Aygaz was the first company in the Koç Group to operate in the energy sector. Since its founding in 1961, Aygaz has been the leader of the LPG sector and becoming one of the five largest LPG companies in Europe due to its extraordinary technical contributions to the sector. In addition to distributing autogas, cylinder gas and bulk gas, Aygaz also produces and sells gas devices. Aygaz has become a household name in Turkey for cylinder gas because of its innovation and dependability, two primary characteristics that have kept the company ahead of its competitors throughout its lifetime. One of the largest companies in the Koç Group, Aygaz has bolstered its brand image by focusing its half-century of experience, knowledge, product range, and accommodation of its customer’s needs.
With nearly 3,300 cylinder gas dealers and autogas stations in 81 provinces, Aygaz also produces LPG cylinders, valves and regulators and exports them to 15 countries located in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Aygaz has combined all energy companies in the Koç Energy Group - other than those dealing with petroleum fuel and refineries - under one umbrella.
Aygaz is the first and only public company operating in the LPG sector, and the ninth largest industrial company in the Turkish private sector. As a result of its extensive distribution network, Aygaz bottles are delivered to over 100,000 homes every day, while nearly one million vehicles burn Aygaz’s autogas product, Aygaz Euro LPG+.
Aygaz A.Ş.'s consolidated sales turnover increased 6% over last year, reaching 3.79 billion TL. 109 million USD of income was obtained from 191,000 tons of LPG exports and transit sales, which made up a significant portion of foreign sales revenues. In 2009, Aygaz A.Ş.’s investment expenditures amounted to 128.5 million TL.
Infrastructure
With LPG storage volume of 170,000 m3 at 5 filling terminals and 10 filling facilities, Aygaz has more storage capacity than any other company in Turkey. The company has filling terminals at Yarımca, Ambarlı, Aliağa, Dörtyol and Samsun, as well as filling facilities at Bursa, Eskişehir, Safranbolu, Işıkkent, Isparta, Diyarbakır, Kırıkkale, Lüleburgaz, Ankara and Mersin.
LPG that is procured at domestic refineries or via imports is brought to filling terminals through pipelines and by ship. From here, it is transported to filling facilities via a fleet of tanker trucks. After being stored at filling terminals and filling facilities (where bottles are also filled) LPG is distributed to customers in the form of bulk gas and cylinder gas through Aygaz dealers and autogas stations throughout Turkey.
The first company in Turkey to have a fleet of LPG ships, Aygaz has four LPG vessels that have high capacity and are specially equipped to import LPG. These ships supply most of the LPG needed by the filling terminals. Aygaz also has a fleet of almost 250 modern tanker trucks that are used for bulk gas and to deliver for autogas sales as well as transporting LPG between facilities.
Aygaz cylinders, tanks, valves and regulators are produced using the latest technology at the Gebze Facility, which has an ISO 9001 Quality Certificate. Products undergo tests required to meet international standards to ensure the highest quality and dependability before they are sold on domestic and foreign markets.
Leader in all segments
Aygaz continues to be a leader and a pacesetter in the cylinder gas, autogas and bulk gas segments of the LPG market. Consumption ratios in the various segments have changed significantly since the year 2000. The cylinder gas and bulk gas market has begun to contract because of the increased use of natural gas and higher taxes on the product, causing the volume of the cylinder gas market to contract to 1.134 million tons. On the other hand, the share of autogas in these segments has increased from 11% to 63.6% over the past 10 years. Aygaz’s total domestic autogas sales increased 11% from 2008 to 2009, reaching 550,000 tons. At the end of 2009, Aygaz had a total of 1,121 autogas dealers throughout Turkey. Aygaz continues to maintain its leading role in the sector by partnering with car manufacturers and autogas conversion companies.
An innovative pioneer
The LPG sector is one of the most competitive sectors in Turkey. However, Aygaz has an advantage over its competitors because of its extensive, well-established dealer network, its R&D investments, its high-tech production techniques and its innovative approach to safety.
