Record Attendance at paintistanbul&Turkcoat Congress

Record attendance achieved at 9th International paintistanbul & Turkcoat Congress and Exhibition A total of 1,425 visitors, including 71 from abroad, attended the 9th International paintistanbul & Turkcoat Congress and Exhibition, organized by Bosad in partnership with Chem Media on 5-6 December. This figure represents the highest visitor attendance among all congresses held to date. The congress welcomed leading companies in the paints sector, top-level executives and academic experts in their fields over two days. Opening remarks were delivered by İSO Chairman Erdal Bahçıvan, TİM Vice Chairman and İKMİB Chairman Adil Pelister, TOBB Chemistry Council Chairman Timur Erk, Bosad Management Board Chairman Kenan Baytaş, Bosad Vice Chairman and Fair and Congress Working Group Chairman Hakan Ünel, Bosad Scientific Board Chairman Ahmet Burhan Özdemir, and Artkim Group Founder and CEO Cengiz Yaman. İSO Chairman Erdal Bahçıvan emphasized that the necessity for sustainable production has increased due to the climate crisis, and highlighted the importance of the paintistanbul & Turkcoat Congress bringing together paint producers, raw material suppliers, and representatives from universities, institutes and research centers to discuss sustainability criteria. Bahçıvan congratulated the Paints Manufacturers Association and its management board for hosting this organization. [caption id="attachment_158429" align="aligncenter"] İSO Chairman Erdal Bahçıvan[/caption] TİM Vice Chairman and İKMİB Chairman Adil Pelister noted that innovation, sustainability, functionality, digitalization and artificial intelligence—the main themes of the congress—are important enough to influence and shape not only the paints sector but specifically the chemical industry and generally the future of our country's economy. [caption id="attachment_158428" align="aligncenter"] TİM Vice Chairman and İKMİB Chairman Adil Pelister[/caption]

"Working Together with Patience and Dedication to Take Our Sector to Better Places"

Bosad Management Board Chairman Kenan Baytaş expressed his satisfaction at meeting in person after the pandemic, stating: "Esteemed guests, our share of the global paints market, valued at 192 billion dollars, is 2 percent. With a total volume approaching 1 million tons, the Turkish Paints Sector today has the strength to maintain its position globally under all circumstances. Working together with patience and dedication, we are striving to take our sector to better places. Our international congress, which is the first phase of the congress and fair project that represents one of Bosad's largest-scale undertakings, is being opened today with your valued participation. Our fair will take place at Istanbul Fair Center between 8-10 May. On this occasion, we look forward to your attendance at our fair," he said. Bosad Vice Chairman and Fair and Congress Working Group Chairman Hakan Ünel stated in his remarks: "The objectives of our congress, which has true international character, can be listed as: establishing Turkey as a paints technology center in our region, developing cooperation between universities, industry and other relevant organizations, creating a platform where the latest technologies, trends and regulations are discussed and monitored, and leading the development of the paints sector, and by organizing a fair one year and a congress the next year, contributing to the awareness and unity of our sector. Esteemed colleagues, our sector, operating at the intersection of Europe, Asia and Africa, will see its importance and potential increase even further in the coming years with the right strategies. The complementary cycle of international congress and fair will undoubtedly be one of the most important cornerstones of this development," he said.

Aiming to Shape the Sector's Future Through Topics Such as Innovation, Sustainability and Functionality

Cengiz Yaman, Founder and CEO of Artkim Group, which organized the congress, expressed his pride in participating in such a scientific congress in the 100th year of the Turkish Republic. Yaman stated: "The paintistanbul & Turkcoat Congress aims to shape the future of the sector through topics such as innovation, sustainability and functionality. In today's world where the agenda and technologies are advancing at a dizzying pace, I believe it would be extremely beneficial for the sector to come together annually with such comprehensive events," he said.

