MEGE TECHNIC DEDICATED TO MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY
Defence Turkey: Can you please tell us about MEGE Technic’s history, its entering into the defense sector upon ROKETSAN’s order, and its current place in the Turkish defense, aviation and aerospace industry?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: MEGE Technic was founded in 2001 by our founder Mr. Ali Han after his retirement from ASELSAN and started its activities with a team of 2 engineers and nearly 10 technicians. Established with the aim of making electronic and electro-mechanical products in the field of defense and aerospace, our company’s main activity field in its first year of establishment was the production of harness and electromechanical box, panel design and production and it aimed to progress in this framework. Again, during our first year, we undertook a long-term project from ROKETAN that lasted for 5 years, and we had the opportunity to prove our capabilities and grow our team.
In the following years, we developed our cooperation with companies such as TUSAŞ, ASELSAN and FNSS, and started working as a strategic and solution partner. We achieved AS9100 Quality Management System certification in 2008. Currently, we continue our activities by carrying out production for the platforms of companies such as Airbus, Sikorsky and Boeing, as well as all defense and aerospace industry main integrators in our country, with our experienced and competent engineer and technician team of more than 200 people.
Defence Turkey: Can you inform us about the organizational structure of MEGE Technic, its performance in the last two years, and its targets and expectations for 2022?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: As of 2021, MEGE Technic decided to grow with a group structure under the name of MEGE Group. One of the group companies, MEGE Technic, continues its activities with a team of over 200 people, and MEGART Technology, our engineering company provides services in power electronics and mobile systems, with an engineer team of 18 people. MEGE Logistics (MEGELD), which is also one of the group companies, aims to provide services in Integrated Logistics Support activities as of 2022.
When we look at the organizational structure of MEGE Technic, we see that there are vertical areas of expertise, and these areas of expertise are supported by shared corporate services. Our organization, gaining strength with our General Manager Cansu Karakaş and our Group CEO Özgür Bayram, who have just joined our team, aims to grow in 2022 with increasing sales both in domestic and foreign markets.
Defence Turkey: Can you share some information on the current infrastructure, annual production capacity and production technology of the production facilities owned by MEGE Technic, which has been delivering services to the leading companies of the Turkish defense, aviation and aerospace industry since 2001?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: We have been continuing our production and assembly activities since April 2021 in our production facility with an indoor area of 15,000 sqm in the Ankara Aerospace Industry Zone (HAB). Our Harness Production Area, Electromechanical Assembly Area, ESD Protected Production Areas, Test Laboratory, EMI Braided Cable Production Area and our R&D Center, where design activities are performed, are located at this facility. Our production team consists of almost 160 experienced technicians and production & planning engineers. All production activities are managed and monitored over our ERP system.
Defence Turkey: What is MEGE Technic’s role in defense and aerospace projects in Turkey?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: We believe we have succeeded in being one of the first companies that come to mind in harness design and production, and we have contributed to many projects and platforms in our country's defense and aerospace industry within the scope of our capabilities. As a company that has been performing design activities for almost 15 years, we have provided and continue to support our solution partners and stakeholders from project initiations, in other words from the design stages to the production and then integration stages, with our knowhow and domain expertise.
Defence Turkey: Can you also inform us about MEGE Technic’s experience, capability and production infrastructure for the wire harness needs of the Turkish defense and aerospace industry? What can you tell us about the test processes you apply for the wire harness you design and produce?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: In the field of wire harness production, our infrastructure consists of cable laser marking machines, cable cutting machines, label marking machines, metal braiding machines (overbraiding), electrical test equipment and hot/cold and humidity test cabinets and an equipment pool which we gathered by working in a wide variety of projects over the years. We also continue to invest in this context.
We started our harness design activities with ASELSAN in 2008 and today with a harness design team of 15 people, we provide design services to our stakeholders such as ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, FNSS etc. We also make use of various software tools (Siemens NX, Catia, Autocad, etc.) as per the requirements of our customers.
In addition to electrical tests such as continuity, insulation resistance, high voltage, insertion loss and return loss on cable bundles, we apply environmental condition tests such as hot-cold and humidity tests when necessary, and we can test up to 12,000 connection points in this harness.
Defence Turkey: What can you tell us about MEGE Technic's export activities? Can you inform us about target markets that you plan to take a position in the future? Can you also tell us about your overseas projects?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: As part of our harness production projects for FNSS vehicles in the past, we cooperated for the domestic production in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Within this scope, local harness production facilities were established, and projects were executed and completed with know-how transfer.
We carryout production for companies such as Sikorsky, Airbus and Boeing through TUSAŞ, and thanks to such collaborations, companies get to know us directly. We are in contact with these companies for business development activities. In the coming years, we aim to do business directly with global platform providers in the defense and aerospace industry.
Defence Turkey: You have been producing harnesses for Sikorsky S-70 BlackHawk Helicopters for many years with TUSAŞ, with which you signed a Strategic Partnership contract in 2007. For how many helicopters have you produced harnesses so far? Can you inform us about the harness used in BlackHawk Helicopters? How many km of harness is needed for each helicopter and how long does it take to manufacture? Do you also take part in the laying/assembly of the harnesses you manufacture on platforms?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: We started to produce the Sikorsky S-70 harness with TUSAŞ in 2006 by producing the harnesses of the tailcone and rotor pylon parts produced by TUSAŞ for Sikorsky and our production activities are still in progress. We have produced tailcone harnesses for more than 500 helicopters so far and we are currently producing harnesses for an average of 4 tailcones per month. In this project, TUSAŞ performs the integration processes of the harnesses, but we also take part in harness integration for different projects and customers.
