“Miilux OY Turkey’s Only Institution with End-to-End Armor Steel Production Competence
Defence Turkey: First off, thank you for making the time for our interview. In line with Turkey's vision of producing domestic ballistic steel, OYAK purchased 70% of the outstanding shares of Miilux, a Finland-based ballistic steel manufacturer in 2019, in order to strengthen domestic production and founded Miilux OY/Miilux Yüksek Mukavemetli Çelik Üretim A.Ş., establishing the only flat steel heat treatment plant. Can you give us a brief introduction to the company Miilux OY? What can you tell us about the founding purpose, the goals set, and the activities performed during the past two years?
Yavuz YELDAN: The strategic move of OYAK through the acquisition of Miilux OY has made it one of the world's leading ballistic steel producers in Turkey, and we started to produce our country's first domestic ballistic steel. With this move, we, as OYAK, have acquired all the ballistic steel technology of Miilux OY and have become the only institution in our country with end-to-end ballistic steel production competence.
Today, together with the factories in Finland and Poland, we have the capacity to meet the ballistic steel needs of our country with domestic steel plates. With the domestic ballistic steel production plant commissioned in Manisa, we are also in a position to take a share from the European market as well. With the production of ballistic steel not produced in Turkey previously, we not only give support to industrial development but also take an important step to protect our defense industry from foreign dependency and strengthen the Turkish economy.
Our main objective is to reach the capacity to meet our country's ballistic steel needs completely on our own. Another key objective is to become a regional ballistic steel supplier. In the first stage, we aim to increase the share of our wear-resistant steel product group in the export market and then to double the annual production capacity of our Manisa plant in line with the demand of the domestic market. Furthermore, we completed the qualification process across several leading defense industry companies and initiated ballistic steel deliveries.
Defence Turkey: Can you inform us about Miilux OY's current organizational structure, personnel status, company's performance over last two years, and targets and expectations for 2022?
Yavuz YELDAN: As you know, Miilux OY is a Finland-based company and has production plants in Poland and Turkey. The Board of Directors of our company, the majority of which is owned by OYAK, is organized as per the shareholding status. All decisions taken are put into practice after being discussed by the board of directors. There are also decisions among them concerning the companies in both Poland and Turkey. Thanks to our solid organizational structure, we have made significant progress in the last two years, especially in the field of ballistic steel, despite the lengthy product development and qualification process of ballistic steel. We have added many of the world-class products, especially those needed by the Turkish Defense Industry, to our product range.
We carry out effective activities with our Miilux Quality and Customer Technical Services team and our design and development team at Erdemir R&D center. I believe that with Miilux's experience, solid infrastructure, and R&D competence, we will render our company more effective globally in 2022 thereafter.
Defence Turkey: Can you inform us about the current infrastructure, annual production capacity, and production technology infrastructure of Miilux OY's production plants?
Yavuz YELDAN: In our Finland and Poland factories, ballistic steel and wear-resistant steel are produced. The Finnish factory, which has a team and machinery specialized in component production, and the Polish factory, which is active in the wear-resistant steel group used in the mining industry, has a total annual production capacity of 24 thousand tons. Together with our Manisa factory with a capacity of 14 thousand tons, we have increased our total capacity to 38 thousand tons. All the factories supply their raw materials from Erdemir, which operates within the OYAK Group of Companies. Erdemir is our sole supplier for high-quality raw materials best fit for heat treatment. We work together in product development and raw material supply processes.
Despite the recent completion of the qualification process of our Manisa factory, we, as a group, have a market share of 32 percent in Turkey in terms of ballistic steel, and we aim to cover almost 90 percent of the ballistic steel requirements.
Defence Turkey: Which capabilities and technologies do you prioritize in the field of ballistic steel production? What capabilities make you stand out among other domestic and foreign manufacturers?
Yavuz YELDAN: We make a difference with the continuous support we provide to our customers with our Miilux Quality and Customer Technical Services team and our design and development team at the Erdemir R&D center. Our expert teams continue to develop products and services aiming to cover the requirements in the best possible way by making use of the latest technology design, analysis, and laboratory facilities, as well as many years of experience and knowhow and working in close cooperation with our customers. Additionally, we provide our design, development, and technical support services to our customers, covering the entire development chain, from steel chemical analysis design to material selection, from the calculation of wear rates to ballistic protection levels, from workshop support to production efficiency recommendations. In all processes, we make a great deal of difference with the quality of our products and the product designs we have developed.
