Combining twenty years of experience with a vision for sustainable innovation, Reaksiyon Kimya is positioning itself as a strong player in both Turkish and international markets. In our interview, Gökhan Ceyhan, Deputy General Manager of Reaksiyon Kimya, discussed the company's characteristics and vision.
Report: B. Serhat Cengiz
Reaction Chemistry, combining twenty years of experience with a sustainable innovation vision, is positioning itself as a strong player in both the Turkish and international markets. In the interview we conducted, Gökhan Ceyhan, Deputy General Manager of Reaction Chemistry, explained the company's characteristics and vision.
We would like to introduce you to our readers. Can you tell us about yourself and your career?
I am a graduate of the Chemistry department and have been working in industrial chemicals, construction chemicals, and paints and coatings systems for approximately twenty years. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work in both technical and commercial positions. At Reaction Chemistry, since its founding, I have taken on significant responsibilities in both strategic growth and technology management. My core motivation here is to create an organization that not only develops products but creates value together with customers, generates knowledge, and develops sustainable solutions.
Can you summarize the development Reaction Chemistry has achieved since its foundation and its current position?
Reaction Chemistry has adopted a technically-focused approach since its establishment. Our journey, which began with sales and technical support activities in the early 2000s, has transformed into a Turkish chemical company that develops its own brands, manufactures, and exports. In the last five years, we have shown significant growth in both turnover and production capacity. The most important reason for this is our approach of putting the provision of quick and effective solutions to customers in their applications at the center. Today we operate a supply chain active in Europe, North Africa and Central Asia; at the same time, we manage one of the fastest-growing research and development centers in the sector in Turkey.
What are Reaction Chemistry's core competencies and product groups?
Reaction Chemistry has structured its operations around two main axes. First is the Reaction Trade side, namely chemical distribution; here we conduct strategic partnerships with world-leading manufacturers such as KUMHO P&B, Zschimmer & Schwarz, Mizuda Hope, and Celanese, offering a broad portfolio of raw materials for the paints, construction chemicals, composites, inks, and concrete sectors in Turkey. Second are the domestic production brands developed entirely within Reaction Chemistry. On this side, our product portfolio is organized around six main axes. These can be listed as epoxy resins and hardeners (REPOX, RECURE), acrylic dispersions and binders (REACRYL), wax emulsions (REWAX), water repellents and silicone-based systems (REACSIL), pigment pastes (MIXPASTE), and polycarboxylate superplasticizers (MAXFLOW). These two structures are integrated with each other but clearly separated. Our distribution operations bring global innovation to Turkey, while our production side puts domestic research and development, quality control, and engineering capability front and center. In this way, we create a difference in the sector both as a reliable representative of world-leading brands and as a Turkish chemical manufacturer developing its own technology.
What is your approach to research and development and innovation? How does Reaction Academy support this process?
For us, innovation is not a concept limited to the laboratory; it is a way of thinking that extends throughout the company. In our research and development center, customer feedback, performance tests, and sustainability criteria are evaluated together when developing new products. In addition to our research and development center, we have also created a special area we call the Customer Experience Center (CEC). Here we systematically evaluate feedback from our customers and, when necessary, conduct joint trials on their formulations. This approach, beyond the traditional supplier-customer relationship, strengthens a culture of learning and developing together. The CEC creates a difference as a structure that both brings innovation to the field and integrates the customer's voice directly into research and development processes. Reaction Academy is the knowledge sharing and development aspect of this structure. Within the Academy, we organize technical training, seminars, and workshops for both our employees and sector professionals. In this way, we ensure that innovation is a culture that grows through product and knowledge and experience sharing.
What kind of structure have you built in supply chain and quality management?
At Reaction Chemistry, all processes are designed according to the principle of full traceability. Every step from raw material entry to product shipment is recorded in digital systems. Our production processes are conducted in accordance with the ISO 9001 quality management system; additionally, they comply with ISO 14001 standards in terms of environment and workplace safety. We share the same approach with our suppliers and conduct audits that include ethical and environmental criteria. In this way, we ensure customer satisfaction not only through quality but on the basis of trust and sustainability.
Can you tell us about your strategy for opening up to international markets?
For us, exports are not just sales but also an area of learning and development. By closely monitoring the technical requirements, climate conditions, and customer expectations in different countries, we continuously adapt our product range to these needs. One of the most concrete steps in this approach is our manufacturing facility in Algeria. The first phase of the project has been completed and production has started. Second and third phase investments will be implemented in the coming period. This facility will not only ease our access to the North African market; it will also increase our regional production capacity, reducing logistics costs and enabling us to serve our customers much more quickly. Furthermore, through the strategic partnerships we are conducting in Europe and Africa, we aim to make the Reaction Chemistry brand a globally competitive player. This structure, beyond providing logistical advantage, enables us to provide higher added value to our customers through on-site technical service and cultural proximity.
What does sustainability and ethical management mean for you?
For us, sustainability means investing in people as well as environmental performance. Energy-efficient production lines, solvent-free and low VOC content products, and waste recovery systems are the technical reflections of this understanding. However, we also actively participate in social contribution projects. In particular, the strengthening of women in engineering fields, their access to educational opportunities, and the principles of equality are very valuable to us. We support female employees in our company and work to ensure that women take more active roles in management positions. The collaborations we conduct with EWMD Turkey are examples of which we are proud in this regard.
What trends do you think will come to the forefront in the chemical industry in the near and long term?
We foresee three main areas coming to the forefront in the coming period. Bio-based products that will begin to replace fossil fuel-based products, energy-efficient production technologies – particularly systems that can be cured at low temperatures – will gain great importance. Digitalization and data-driven quality management – process monitoring and artificial intelligence-based optimization in chemical production – will become widespread. We are also shaping our investments in this direction. In our new facility, research and development work will intensify on water-based epoxy systems and advanced acrylic binders. We also have projects that support lower fossil fuel use and we are making investments that allow us to benefit maximally from solar energy. Our goal is to produce "high-performance but environmentally friendly solutions" both in Turkey and globally.
If you had to describe your company culture in a few words, what would you say?
Reaction Chemistry's culture is built on ethical values, integrity, trust, and learning together. We do not consider just technical infrastructure and product diversity to be sufficient; we also make a deliberate effort to create an ethical organizational culture. In this direction, we have put our "Ethics Manifesto" in writing. Our aim is to practice honest business conduct and effectively implement this understanding in all our units. We respect our customers' right to always receive accurate information regarding processes and as a principle we always tell the truth. We respect the efforts of our competitors who supply in the sector like us, and we see them as a valuable part of this ecosystem. We know that every company that keeps this system standing actually adds value to the entire sector. Additionally, we determined our company's values and the indicators of these values together with the participation of all our department managers. In this way, we created a common language, a common stance, and a sustainable business ethics understanding. Today at Reaction Chemistry, ethics is not merely a concept but a management principle at the foundation of every decision and every process.
Finally, where do you want to see Reaction Chemistry in the future?
We want to position Reaction Chemistry in the future as one of Europe's technically strongest domestic chemical brands. Our goal is to be a technology company that is held up as an example not just in Turkey but also in neighboring regions with its research and development, its manufacturing, and its sustainable approach. Every investment we make is a part of this vision. We do not just manufacture chemical products – we are building a lasting brand built on knowledge, trust, and ethical values.
Gallery
