Lande – Interview with Erkan İslamoğlu

Some brands simply manufacture products; others define the standards of an entire industry. Lande's story fits squarely into that second definition: a journey matured by experience, deepened by engineering, and growing stronger with every new market it enters.

SECTION 1 — Opening and "A Brand Born from Experience"

1. "Erkan Bey, if you had to describe Lande in a single sentence, what would you say?"

"Lande is a global designer, manufacturer, and supplier of 19" rack cabinets and enclosures, offering both standard and custom-production solutions for DATA CENTER, NETWORK, SECURITY & CAMERA SYSTEMS, SMART CITY, and TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE projects — backed by 30 years of experience, protecting the world's critical data with a sustainable and innovative vision."

2. "Lande is not actually a new beginning from scratch — it is the second act of many years of experience. Where does this story begin for you?"

"For me, this story began in the late 1990s when I took my first steps at Estap as a young mechanical engineer. I knew nothing about the rack cabinet industry, but I was an engineer hungry to learn, curious, and passionate. Those early years taught me not only technical knowledge, but also what customers want, how production works, and what quality truly means. Being part of transforming Estap from a small workshop into Turkey's leading cabinet manufacturer over a decade was an incredible school."

3. "If we briefly look back at the company you first built and the journey of turning it into a global player — what did that journey teach you?"

"The Estap journey taught me three things: First, no product can survive in the market without engineering excellence. Second, team spirit and knowledge sharing are the foundations of success. Third, being the leader in the local market is not enough — you need to think and produce at global standards. The fact that a giant like Legrand acquired Estap showed the value of what we had built, but it also planted the thought: 'We can achieve even greater things with our own brand.'"

4. "At the end of that first chapter, when you said 'alright, now we turn a new page and found Lande' — what was that moment like?"

"When my mandatory work period at Legrand ended in 2012, I felt both excitement and fear. Celalettin, Reyhan Hanım, Yalçın Bey, and I were a team that had worked together for years and trusted each other blindly. We said, 'We achieved this once before; we can do it again.' But this time it wasn't just a job — we were building our own brand, our own values, our own vision. On the very first morning when I walked into the factory, I stood in the middle of the empty space and thought, 'One day, this place will produce the highest-quality cabinets in the world.' It was terrifying, but equally empowering."

5. "When you decided to found Lande in 2012, what kind of company did you have in mind? How would you describe it in a few words?"

"An innovative, sustainable company that meets world standards while proving the power of Turkish engineering. We didn't just want to make sales; we wanted to build long-term partnerships with our customers and develop solutions tailored to their needs. We would stand out with uncompromising quality, competitive pricing, and fast delivery."

6. "When you were setting up this facility in Eskişehir, what worried you most, and what did you dream of most?"

"What worried us most was finding qualified staff and making the right machinery investments. Every penny counted. What I dreamed of most was seeing cabinets produced here being used in data centers in Dubai, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. The thought, 'A cabinet we manufacture here will protect the data of millions of people on the other side of the world,' always motivated me."

7. "The first products... The first cabinets... Back then, what made you say 'we are doing something different'?"

"Design flexibility and functionality were very important in our first products. We were not offering standard cabinets but customizable ones — easy to assemble, proven through durability tests — tailored to the customer's needs. While competitors delivered in 4–6 weeks, we could produce even custom project cabinets in 2–3 weeks regardless of quantity (daily production capacity: 2,000+). Also, from day one, our recyclability rate was above 90%. That was a very bold approach for 2012."

8. "Can you share a moment from those early years when you said 'we are going to succeed at this'?"

"When we received our first major export order, a customer representative from Germany was inspecting our factory. He examined every detail and personally participated in the tests. At the end he said, 'Your understanding of quality exceeds European standards,' and approved an order of 500 units. At that moment, the team exchanged glances and I remember feeling my own heartbeat. 'The world is taking us seriously,' I said. That day, I truly believed Lande would become a global brand."

9. "What do you think sets Lande apart from being 'just a company that manufactures cabinets'?"

"What sets us apart is our ability to offer end-to-end engineering solutions. Not just cabinets — but PDUs, traceable power management, hot/cold aisle containment, environmental monitoring systems — we can design and implement the entire ecosystem. In our R&D center, we are developing AI-powered cooling systems.

We also provide 7/24 technical and sales support in 11 languages — Turkish, English, and customers' local languages — along with project-specific custom engineering services. As Nelson Mandela once said: 'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.' This goes far beyond the mindset of a simple manufacturer."

10. "You frequently say 'not just a producer, but a designing power.' What do you mean by design?"

"By design, I mean understanding the customer's problem and developing a solution tailored specifically to them. For example, if you are building a data center in an earthquake zone, our Zone 4 seismic certification comes into play. If outdoor use is required in a desert climate, we design a bespoke cabinet with IP66 protection class. If energy efficiency is a priority, we propose our AI-powered cooling system from the ECO-Qube project. Every project is unique, and we design accordingly."

