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Akana Engineering Chairman of the Board Köksal ÖZDEMİR: “In our 30th year, we trust in our experienced team, our strong production infrastructure and the references we have built to date, and we are moving strongly into the future.”

Among the SMEs that form the backbone of the defence and aviation sector, some carry out their own R&D in a specific field, create their own designs and manufacture them in-house. Akana Engineering, which set out in 1990, is one of these SMEs. With its work particularly on energetic material processes and equipment, the company is an experienced and reliable solution partner for the prime contractors operating in this field.

MSI Magazine spoke with Chairman Köksal Özdemir about Akana Engineering’s 30-year journey and its position in the sector today. Read the interview (in Turkish): https://lnkd.in/emyGDZb

As a result of the “Supplier Performance Evaluation” carried out by TAI, our company has been rated as a “SILVER” subcontractor. The evaluation took into account product quality, adherence to delivery schedules and programme tracking performance. The result means “Satisfactory Supplier, Meets Expectations”.

Forbes Türkiye featured Akana Engineering in an article titled “Every Design a First”. The article describes how the company, founded in 1990 and based at the Technology Development Centre in Ostim Technopark, Ankara, designs and manufactures equipment to meet the needs of leading defence companies – many of which are the first domestically produced examples in Türkiye.

The article also covers the company’s work on ammunition production machinery such as explosive mixers, its demilitarisation projects, and the engineering approach of founder Köksal Özdemir. The original article (in Turkish) is shown below.

Project Summary:

The project is part of the infrastructure work of a larger project aimed at bringing airbag technology – used in automobiles and not previously manufactured in Türkiye – to our country. The short-term goal of the company using the equipment is to export the bagged propellant, which becomes the final product through this equipment, to foreign manufacturers of airbag inflators.

Within the scope of the project, prototypes of airbag propellant cube-cutting and propellant bagging equipment were designed and manufactured. These machines are used to cut the propellant – which initiates the chain of reactions that deploys the airbag in a collision – to specific dimensions and then to bag it.
Objective: to acquire all technological capabilities related to airbag production.

Technological and Socio-Economic Gains:

The prototypes were sent to the production site where live propellant is cut and bagged, subjected to performance tests there and, through improvements based on the process capability (Cpk) values obtained in production, bagged propellant production was achieved successfully.

Furthermore, after the bagged propellant produced with this prototype equipment was exported in the 3rd period and approved by the importing company, ROKETSAN A.Ş. placed an order for 4 additional bagging machines. The company is currently exporting to the United States with 5 machines operating 24 hours a day.

Our company has been awarded the AS 9100 Rev C Quality Management System certificate for the aviation, space and defence industries.

15.05.2017 – Akana Engineering took part in IDEF 2017, the 13th International Defence Industry Fair, held in Istanbul on 9–12 May 2017.

The R&D Center Certificate granted to our company by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology.

Following an audit, Akana Engineering has qualified as an “ASELSAN Approved Design Subcontractor”.

The Special Award for Domestic Product Design, presented by ASELSAN, was handed to Akana Engineering R&D Director Köksal Özdemir by Murat Ertek, Electronic Design Manager of ASELSAN SST Power and Control Systems.

The system, whose avionics software was developed entirely by TAI, was launched from a launcher designed and manufactured by AKANA and TAI, and flown with the TJ90, Türkiye’s first indigenous jet engine developed by TEI. Tests were completed successfully using Karel’s original EGI as the inertial measurement unit and Tualcom’s national data link.

We have completed the delivery of the 500-Gallon Planetary Mixer for explosives, whose design, manufacturing and testing were all carried out in-house at Akana Engineering.

A letter from our founder Köksal Özdemir to Akana employees:

Dear Colleagues,

Our Code of Ethics and Principles, which will form the basis of our operations and of our communication with our employees, customers, suppliers/subcontractors and regulatory authorities, has been prepared and published to guide you. The purpose of our Code of Ethics and Principles is to define the rules that our managers and employees must follow while fulfilling their duties and responsibilities. I have every confidence that we will represent these rules with care, maintain our processes correctly and strengthen our trust-based relationships with our customers. As the Akana Family, I thank you in advance for your diligence.

With love and respect,

Köksal ÖZDEMİR

Chairman of the Board

Our Code of Ethics and Principles:

Code of Conduct:

Every Akana Engineering employee:

• Is honest, ethical and trustworthy, and stands by all colleagues, customers and the duties entrusted to them.
• Is respectful, tolerant and modest, and sincere and courteous in every action.
• Maintains open and fair relationships with customers and colleagues, based on trust.
• Is open to personal and professional development and always welcomes criticism and suggestions aimed at improving the work.
• Avoids any behaviour that could damage Akana’s corporate identity and reputation.