Congress Contributed to University-Industry Cooperation

Under the motto "Towards a Smart and Sustainable Future," the congress hosted presentations and discussions over two days on topics that will advance the sector, including innovation, sustainability, functionality, digitalization and artificial intelligence. The paintistanbul & Turkcoat Congress, a productive example of the synergy between science and industrial practice, made important contributions to the development of the paints sector. The program, organized in two halls as Turkcoat and paintistanbul at Green Park Pendik Hotel, featured a total of five special presentations, twelve sessions, four commercial presentations and one panel. The congress program began with a presentation by Mustafa Tunçgenç from Eva Education and Research Consultancy, titled "History and Present of Turkish Paints Industry," delivered as a Featured Speaker. Paints and chemical sector professionals followed the sessions, presentations and discussions with interest. Participants and visitors also had the opportunity to review 50 poster presentations displayed in the poster presentation area.

Expert Academic Specialists Participated as Guest Speakers

Over the two days, highly valued academics delivered presentations at the congress. On the first day, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Menceloğlu, Member of the Executive Board of the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, delivered an extremely important presentation titled "Can Radiative Cooling Coatings Help Combat Climate Change?" On the second day, Prof. Dr. Nergis Arsu, faculty member at Yıldız Technical University, and Prof. Dr. İskender Yılgör, faculty member at Koç University, both experts in their fields, participated as guest speakers in the program. Sustainability, Innovation and R&D Hold Critical Importance The program on the second day was also carried out with intense sessions and presentations. A panel was also organized, moderated by Hasan Şerefhan, Technical Factory Director at DYO Construction Paints, and featuring leading executives and experts from the sector. In the panel titled "Sustainable Innovative Approaches in the Paints Sector," Ersin Kenan Kayalar, Chairman of Kayalar Kimya, Mutlu Uysal, General Manager of DYO Paint Factories, Tolga Demirözü, General Manager of BASF Turkey and Head of Turkey, Azerbaijan-Georgia Country Group, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Menceloğlu, Member of the Executive Board of the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, and Dr. Engin Çörüşlü, Founding Partner of Eva Consultancy, evaluated all aspects of the future of the paints sector. Providing information about the current size of the global paints market, Şerefhan emphasized that Turkish Paints Industry, with its production quality meeting international standards, deserves a much larger share of the global paints market than the current 2 percent. Şerefhan stated that increasing this share is the responsibility of paints industry players in our country. BASF Turkey General Manager and Head of Turkey, Azerbaijan-Georgia Country Group Tolga Demirözü noted that BASF set its motto in 2014 as "Creating Chemistry for a Sustainable Future," and provided information about the projects and investments they have undertaken in the field of sustainability. Eva Consultancy Founding Partner Dr. Engin Çörüşlü provided information about the role and impact of R&D in the paints sector and stated that companies that do not attach importance to R&D activities cannot maintain their existence today. Çörüşlü pointed out that R&D holds a different position and has greater value creation potential than other departments of the company. DYO Paint Factories General Manager Mutlu Uysal, stating that by operating different disciplines in R&D centers and revealing the communication and correlation among them, they are able to generate many different new ideas, provided information about innovative products they have developed. Prof. Dr. Yusuf Menceloğlu, Member of the Executive Board of the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, comparing R&D activities in our country both qualitatively and quantitatively with abroad, emphasized the necessity for Turkey to develop in this area. Menceloğlu noted that the chemical industry in our country needs more personnel at the doctorate level and greater financial resources. Ersin Kenan Kayalar, Chairman of Kayalar Kimya, drawing attention to the necessity for Turkey's paints industry to be more active in terms of exports, reminded that rapid compliance with global regulations is a requirement for sales especially to developed countries. Kayalar said he believes that the paints industry in Turkey has the capacity to increase its weight and influence in the global paints market by developing new products and technologies.

Congress Concluded with Record Attendance

The paintistanbul & Turkcoat Congress, which monitored the pulse of the paints sector over two days with participants and visitors from domestic and abroad, concluded with record attendance exceeding expectations. The congress, to be held every two years, will continue to shed light on the future of the paints sector.