Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank told the success story of the domestic respirator, which was put into mass production in a short time of 14 days, on Star TV.
Stating that measures were taken in Turkey before the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) even reached the borders, Varank said that one of the most important steps of these is the supply of products that may be needed in the country.
Varank pointed out that intensive care inhalation devices have gained importance in the world in the treatment of Covid-19 due to the virus clinging to the lungs, and made the following evaluations:
“We saw the need here long ago and started working with our friends. Portable respirators, called home-type, were being produced in our country. But we had a company, Biosys, with which we had previously been in contact regarding intensive care respirators. We contacted them about how to mass produce this device. We contacted them about how to mass produce the device. “Our national companies such as Baykar and ASELSAN have started to provide all kinds of support to accelerate mass production.”
Stating that the respirators have a 100 percent local production rate, Varank reminded that Arçelik carried out mass production by establishing a production line from scratch.
Pointing out the difficulty of producing devices that require high technology, Varank said, “Thanks to the national stance of our entrepreneurs and industrialists, we have succeeded in developing and producing this device with great devotion.” said.
Foreign requests
Pointing out that the stakeholders who contributed to the development of the device did not do this work out of commercial concerns, Varank stated that all rights of the device were transferred to the Ministry of Health.
Referring to the demands coming from abroad regarding the device, Varank said:
“We receive requests from embassies. Some of the 5-6 companies in the world that produce these devices have contacted our country. ‘We cannot keep up with the demand, produce on our behalf, help us, let’s produce together.’ “We also receive their requests. We will be able to export this device to countries that request it from us. It is also possible to send the device to countries that cannot afford to buy it.”
Stating that there are around 20 thousand respirators in Turkey, Varank stated that their goal is to produce 5 thousand devices by the end of May.
Varank stated that considering the occupancy rate of existing respirators, there may be no need for new devices to be produced, and said, “But the world cannot predict how this virus will develop. Therefore, we have made our preparations under all circumstances. If we need, we can put these 5 thousand devices into action.” he said.
Underlining that they are trying to put the “National Technology Move” vision on the agenda of all of Turkey, Varank emphasized that they want to make Turkey a country that produces technology, not just uses it.
Work is being done for a local MRI device
Pointing out that they want to spread the success and high localization rate achieved in the defense industry to all areas of the industry, including the health sector, Varank continued as follows:
“ASELSAN also has a project on the Magnetic Resonance (MR) Imaging Device, which it has brought to the prototype stage with Bilkent National Magnetic Resonance Research Center (UMRAM). We have accelerated these projects in order to become a self-sufficient country in the health sector. As the Ministry, with all our support in this field “We will continue to support all companies, especially those that will produce and develop value-added products. As long as our engineers and entrepreneurs put in their labor and heart, and we, as the government, accelerate the policies that will pave the way for them, there is no reason not to get results.”
Varank stated that Turkey is a developed industrial country and said that Turkey can produce in every field.
Emphasizing that Turkey has a strong capacity, especially in the field of basic needs and healthcare products, Varak said, “We are currently at a level where we can meet all kinds of needs of our country ourselves. In addition, we will evaluate and fulfill the demands that will come to us in a way that will meet the needs of other countries as long as we do not need them.” “We are evaluating it.” he said.
Varank stated that when the necessary investment is made in infrastructure and R&D, the process can be carried out more easily in such crisis times, and that Turkey’s capacity to produce masks, overalls, protective glasses and respirators is at a level that can feed the country.
“The spirit of national mobilization”
Baykar Technical Manager and Chairman of the T3 Foundation Board of Trustees, Selçuk Bayraktar, said that all stakeholders are working with the spirit of mobilization in the mass production project of the domestic respirator, which started about 1 month ago.
Pointing out that the national mobilization shown is also very important for them, Bayraktar noted that the respirators produced are lower cost than those imported from abroad.
Cemal Erdoğan, Founder and General Manager of Biosys Biyomedikal, stated that they established the initiative in 2012 with the technopreneurship capital support of the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
The breathing apparatus they developed
Stating that they had a 5-year R&D process, Erdoğan said that they later managed to commercialize the product.
Erdoğan pointed out that the process came to this point with the support of TÜBİTAK and KOSGEB, and then introduced the features of the device.
