Interview with Hüseyin Şahin, Product Manager at Yuka Kimya

We conducted an enjoyable interview with Hüseyin Şahin, Product Manager at Yuka Kimya. Şahin shared important information about Yuka Kimya's new projects and activities. [caption id="attachment_112823" align="aligncenter"] Hüseyin Şahin[/caption]  

Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself, your education and your professional background in the sector?

In 2010, I graduated from the Chemistry Department at Anadolu University in Eskişehir. Between 2010 and 2017, I worked as an R&D Specialist and R&D Manager at Denge Kimya. I had to discontinue the Polymer Science and Technology Master's Program at Istanbul Technical University due to heavy work commitments. At the beginning of 2018, I transitioned to the marketing department as Product Manager. In 2017 as R&D Manager and in 2018 as Product Manager, I had the opportunity to visit numerous paint manufacturers and analyze market dynamics. In January 2019, I founded Yuka Kimya and became the Marmara Region Distributor for Denge Kimya's DENSURF product group.

Could you tell us about Yuka Kimya's development process from its establishment to today?

Yuka Kimya was established during a period when Denge Kimya planned to mentor entrepreneurs emerging from within the company to create new business opportunities. The R&D activities of the products we market are based on projects that began in 2010. The DENSURF brand was created in 2015-2016. Behind the DENSURF brand stands a large R&D and strategy team. While the team at Denge Kimya prepares the DENSURF brand for the global market, as Yuka Kimya, we are working to increase the local market share of the DENSURF brand in cities where the paint sector is dominant. In our two years of operations, we have achieved successful results at many new companies and our products have begun to be used.

What are Yuka Kimya's products and product groups? Which sectors do you serve?

Yuka Kimya has been marketing only DENSURF products for two years. Our current customers are paint, ink, composite and polyurethane material manufacturers. The DENSURF product groups consist of silicone resins, dispersing agents, defoamers and surface adjusting agents.

Could you tell us about your sales activities? Which regions do you primarily serve?

The Yuka Kimya sales team operates mainly in Istanbul and Kocaeli. We also frequently visit our customers in Sakarya, Ankara, Tekirdağ and Eskişehir. We manage our operational activities and projects with our supplier from Tekirdağ for effective management.

What do you think are the conditions for being a global producer?

Among Yuka Kimya's future plans is expanding product groups with new global suppliers. Global brands are managed with long-term strategies by taking global trends into account or foreseeing the future. Talented human resources are crucial for creating and implementing long-term strategies. When we examine companies that are rapidly becoming global players, we see that they manage supply chain and innovation well. When looking at production scale, companies with established quality policies and those that quickly adapt to new production technologies are on the right path to becoming global producers.

Could you tell us about your after-sales service and customer satisfaction philosophy?

As Yuka Kimya and Denge Kimya, we take responsibility for every promise we make to customers and every product that enters our customers' warehouses. By analyzing customer needs carefully, we try to provide benefits to customers in one or several areas: performance, price, technical service and logistics. DENSURF products are tested during the R&D phase against many situations that customers may encounter. After-sales, we provide laboratory support for the correct use of our products. We record customer feedback on our products in our CRM system and develop permanent solutions to prevent negative situations from recurring.

Have you recently developed an innovative product that will make a difference in the paint sector?

Our DENSURF SM series surface agents and DENSURF HR series heat-resistant silicone resin group are unique polymer-based products that differentiate themselves from competitors in the paint sector. When R&D processes are examined, DOE (Design of Experiments) software was used to develop optimally performing products. Both as a product and in terms of R&D activities, it contains national-level innovation.

Advancing technology and digitalization offer innovative opportunities to many sectors. What are your activities related to digital transformation at Yuka Kimya?

As Yuka Kimya, we approach this topic in two dimensions. From its first day of establishment, Yuka Kimya has actively used digital marketing channels and social media. At the beginning of the pandemic period, we took swift action and organized online paint training programs with the experienced DENSURF team. At the same time, Yuka Kimya actively uses CRM software to manage customer needs. In the coming period, we are planning activities that will make business intelligence and internal communication channels more effective.

What new decisions did you make while managing the pandemic process? Do you have any work carried out in this context?

Before the pandemic period, we frequently visited customers in the field. During the pandemic, we reduced this frequency to an optimum number while also managing customer needs. We effectively used the first months of March and April when the process began for restructuring activities and online customer training. Considering the aftermath of the 2018 crisis and the pandemic period, we have been established and grown through a difficult process. Coming through this period strongly, we will have reached a serious level of maturity.

Anything you would like to add…

Denge Kimya aims to leave its mark on the coming period with projects it conducts at its R&D center. Yuka Kimya's goal is to be a bridge between suppliers and customers that develops both sides.

"Global brands are managed with long-term strategies by taking global trends into account or foreseeing the future."