“Tower dryers have been designed particularly for customers who need high capacity. Because of the use of closed heating and cooling systems, tower dryers are more efficient and use less energy than horizontal dryers in drying grain. Drying process does not work incrementally at tower-type dryers. That is, even if the product’s humidity comes in very different ratios, the system works continuously automatically or manually thanks to the humidity meters we use at the entry or exit of the dryer. One of the biggest differences of tower dryers is that it provides up to 25% energy saving.”

It has become necessary for companies to monitor and control the temperature of grains in warehouses and silos and prevent losses. If companies fail to control the grain temperature within silos, they become a favorable place for mold, mushroom, infestation or germination. Such organism may cause grain degradation within a silo and financial loss. Kadir Çelik, Çelik Group Executive Board Member, sat down with Miller Magazine to answer questions on dryers and storage, which have high importance for agricultural products.

Çelik said AdaKurutma, a group company, has been producing dryer machines and storage system for about 20 years, adding that the company fills an important gap in the sector. He noted that the company sped up investment in the research and development and machinery and has produced new projects through considering customer’s request and content in order to become the leader in this sector. He said the company kept up their works without sacrificing quality.

Here is the full interview with Mr. Kadir Çelik:

Can you give some information about your company and its area of activity? The Çelik Group was founded in 1953. Since its incorporation, the company has been active in corn trade. The AdaKurutma has been active in the production of grain dryer machines, and the Tudors has been active in the production of steel silo and transportation equipment, and the Çelik Brothers has been in port storage and licensed warehousing.

AdaKurutma produces different kinds of grain dryer machines. Among them, tower type attracts a lot of attention. Can you inform us a bit about its specification, technology and design? First of all, I thank you for these questions as many customers do not have enough information about tower type dryers. Tower dryers have been designed particularly for the customers who demand high capacity. Because of usage of closed heating and cooling system, tower dryers are more efficient and use less energy than horizontal dryers in drying grain. Drying process does not work incrementally at tower-type dryers. That is, even if the product’s humidity comes in very different ratios, the system works continuously automatically or manually thanks to the humidity meter we use at the entry or exit of the dryer. One of the biggest differences of tower dryers is that it provides up to 25% energy saving. The system is fully controlled by PLC board, which is an animated touch panel. However, there is manual control in case of any undesired situation. The inner section of this dryer is produced with a galvanized plate while its outside is with stainless steel. We have a wide array of machines with capacities ranging from 30 tons to 90 tons per hour.

Which conditions should be taken into account when determining the type of dryer? The foremost condition here is the capacity. Thus, our tower dryers begin with 30 tons/hour. The second point to consider is whether the machine will work under hard conditions. For example, our tower type dryer handles 150 thousand tons of corn per year in Turkey. Thirdly, we recommend tower type dryers to our customers when we are talking about a confined space.

How many companies has AdaKurutma served to date internationally? To date, our dryer machines, 135 in total, have been serving in abroad while 120 machines have been serving in Turkey.

Are there any areas you consider as a target market and concentrate on? Frankly speaking, we already have a presence in all countries where there is demand for big dryers. That being said, we continue our research and new franchise agreements.

Would you talk about your targets and projects? Our aim is to increase the number of countries we export as much as possible in order to create more added values for the country. In the meantime, we want to prove that a Turkish company can really handle this job very well, particularly in the dryer machine sector.

Innovation and R&D are generally ranked among the keywords for success in our era. Can you talk about your efforts with this regard? We are particularly lucky in this respect due to the location of Turkey. Many companies work with our company about innovation. Thus, we gain time for research and development efforts. For example, the patent of the system in which we control humidity in entry and exit points in our machines belongs to our company. Again, the company’s R&D department designed and produced the heat control cables that we produced with Silosense patent.

Lastly, is there anything you like to share our readers? We kindly highlight that the process of grain drying does not consist of a single machine, rather it is a system. Thus, I advise our dear customers to search for a solution partner for your system when deciding on your investments.