machine park by purchasing our ceiling crane need, by designing and producing our ceiling cranes in-house. As the Devas family, many innovation, investment, and design activities for our country continue without slowing down, including during the pandemic. Some of these have been completed, patent studies have been completed and some of them are still in progress. Tubelift, which is one of the products where sales and marketing activities started, and Octalift came to life in 2020 and achieved a very fast sales graphic. We currently have new projects in progress, and the new generation products that we expect to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2023 have reached the prototype stage. Devas is an R&D company that produces different design and concept products rather than the profile of a conventional production company. Our job is never to produce standard products, but we have always developed many applications, software, and hardware to produce the best elevator. The investments we made in the "Internet of Things (IoT)" technologies, for which we determined the roadmap in 2018, have shown us once again how the right steps are with the investments, we have made in information technologies, as the pandemic has increased the need for digitalization. Our elevator design practice, which we developed with the Devas R&D unit, has completed its third year, and improvements and new investments have been made in line with the pandemic needs. The user-friendly elevator configurator allows Devas customers to explore all the available options and then tailor the design that best suits their wishes and needs in real-time 3D directly on the website. This not only increases engagement from our customers, but also provides a better understanding of the Devas product range and the opportunities we offer for our customers to design their dream elevator. With our Elevator Design (https://tasarla.devas.com.tr/) application, our partners all over the world offer their customers the opportunity to design the products they will buy together. With the number of stops, color options, hinge directions, automatic or manual options, and panel or glass coating options of our products such as the disabled elevator, Homelift or Tubelift, it offers the opportunity to see many details from how they will look in their homes to how many seconds they will reach the floor by simulating live. This application will take its place in our new products that we will put into use soon, and we are adding new features every day.

The software, hardware and mobile applications of the GD700 door opening/closing kit, which we started R&D studies in 2019, were supplied from Turkey or abroad and we decided to develop domestically, and they have been completed and entered our production line after completing 15 months of field trials. GD700 door opening systems, which once again broke new ground in its field, is a system where all settings and parameters can be made from mobile smartphones or tablets via our mobile application applications with 3-phase 24Vdc brushless motor technology. In terms of being a user-friendly product, different models of doors and their weights, acceleration and deceleration ramps, pressure settings, acceleration torque, impact and compression moments, and wind forces for outdoor areas have been analyzed in detail, and its software and hardware components have been designed considering all possible scenarios. It can work synchronously with master and slave operating modes for double-winged swing doors. With the special driving algorithm, we have developed, maximum torque capability at minimum revolutions and full closing of the door with the impact mode in similar imported products, this product is equipped with the ability to close the door sensitively without slamming.

How do you differentiate your organization in the industry as a company?
We believe that living spaces are our most valuable asset and it is everyone's right to know which home elevator is used behind this asset or the reliability of the manufacturer. While our customers prefer our products, they receive reliable products the performance of which is guaranteed by us, and it has the certificate that the quality and safety of our products are approved by Europe. We know that a healthy and safe life is the fundamental right of every living thing. Our customers know that we will not allow the production and use of any of our products other than the place of use, geographical conditions, and standards, and they trust us. Our products are developed in terms of production techniques as well as being continuously developed within the scope of P&D in line with the requirements of the age, technology and changing standards and directives with the right materials and appropriate production standards in terms of quality. Special productions in accordance with corrosion conditions in "Ada Pvag" class due to special geographical conditions such as ships, ports and marinas, special requests from our domestic or foreign customers such as AŞTİ or national gardens, or in accordance with special specifications created by public institutions, in line with TS EN81-40 or TS EN81- Our ability to provide consultancy, project-based special and flexible production in accordance with 41 standards is one of the important values of our company. We have a market share of 60 percent in the disabled elevator category and 75 percent in the home elevator category. To fulfill the conditions required by being the strongest player in the disabled equipment market in Turkey;we owe it to our continuous and sustainable work on quality, innovation and maintaining the trust of our valued customers who prefer us. With the motivation of this successful period, which we left behind 2021, we took steps with the goals of growth both in the domestic and foreign markets, as well as the investments that will guide our industry. This year, we aim to increase our market share by increasing our production volumes and enriching our product range. In this context, new projects that improve our service and service quality, especially R&D studies, are on our agenda.

What can you list as the main developments-events that you consider important for the elevator industry in 2021 and that affect our industry?
During the pandemic process, we rapidly renewed our production program and semi-finished product stocks in line with the changing market needs and were able to adapt them according to a new commercial understanding. When we examined the year 2021 from an objective point of view, the threats we encountered were more than the opportunities. At the beginning of the negative effects, the chip crisis, raw material supply bottlenecks, sudden changes in raw material prices and disproportionate price increases negatively affected us and manufacturing companies like us. Another of the most important problems is the shortage of ships, equipment and containers experienced by logistics companies, and we can say that the difficulty in finding containers in this process and the resulting excessive price increases.

What is your prediction for Turkey and the world economy in 2022?

It has been more than two years since the global economy experienced an unprecedented shock in the last months of 2019 with the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and pandemic. It seems that the economic and political consequences of the pandemic, in which millions of living things lost their lives, will continue both in 2022 and in 2023. It is inevitable that 2022 will be the year of new normalization and adaptation to this process, in which strict quarantines are not foreseen after the pandemic, but nevertheless, the rapid rise in commodity prices in 2021, the increase in accumulated demand and the gradual rise in energy prices will have a negative impact on manufacturers. It should not be forgotten that the 2019 levels cannot be reached in global travels, and that the increasing mining needs in electric vehicle technology, which has developed with the climate crisis and the green energy revolution, can affect every industry.

What are your projections for Turkey and the world economy for 2022?
It has been more than two years since the global economy experienced an unprecedented shock in the last months of 2019 with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that the economic and political consequences of the pandemic, in which millions of living things lost their lives, will continue both in 2022 and in 2023. It is inevitable that 2022 will be the year of new normalization and adaptation to this process, in which strict quarantines are not foreseen after the pandemic, but nevertheless, the rapid rise in commodity prices in 2021, the increase in accumulated demand and the gradual rise in energy prices will have a negative impact on manufacturers. It should noted that the 2019 levels cannot be reached in global travels, and that the increasing mining needs in electric vehicle technology, which has developed with the climate crisis and the green energy revolution, can affect every industry in reality.