Interview with Ayhan Güler, General Manager of Safic Alcan

In our interview with Ayhan Güler, General Manager of Safic Alcan Turkey, we discussed the company's areas of operation and its importance for Turkey.

Could you introduce yourself and your professional background to our readers?

I graduated from the Chemical Engineering Department at Istanbul Technical University in 1991 and completed my specialization in the Business Administration Program at Boğaziçi University. I began my professional career in 1994 at Teknopolimer. In 2004, we started operations as founding partners at İnterplast Engineering Plastics and Eurotec. In 2011, the France-based Safic Alcan company acquired a majority stake in İnterplast Engineering Plastics, and in 2016 Safic Alcan acquired all shares of İnterplast Engineering Plastics. Since 2004, I have served as General Manager at Safic Alcan Kimya San. and Tic. A.Ş.

Could you provide information about Safic Alcan Life Sciences? What activities do you conduct both globally and across Turkey?

Safic Alcan is a company founded in 1847 with its headquarters currently in Paris La-Défense, France. It operates in 50 countries and has sales offices in 30 countries. Our Turkey office has five departments with a team of 35 people. We are one of the leading distributors in specialty chemicals, and "Life Sciences" provides services in five main categories. We import and market raw materials of European origin for the cosmetics, detergent, food, food supplements, and agriculture-veterinary industries. We have an advanced application laboratory and provide formulation support to our customers. Under the leadership of our sales manager Arzu Sevinç, who has served this sector for many years, we have a five-person team that provides technical support in addition to supplying raw materials to the industry. In addition to our application laboratory, we maintain inventory of raw materials in four different warehouses and storage facilities according to their specifications and our product portfolio, enabling us to provide fast delivery support to our customers. Throughout the year, we strengthen our support through numerous congresses, trade fairs, seminars and events with our customers.

What are your product varieties? What criteria determine your domestic and export sales volume?

The "Life Sciences" department was established within Safic Alcan Kimya Turkey Office in 2012. In our cosmetics portfolio, we serve the industry with a strong portfolio including leading and powerful representations such as Ashland (hair styling and care products, actives, UV filters...), IFF-Lucas Meyer (active and functional ingredients with high global recognition, functional gel agents and emulsifiers), and SK Bioland (plant extracts and actives). Thanks to Safic Alcan group's operations in more than 50 countries worldwide, we are able to serve globally. Within this group, alongside "Life Sciences," there are Paints & Adhesives, Engineering Plastics, Rubber and Construction Chemicals divisions. We will continue to support our customers with specific raw materials according to industry needs and innovations.

Could you tell us about the work carried out in your application laboratories? Why is the Application Laboratory important for Safic Alcan?

We have application laboratories in France (two), Italy, England, and also in Turkey. In our application laboratory, we can provide all types of formulation and technical support. Through our expert team members in their respective fields, we can offer fast and innovative solutions to our customers.

Could you discuss your activities in the nutraceutical market? What work have you done to promote and develop this market?

The food supplements sector is a growing market in Turkey, and we increase our product portfolio daily according to market needs. Our portfolio includes probiotics, prebiotics, standardized plant extracts and high-performance specialty products. We represent companies such as Gnosis By Lesaffre, Diana Food, Sabinsa and Salixin.