Prevention of Conflicts of Interest:

• Akana Engineering employees carry out the duties assigned by the company with dedication and without regard to personal interests. While doing so, they do not use company vehicles, computers, measuring and hand tools, office equipment or similar resources allocated to them for personal needs, and they use them with the utmost care to prevent any damage or loss.
• In order for the company’s objectives to be achieved on time and with the expected quality, Akana Engineering employees never put personal interests ahead of the company’s interests, and they contribute to resolving any issues with colleagues and to maintaining a harmonious working environment.
• Akana Engineering employees do not use company assets for private needs without permission.
• It is unacceptable for Akana Engineering employees to make personal arrangements, engage in activities or carry out financial transactions with companies with which Akana Engineering may enter into agreements, in a way that would weaken Akana Engineering’s potential advantages during negotiations.

Working Life:

• Akana Engineering employees take a high level of responsibility and set an example in their work, contributing to it in a rational, efficient and constructive way.
• Senior management and managers inform their team members about the policies, practices and procedures that make up the company structure, lead by example and always support them in their working life.
• Akana Engineering team members set aside the desire to be a star, share in the overall success with a sense of trust and provide every possible support to develop the knowledge and skills of their teammates. In this way team spirit is strengthened and the work always aims to be better.
• Teamwork is essential for the adoption and spread of the company culture at Akana Engineering, and building this awareness is an important and critical duty of all managers.
• Akana Engineering employees adopt, apply and continuously improve the Akana system manual, procedures, instructions and other company values and requirements.
• Akana Engineering employees use, protect and develop company resources (company cars, assigned measurement and test equipment, office supplies and similar) efficiently, and aim for the systems delivered at the end of projects to serve the interests of the country.
• Equality within the company is a critical principle at Akana Engineering. Employees contribute to ensuring equality, preventing discrimination, always acting fairly and strengthening the sense of trust and belonging.
• Akana Engineering employees do not ignore psychological pressure or harassment by one employee towards another, do not protect, encourage or facilitate those who engage in it, take measures to prevent psychological harassment, and report such situations to their manager or senior management.
• In recruitment and employment, Akana Engineering provides equal rights to its employees without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnic or national origin, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or any other legally protected status.
• No tolerance is shown towards behaviour and actions of Akana Engineering employees that violate this principle; employees who harass another employee or a third party in these respects are subject to disciplinary action.

Confidentiality:

• Akana Engineering employees protect the confidentiality of information obtained in the course of their duties and do not use such information for their own or others’ personal gain.
• Salary information is personal. It is not considered appropriate for employees to share their own salary information with other employees, to try to learn other employees’ salaries or to act against the principle of salary confidentiality in any way. Such behaviour is subject to disciplinary rules.
• Confidential company information is not discussed in public places inside or outside the company.
• Akana Engineering employees do not use company information, documents or records outside Akana Engineering for private purposes.
• Employees do not disclose confidential, non-public information and documents belonging to their previous employers to Akana Engineering or to other employees, and do not ask other employees to disclose such information belonging to their previous employers.

Environmental Awareness:

• Akana Engineering is environmentally conscious and protects both the present and the future. It complies with applicable laws and regulations and promotes this awareness.
• Akana Engineering works to develop environmentally friendly systems and products, protects natural resources and operates in compliance with occupational health and safety legislation.

Respect for Corporate and Personal Intellectual Property Rights:

• Akana Engineering observes and protects corporate intellectual property rights over the products of the human mind, such as patents and designs.

Use of Social Media:

• Akana Engineering employees do not publish messages on social media that offend, harass, discriminate against, defame, humiliate or threaten, or that contain false statements about, any person or group on the basis of race, ethnic or national origin, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or any other legally protected status. Disciplinary rules apply to employees who engage in such actions.
• Akana Engineering employees do not share information obtained through their work, or information about internal processes, in any environment outside AKANA.

Dirinler Sanayi ve Makina A.Ş. introduced its new, 100% domestically produced Drinns-brand DCNC GF 653515-5 five-axis gantry-type CNC milling machine at a ceremony held at its factory in İzmir Atatürk Organized Industrial Zone.

The machine, designed to move simultaneously on five axes over a 6.5 m × 3.5 m × 1.5 m working envelope, is a product of Turkish engineers and technicians. As highlighted at the ceremony, it is delivered to Akana Engineering, where it will be used to machine high-precision parts for the defence and aerospace industries.

ASO 54th Year Awards – R&D Center of the Year

At the ASO (Ankara Chamber of Industry) 54th Year Awards Ceremony held on 22 January 2018 at the Presidential Complex with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 54 successful companies received awards, including ŞA-RA – one of Türkiye’s most successful industrial organisations – ASELSAN A.Ş. and Akana Engineering A.Ş.

ŞA-RA Energy Construction Trade and Industry Inc., chaired by our Chairman of the Board Mr. Şadi TÜRK, received awards in the “2017 Corporate Tax” and “Value Added Created” categories. The awards presented by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were received by our Chairman of the Board Şadi Türk.