Kadant is a global leader in the supply of high-value, critical components and engineered systems used in process industries worldwide. With a strong presence in the paper and tissue industry, Kadant provides innovative solutions that enhance efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. In Türkiye, the crossroad between Asia and Europe, Kadant is represented by the country manager, Mr. Sami Algan, a seasoned expert and known authority for all Kadant Flow Control solutions, bringing extensive expertise to the market.

Could you give an overview of the Turkish tissue and paper market, what are the main challenges and opportunities you face?

One of the biggest challenges in the near future is overcapacity with production exceeding domestic demand. As a result, companies are compelled to explore new export opportunities even more than before and be flexible in production planning. This creates a challenge to suppliers as different markets have varying demands; such as quality, cost, paper characteristics, and order size. As Kadant is a partner to manufacturers, we have to be aware of their challenges and support them with the right products and solutions. Additionally, fluctuating raw material and energy costs pose significant challenges. One of the important markets, for Turkish manufacturers, is Europe and “the green deal” brings extra responsibility and challenges. However, Türkiye's tissue and paper mills are equipped with new and advanced machinery, providing an excellent opportunity to implement the latest innovative technological solutions from Kadant.

What are Kadant's main goals in the coming years?

Our primary goal is to ensure that machines in Türkiye run efficiently and have high runnability, even in challenging environments. We believe that maintaining a close partnership between the supplier and manufacturer is crucial. We continue to improve our processes for “just in time” deliveries to ensure continuous production for manufacturers, while reducing stock cost. We offer top-notch expertise and local support, ensuring quick service thanks to our local presence in the region. For the moment, our team in Türkiye consists of five specialists, each with different skills and expertise, allowing us to provide tailored solutions and the best possible support to our customers. We plan to increase sales and service capacity in our team and extend our reach further in the region.

What are the main innovations and benefits Kadant is bringing to the market today?

Kadant’s key advantage lies in our extensive line of solutions, our expertise and history spans over 100 years. This allows us to understand our customers' needs deeply and offer customized solutions rather than standard products. In terms of sustainability and energy efficiency, our product line includes steam and condensate systems, water recovery systems, doctoring, and cleaning solutions with advanced technology. All are designed to reduce energy consumption and improve machine efficiency and performance to support customers to meet their goals. The real strength of our solutions lies in the extensive network of experts that make up Kadant. We have hundreds of experts worldwide, each with specific skills and knowledge, ready to provide the highest level of support. This network of colleagues, who represent excellence in the paper industry and often have extensive background in paper manufacturing plants, is our greatest asset in meeting the needs of paper companies.

How does Kadant support the market in providing technical assistance and training?

We recognize the importance of having well-trained operators and engineers, especially in a fast-growing market like Türkiye. That’s why we are developing a training program aimed at machine operators. This program will provide a general understanding of the papermaking and tissue-making processes, deep learning of critical components such as Kadant’s product portfolio, ensuring operators can run machines efficiently.

We believe this initiative is part of our responsibility to support mills as they improve the skill level of operators. The operators can then enhance machine efficiency and product quality.

Thanks to our in-depth knowledge of all stages of the papermaking process, we are able to support operators, who often have a knowledge limited to their area of specialization, by offering them a “wider perspective.”

This allows them to understand how all stages are important and to realize that choices and actions taken at one level can affect the entire process, determining the output and quality of the final product. We also use these sessions to better understand our customers’ challenges and further develop our solutions.