11. "Thinking about the entire process from production to R&D in this facility, which technical step or investment are you most proud of?"

"The ECO-Qube project is definitely what I am most proud of. It is the first multi-partner project coordinated from Turkey under the EU Horizon 2020 program. Using artificial intelligence, we are reducing cooling costs, which account for 40% of energy consumption in data centers.

Additionally, our Zone 4 seismic tests simulate the conditions of the 1940 El Centro California earthquake. We can ensure data security even in an 8.5-magnitude earthquake. This technological capability is a standard unmatched in the industry."

12. "Is there a product development story where you took a risk but later said 'I'm glad we did that'?"

"We launched our T.R.O.Y.A. series — next-generation data center cabinets — with a Digital Product Passport (DPP). Before it was even mandatory in Europe, transparently reporting the entire lifecycle of a product was a major investment in both cost and time. Some people said, 'We are moving too early — maybe there won't be a need for this.' But today, our customers reference the DPP in their sustainability reports and list it as a reason for choosing us. That foresight gave us a tremendous advantage."

13. "What leadership style have you adopted to continuously instill a culture of innovation in the young engineering team?"

"A leadership style that shares knowledge, welcomes questions, and sees making mistakes as an opportunity to learn. I don't tell young engineers 'do this'; I ask, 'How would you solve this problem?' In R&D meetings there is no hierarchy — everyone can freely share their ideas. We also always take the young team to international fairs and technical training events. They need to see the world and understand global standards. I am the older brother, the teacher, and the biggest supporter of my team."

14. "When did you first set the goal of turning Lande from a local manufacturer into a global player?"

"We actually set this goal when we were founding the company — from day one. When we set out in 2012, our vision was never 'to become the biggest in Turkey'; our aim was 'to be one of the highest-quality brands in the world.' That is why, even as we planned our very first investments, we designed the infrastructure that would make our products compatible not just with the domestic market, but with regulation-intensive markets like Europe, America, and the Middle East. Around the same time we entered and obtained international certifications like CE, UL, and ISO. Because for us, the real point was not just manufacturing a cabinet, but ensuring that wherever in the world that cabinet goes, it creates the same performance, the same safety level, and the same quality perception. In short, when founding Lande, our goal was to build a globally trusted engineering brand — not merely become an exporter."

15. "Do you remember the first country you exported to and the day you received that order? What did you feel?"

"I will never forget our first shipment to Germany. It was 2013 — an order of 300 cabinets. As I watched the trucks leave the factory, I felt an incredible sense of pride and responsibility. I thought, 'These cabinets are going to a data center in Berlin, where they will protect thousands of servers.' We had a special celebration with the team that day, but at the same time we said, 'This is just the beginning — there is still a long road ahead.'"

16. "When adapting products to different needs in different countries, what challenged you the most?"

"The most challenging issues were certification processes and local regulations. Every country has its own unique electrical standards, fire safety rules, and seismic regulations. For example, while the Middle East requires outdoor cabinets that can operate at temperatures above 50°C, in Europe energy efficiency and carbon footprint come to the forefront. This is why carrying out separate tests for each market and managing the certification processes is quite demanding in terms of both time and cost. But in reality, it is exactly this approach that makes us truly 'global.'"

17. "When you say 'we are a game-changer cabinet brand in the market,' which concrete examples do you use to illustrate this?"

"Exports to 108 countries, being among Turkey's top 100 exporters, references at critical institutions such as Akbank, Türk Telekom, HAVELSAN, BTK, and Borsa İstanbul. Bochum University in Germany, Mater Dei Oncology Hospital in Malta, Medina Airport in Saudi Arabia, Heydar Aliyev Airport in Baku... Lande cabinets protect critical data in all four corners of the world. Our EcoVadis sustainability badge and EU Code of Conduct Data Centres membership also prove that we are at global standards."

18. "What does being Turkey's largest cabinet exporter mean to you?"

"On one hand, pride; on the other, responsibility. Showing that Turkish engineering and Turkish production are respected in the world always motivates me. But at the same time, we must protect this success, continuously innovate, and never compromise on quality. Every shipment carries the name of Turkey. We never forget that."

19. "If you had to sum up the living culture inside Lande in three words, what would you say?"

"Diligence, team spirit, innovation. At Lande, no process is managed with a 'good enough' attitude. In our 80,000 m² facility — with a daily production capacity of 2,000 cabinets — every cabinet is verified through 1,000-hour corrosion resistance tests. Diligence manifests itself through measurable quality standards across all processes from design to production to delivery. Team spirit means a culture of high collaboration and mutual learning, independent of hierarchy — everyone simultaneously plays the role of both teacher and student. Innovation is an inseparable part of our organization; with the awareness that 'stagnation is regression,' we continuously advance our technological investments and product development activities."

20. "What is the one thing in this company that has never changed from day one until today?"

"Our obsession with quality. Just as we paid attention to every detail when producing our first cabinet in 2012, we work with the same meticulousness today when producing 2,000 units a day. Customer satisfaction, integrity, keeping our word... These have never changed and will never change."