Aygaz was the first company to implement a hologram cap that guarantees customers a fully-filled, safe cylinder. The hologram cap guarantees that the cylinders have passed all safety tests at Aygaz facilities, that they have been filled completely, and that the consumer is the first person to remove the cap. Other innovations that have pleased customers are the specially-designed Forklift Cylinder and the regulators introduced in 2007 that have a gauge to indicate the amount of remaining gas. Innovations introduced by Aygaz in the area of service include its Integrated Order System (ESS) and the largest mobile POS system in Turkey, developed in partnership with the Worldcard and Maximum credit card brands.
After four years of R&D work, Aygaz introduced autogas consumers to a significant innovation when it introduced Aygaz Euro LPG+ to the market in June of 2009. Aygaz Euro LPG+ is the first autogas in Turkey sold with additives. Aygaz Euro LPG+ with additives results in a cleaner engine, improved performance, and lower environmental impact. Not only does it comply with EN 589, Turkey's autogas standard, Aygaz Euro LPG+ offers many advantages that exceed the requirements of this standard. As a result, this product has been very popular with consumers ever since it was first offered on the market.
The additive works to clean the engine by eliminating carbon buildup and impurities that accumulate in the engine and detract from its performance, and preventing them from forming again. A cleaner engine burns fuel more efficiently in the combustion chamber, increases the vehicle's performance, and reduces fuel consumption. When additive-free Aygaz Euro LPG autogas was compared with Aygaz Euro LPG+ with additives in early testing by driving identical vehicles 30,000 km, the new formula achieved a 5.13% increase in acceleration as well as a 3.9% improvement in fuel consumption. Furthermore, the environmentally-friendly characteristics of Aygaz Euro LPG+ autogas were proven with a 20.2% reduction in hydrocarbon emissions and a 33.5% reduction in carbon monoxide emissions. This data has been verified by tests carried out by OTAM at Istanbul Technical University.
Always a leader in cylinder gas
The contraction in the cylinder gas and bulk gas market that began with the market penetration of natural gas, continued in 2009. In spite of the overall contraction experienced in the cylinder gas market, Aygaz increased its market share in this sector. Since its founding, Aygaz has consistently strived to provide innovative products and services that meet or exceed the expectations of its customers. In 2007, Aygaz introduced cylinders that can be used with metal regulators that are fire-resistant and have child locks and gas filters. In the same year, Aygaz developed and introduced special regulators with gauges to eliminate the risk of the gas in the cylinder running out unexpectedly. The hologram cap, which is used on kitchen cylinders and symbolizes the reliability of the Aygaz brand, was also implemented on camping cylinders.
Aygaz has continued to offer training in order to increase customer satisfaction and strengthen the brand's image. The Aygaz Training Bus started touring Turkey once again in May of 2009, providing Excellent Service and Safety Training to 1,629 customer service and order entry employees in 121 training sessions. The number of Aygaz customer service employees with LPG Authorized Personnel Certificates reached 4,136 in 2009. In addition to training dealer employees, the Aygaz training bus also educated nearly 400 consumers at 12 different locations about the safe and problem-free use of cylinder gas.
National campaigns offered to cylinder gas customers in partnership with banks continued in 2009, allowing customers to benefit from extra points and payment installments in cylinder gas purchases made with credit cards. National campaigns, advertising and promotional activities were carried out to increase customer awareness and satisfaction in a sector where pricing is fiercely competitive.
The Integrated Order System (ESS), designed to expedite problem-free delivery of cylinder gas to customers, was improved with the launch of ESS Web in August of 2009. Not only does ESS Web facilitate system installation and maintenance, it also makes it easier for regional sales staff to access the system, closely track customers through customer reports and additional applications, and to carry out follow-up and customer relations activities that increase customer satisfaction. As of the end of 2009, 614 dealers were using ESS and 59% of sales were being processed on ESS. The system has 2.5 million active individual customers registered.
Awards
* According to a report by Sabancı University and Standard & Poors, Aygaz ranks among the top five companies in Turkey for financial transparency.
* According to GfK Turkey’s “Best Brands” study, Aygaz was rated the fourth best brand in Turkey and the best brand in the LPG sector.
* www.aygaz.com.tr was awarded the Superb Achievement award at the Interactive Media Awards competition.
2010 and after
Aygaz’s top priority in its short and medium-term strategies is to maintain and increase its leadership position and market share in all the segments where it operates and to increase its profitability. In the long term, Aygaz’s goal is to expand the pool of energy by implementing alternative projects that will meet Turkey’s energy needs in the future.
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