Additionally, we have been continuing the production of harnesses for many parts of Sikorsky helicopters, including the fuselage, for about 2 years.
Defence Turkey: Has MEGE Technic received any work packages regarding harnesses in the Turkish Utility Helicopter Program and the T625 GÖKBEY Turkish Light Utility Helicopter Program carried out by TUSAŞ, the main contractor? Can you please brief us on the activities you have performed in this context?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: Yes, our company has a large work package within the scope of harness production for the Turkish Utility Helicopters. Harness production for the first 5 helicopters has been completed and we continue to work intensely to meet the requirements.
Defence Turkey: MEGE Technic is on list of Airbus approved suppliers and has also been manufacturing the fuselage wiring harness for A400M Military Transport Aircraft as the sole source since 2012 with TUSAŞ. What can you tell us about this work? How many aircraft/fuselages have been delivered so far and what is the total requirement?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: A400M wiring harness production has been our largest wiring business so far, both in terms of volume and project schedule. All harnesses of the A400M aircraft, except the wings, are produced by our company as a single source. In the project, where the total requirement is for 184 aircraft, we started the production with the 8th aircraft, and the harness production for the 132nd aircraft is in progress.
Defence Turkey: The T129 ATAK Helicopter is another platform, manufactured by TUSAŞ, for which you have been producing harnesses. For how many helicopters has your company produced wiring harnesses? How many kilometers of wiring are manufactured and laid for each T129 ATAK Helicopter? What are the differences between Phase-I, Phase-II and Phase-III models in terms of wiring? Does MEGE Technic take part in the transformation of existing Phase-I helicopters to Phase-II in terms of wiring? Is the wiring harness of T129B Helicopters to be produced for the Philippines and Pakistan also manufactured by your company?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: Our company also takes part in the production of T129 ATAK Helicopter wiring harnesses, but the requirements for the project were narrowed in 2021. We are also involved in the transformation activities in Phase-2. We haven’t received any orders within the scope of the needs for the Philippines and Pakistan.
Defence Turkey: Can you inform our readers about the activities you have conducted on Naval Projects together with ASELSAN?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: Wiring harness designs have been made by our company for many different naval projects of ASELSAN and the services we provide to the ASELSAN SST group in this regard continue. Also, in the EU Border Security Project, besides the harness designs and production, the cable terminations on the ship have also been completed by us. In the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Ship Project, we have completed both the wiring production and termination, the preparation of the user-level and maintenance manuals of the communication systems, as well as the installation of the communication devices and their integration into the platform.
Defence Turkey: What can you tell us about the project-based wiring design services you have provided for other companies in the defense industry such as ROKETSAN and FNSS? For which projects and platforms have you provided such services service so far?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: We worked for these companies within the scope of wiring design and production for various projects. The leading projects within the scope of wiring design were Atmaca, Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher (ÇNRA) and Teber Projects for ROKETSAN, and Special Purpose Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicle (ÖMTTZA), Armored Amphibious Assault Vehicle (ZAHA) and Kaplan (Indonesian Vehicles) Projects for FNSS.
Defence Turkey: Considering the fact that the only way sustainability can be achieved is through innovation could you inform our readers about the company's approach to R&D and its ongoing studies?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: One of the vertical specialization areas in our company is our group, where we gather R&D Projects, develop and produce products specific to customer demands. We aim to extend the number of our engineers in this group in 2022, to complete more projects in this regard and to make our mark in different fields of the defense sector with our own products.
Defence Turkey: Can you inform us about MEGART Technology, one of the Group companies established in 2019 to produce solutions and products in power electronics, power supplies, motion systems and test systems? Can you brief us on the company's current product range and the projects it has undertaken or plans to undertake?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: MEGART Technology was founded with a team of experts who have worked in the design of power electronics and motion electronic systems for many years at Aselsan. MEGART Technology is a company that offers engineering solutions for power systems such as power supplies, power distribution units, etc., in accordance with the military standards and customer requirements for ground, naval and air platforms, and has strong design skills and focuses on product development. We believe that our company, which already has a competent technical staff, will make its mark in the sector with the knowhow and experience gained from the projects it has completed, and the products and systems it has developed under the scope of TUBITAK projects.
Defence Turkey: What would you like to say about your sales targets in the domestic and international markets, technology acquisition, investments and added value that you aim to provide to the country for the next era?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: With the experience we have gained so far in the field of wiring harness production, our strategic goal is set as to be the supplier of companies abroad that work as TIER 1 in the field of aviation, and to turn MEGE Technic into TIER 1 in the following stage.
As MEGE Technic and MEGART Technology, we will continue to work to expand our product portfolio by developing subsystems and products that the industry needs. We will undertake a restructuring process to continue the production, integration and after-sales activities of the products we have developed and designed. Our goal in this area will be the export of our products.
Defence Turkey: Is there anything you would like to add as final remarks for our readers?
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: As a Group, our main objective is to be a competitive and high-quality company that offers products and services to the international market. The initial step to achieve this is to have a qualified workforce. We will continue to expand our workforce in the upcoming period.
Financial strength is also a key criterion to compete in the international arena, and we are aware that we will need cooperation to compete with companies that are stronger than us. We will have negotiations to this end in the forthcoming period. We would like to take this opportunity to express that we are open to cooperation and joint projects with all companies in the industry.
Defence Turkey: We thank you for your time on behalf of our readers and wish you success in your work.
Özgür BAYRAM & Cansu KARAKAŞ: We would like to thank you for providing us the opportunity to introduce both the MEGE family and its products