We make use of various laboratory and test center capabilities in our design and development activities. These are Spectral Analysis and X-Rays Laboratory, Material Characterization Laboratory, Raw Material, and Steel Production Simulation Laboratory, R&D Simulation Center, Miilux Quality Laboratory and Process Center, Outsource Accredited Ballistic Test Centers. With all these technological equipment and technical infrastructure, we contribute to our customers in many stages as part of our R&D and Customer Technical Services.
Defence Turkey: Can you share an update about your ongoing R&D studies on heat-treated high strength steel, which is one of the main input materials for industries such as defense, mining and construction equipment?
Yavuz YELDAN: As Miilux, we meticulously perform design, improvement, and development activities for Ballistic Steel and Wear-Resistant Steel product groups for the purpose of improving existing products, developing new products and gaining experience intended for mining, construction equipment, and other sectors.
Defence Turkey: Do you have any data on the financial value of the contribution made to the country's economy by producing heat-treated high-yield steels in Turkey instead of importing it where we have seen difficulties recently?
Yavuz YELDAN: Turkey's annual need for heat treated high strength steel is approximately 100-130 thousand tons. Most of this amount is high-yield steel, some are wear plates, and some are ballistic steel. The financial value of all such steels is over €150 Million. Initially, we are focusing ballistic steel and wear plate, and we aim to fill the production capacity of our Turkey factory mostly with these two products. However, we continue to work on other product groups as well. We will complete our trial production runs as soon as possible.
Defence Turkey: Miilux OY continues its activities with the aim of reducing Turkey's foreign dependency in ballistic steel, with the ballistic steel and wear-resistant steel production by using qualified flat steel produced by Erdemir and İsdemir, the OYAK Group Companies. In this framework, what can you tell us about the Miilux Protection 280T, 440T, 500T, and 600T ballistic steel plates that was developed for the defense industry and their areas of use?
Yavuz YELDAN: We market our ballistic steels under the brand name Miilux Protection. Ballistic steels under this brand have high penetration resistance and high hardness. In the product family, there are types of bendable and weldable armor steel as well as options that do not have such features but provide higher protection.
Miilux Protection 280T stands out as a product that is preferred in the design of vehicles such as tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers, with its blast and shock wave resistance and high hardness. Protection 440T is preferred in applications that require penetration, impact, and explosion resistance on the sides and bottom of armored vehicles. Protection 500T is used in parts of armored vehicles that require forming in the side, roof, and turret armors. The Miilux Protection 600T is the preferred choice for its high hardness armored vehicle manufacturers as it can be shaped in current add-on and stand-alone designs without any weld-twisting.
Defence Turkey: What can you tell us about the ballistic and blast-resistant levels (STANAG 4569 standards/certifications) of these armor solutions? How did you resolve the ballistic/blast certification issue for the ballistic steels you produce? Were the tests conducted in Turkey or abroad?
Yavuz YELDAN: All the ballistic steel we produce are subject to lot-based (cast-based) tests under the supervision of international or domestic accredited institutions, with the guarantees we have stated in the Miilux datasheets. Currently, we can guarantee the majority of ballistic protection levels at world standards.
Defence Turkey: Can you compare the Miilux Protection 280T, 440T, 500T, and 600T ballistic steel plates that you have developed for the defense industry with the Ruukki RAMOR 400, 500 and 550 and ARMOX 500T ballistic steel plates, which are also used in armored vehicle platforms produced in Turkey, both in terms of strength/hardness and weight values?
Yavuz YELDAN: We always share the guaranteed qualities and features of our products with users. The ballistic steels we produce have already started to be used in armored vehicles produced with ballistic steels of other imported brands. Briefly, all the requirements met by the aforesaid ballistic steels are covered by the ballistic steels we produce.
Defence Turkey: Is Miilux OY ballistic steels used in the ongoing armored vehicle projects in the defense industry such as ALTAY MBT, New Generation Light Armored Combat Vehicles, Weapon Carrier Vehicles, and Special Purpose Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicles? Can you inform us about the armored vehicle manufacturers and defense industry companies that your company supplies products to in Turkey?
Yavuz YELDAN: We have started ballistic steel sales and deliveries to many leading companies of the defense industry after completing the qualification process. We have the potential to meet all of Turkey's heat treated high strength steel needs, including ballistic steel, without the need for external sources. We are rapidly transforming this potential that we have put into practice. Today, we provide products to leading companies in the defense industry such as BMC, OTOKAR, FNSS, NUROL MAKİNA, KATMERCİLER, ROKETSAN, and ASELSAN.