21. "Sustainability and ethical values are not just a certificate for you. How do you translate this into daily life at Lande?"

"Sustainability is not a marketing tool for us — it is our way of existence. 90% of our products are made of recyclable metal. Through intermodal transportation (combined use of truck, train, and ship) we achieved a saving of 32 tonnes of CO2e in 2024. We share our ISO 14064–14067 carbon footprint reports transparently. We completed our CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) preparations before 2026. We provide environmental awareness training to our employees. Sustainability is lived not in the meeting room, but on the production line, in the shipping process, and across the supply chain."

22. "Together with evaluations like EcoVadis, what changed inside the company, and what became more visible?"

"We ran a comprehensive improvement program lasting approximately 18 months in order to receive the EcoVadis Sustainability Commitment Badge. During this process, we did not merely obtain a document — we re-examined all our corporate processes through the lens of sustainability.

Through the training we provided to our suppliers, we led them to raise their compliance levels with ethical principles and international standards, thereby establishing a sustainability-focused business culture across every link of our supply chain. We moved our waste management practices to digital systems to enhance traceability and reportability, and made our employee health and safety training systematic and continuous. One of the most critical outcomes was the formation, at every level of the organization — white-collar, blue-collar, or "metal-collar" alike — of the awareness that 'I am also an active part of this process,' and the sustainability agenda becoming a visible, collectively owned common goal within the company."

23. "When a young employee or engineer joins Lande, what would you want them to feel, above all else?"

"I would want a young engineer stepping into Lande to feel this place not merely as a workplace, but also as a strong school and a trustworthy family. Here, knowledge is not hoarded — it is shared; making mistakes is not punished — it is seen as a natural part of learning; and successes are celebrated not individually but as a team.

Furthermore, I would want them to sincerely carry the feeling, 'I am truly part of a work that is changing the world here.' Because this is not a cliché — the cabinets we produce enable the safe storage of patient records in hospitals, banks' critical financial transfers, universities' scientific research data, and countless other vital pieces of information. Every cabinet we produce is part of the invisible yet indispensable digital backbone of life — and working at Lande means being part of the team that designs this backbone."

SECTION 6 — Personal Journey

24. "What has this long journey changed in your personal life? Your family, your time, your priorities..."

25. "Was there ever a moment when you really thought 'this could end here'? If so, would you share that moment with us?"

"The global economic crisis and exchange rate fluctuations in 2015–2016 were very tough. Raw material prices skyrocketed, some customers cancelled their orders. Cash flow tightened greatly. One night I was sitting with my wife and talking, thinking 'maybe we shouldn't have entered such a risky business.' But the next morning when I went to the factory and looked at the faces of the team, the hope and belief in those young people's eyes lifted me back on my feet. 'No, I cannot abandon them halfway — this ship is not going to sink,' I said. We cut costs, opened up to new markets, increased our product variety. Six months later we had overcome the crisis. That period taught me the importance of resilience and the power of a team."

26. "If you were to leave a single-sentence message to a young person reading this article about entrepreneurship and engineering, what would you say?"

"Entrepreneurship is not the absence of fear, but the act of walking forward in spite of it; and engineering is the art of calculating each step you take on that road with meticulous precision."

SECTION 7 — Today and the Future (Vision, 2030)

27. "As of 2026, is there a single sentence where you say 'This is exactly what Lande is today'?"

"Today, Lande is Turkey's gateway to the world — trusted in 108 countries, with sustainability and innovation embedded in its DNA."

28. "In the next 5–10 years, where does Lande position itself in areas such as data centers, cloud, 5G, and edge?"

"Edge computing and 5G infrastructure require data centers to become distributed rather than centralized. For this distributed architecture, Lande is developing compact, modular, energy-efficient micro data center solutions equipped with intelligent monitoring systems. AI-powered cooling, predictive maintenance, and IoT integration are our priorities. By 2030, our goal is to see Lande cabinets at every critical edge location in the world."

29. "When we reach 2030, how do you envision Lande as a global player?"

"Our 2030 vision is to become a global reference brand that defines the standards for physical security in the world's critical data infrastructure. The goal is for the physical load of the world's data centers to be safely carried within Lande cabinets. We will have local manufacturing facilities and local engineering teams in Europe, America, and Asia. We will evolve into a technology company that not only sells products, but designs consulting solutions and ecosystems for the data center industry."

30. "If I could give a single piece of advice to a young engineer joining Lande today, I would say... — could you complete that sentence?"

"Be curious, keep learning, share what you know — and never say 'good enough.' Excellence is not a destination; it is a journey."

31. "Finally, is there a single sentence you would like to say to everyone reading this interview on behalf of Lande?"

"Lande is not just a brand — it is Turkish engineering's declaration to the world: 'We are here, and we can do the best.' For the secure data of the future, make the right choice today: Where trust meets excellence..."

Thank you sincerely for your candid answers, Erkan Bey. As long as you and dedicated engineers like you exist, our young people have nothing to fear — only to wonder, and to create...