Defence Turkey: Is Miilux OY able to meet all of Turkey's high-strength steel needs, including ballistic steel, without the need for external sources? Is there any data on Turkey's annual need for ballistic steel requirement in the field of the defense industry? How much of this need can be covered by Miilux OY today?
Yavuz YELDAN: With the ballistic steel factory, we not only reduce Turkey's ballistic steel imports but also enable exports. Thanks to this plant that was established to meet all of Turkey's annual needs for ballistic steel, which is between 17-20 thousand tons, we aim to put an end to the import of ballistic steel. When we look at the previous years, there was an annual import of around 18 thousand tons, but currently, around 6 thousand tons of ballistic steel is imported on average. This varies according to the production capacity of the defense industry platform manufacturers. Today, although the qualification process in our Manisa factory has just been completed, we, as a group, have a market share of 32% in Turkey in terms of ballistic steel. With the completion of all our qualification processes, we aim to meet approximately 90% or even all the ballistic steel needs in Turkey.
Defence Turkey: Can you inform us about Miilux OY's export activities? What can you tell us about the products exported as well as the export performance of the company in 2020 and 2021? How much of your total production is for export?
Yavuz YELDAN: We do not export from our Manisa factory yet. We primarily meet domestic ballistic steel needs. From our Finland and Poland plants, we sell to countries such as Germany, South Africa, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Ukraine, and Nigeria.
Defence Turkey: To which regions do you mainly conduct sales? Can you inform us about the target markets that you plan to be more involved in within the upcoming period? What can you tell us about your overseas projects?
Yavuz YELDAN: Currently, we sell to Germany, South Africa, Uzbekistan, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, and Nigeria from our Finland and Poland plants. We have not yet started export activities from our Manisa factory. In the upcoming period, we will increase Turkey's presence in the foreign market by meeting the needs of countries such as Germany, Ukraine, the Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, South Africa, and Nigeria.
Defence Turkey: For which other fields do you perform activities in the defense industry as Miilux OY, except for heat-treated high-strength steels?
Yavuz YELDAN: Our P&D and R&D activities continue in different product groups. For the time being, we are continuing our trials for HY100 and HY130 submarine ballistic steels. In addition, we have initiated our trial production to produce S690QL and S960QL high-yield steel, which is used in the production of onboard equipment.
Today, we produce in 2 main areas: ballistic steel and wear resistant steel. Our efforts also continue for several new products. There are 6 tempered ballistic steel grades in our product range. We produce Miilux Protection 280T, 360T, 440T, 500T, 600T as equivalents of MIL-DTL-12560 Class 1-2-4A, MIL-DTL-46100, and MIL-DTL-32332 Class 1 standards. We carried out the analysis design and casting of the 300T, and we continue the development studies. Furthermore, we continue the development studies for new products as the equivalent of the MILDTL-32332 Class 2 standard.
Defence Turkey: Can you evaluate the IDEF '21 Fair, which Miilux OY attended at booth 710A in Hall 7?
Yavuz YELDAN: We were delighted to be deemed worthy of an award for our contributions to ASELSAN's "Nationalization Project" at the IDEF '21 Defense Industry Fair, which was organized under the auspices of the Presidency and hosted by the Ministry of National Defense.
During the fair, ballistic, welding, and bending samples of our Protection 280T, 440T, 500T products, which are in high demand in the domestic defense industry, were displayed. The ballistic and bending samples of our Protection 600T product, which we have recently developed and started to market, were also exhibited. Even though the bending of Protection 600T products is quite tough, we were able to present the bent samples to the participants at our booth. In addition, our products related to our perforated ballistic steel production were also exhibited at the fair.
Defence Turkey: What would you like to say about your sales targets in the domestic and international markets, technology acquisition, investment, and added value that you aim to provide to the country over the next decade?
Yavuz YELDAN: Initially, we plan to eliminate the foreign dependency on ballistic steel. We aim to render all heavy equipment and component manufacturers, especially those domestically producing wear plates, to be able to produce with domestic steel. In order to facilitate this, we need to increase our production capacity. We will achieve the necessary growth in the short, medium, and long term with our investment plans.
Defence Turkey: Mr. YELDAN, in closing do you have any final words to convey to our readers?
Yavuz YELDAN: Briefly, I would like to say that with this strategic step taken, any supply problems that may arise from possible embargoes have been avoided. We have the capacity to produce all heat treated high strength steels that our country needs, especially ballistic steel. In fact, the process can be associated with quenching. While we quench, we also give confidence to our security forces. As Miilux OY, we will move on by increasing the high added value we provide to our country's economy and defense industry
