Report: Bikem Ögünç
AKPA Kimya, which produces raw materials and intermediate products for many industrial sectors, today ranks among the world's leading companies in the sector and places in the top five. Through projects and investments ranging from R&D to education, the company is increasing both its capacity and brand value.
AKPA Kimya has been one of the key players shaping Turkey's chemical sector since 1997. The company, which produces raw materials and intermediate products for many industrial sectors, stands out in the market with high-quality products. Kemal Darcan, Chairman of the Board of AKPA Kimya, who graduated from Marmara University and entered the chemical sector before founding AKPA Kimya in 1997, which today holds a strong position in the sector, says: "Since its establishment, our company has held a significant market share both domestically and internationally." We discussed AKPA Kimya's production and investment activities with Kemal Darcan.
AKPA Kimya Chairman of the Board Kemal Darcan
Can you explain AKPA Kimya's sectoral journey, organization and operations in Turkey?
As AKPA Kimya, being one of the country's only and the world's few organic peroxide producers, we continue our rapid growth through our strategic steps. While our company meets all demand from the domestic market, we export to 75 countries and have expanded our brand awareness to a wider geography abroad. At the same time, we increased the share of products exported from production, which was at 70 to 76 percent, to above 80 percent. As a result of the intense demand that followed this success, we decided to increase production capacity. In addition to the existing production lines at our Tekirdağ Muratlı facility, we installed 8 new production lines and currently operate Europe's largest production facility under one roof. The organic peroxides produced in these lines, initiators, and petrochemical and composite sector products will be used as intermediate inputs in reactions. In our investments, we gave priority to the use of domestic machinery and equipment where possible. We also procured equipment complying with SEVESO criteria and implemented the necessary systems. With these investments, we plan to increase production capacity by 55 percent. We will create employment for an additional 82 people. Since 1997, AKPA Kimya has been producing raw materials and intermediate products for many industrial sectors and ranks among the world's leading companies in the sector, placing in the top five. With products we develop in our R&D laboratories, we supply organic peroxides, initiators and accelerators to the composite and petrochemical sectors. Furthermore, with our paint driers (siccatives) used in the paints and coatings sector, we continue to expand our product range daily and maintain our market position with high-quality products.
You supply chemical products globally. What can you tell us about your international operations and market strategies?
As AKPA, we were included in the Turquality brand program in 2019. This accelerated our efforts to increase brand awareness in target countries. We see that the work carried out has had a positive impact on our company's export figures. Another important activity that increases our export potential for our company is the warehouse we opened in early 2021 in South Carolina, USA. Our warehouse is located within 80 thousand square meters of land and consists of 4 thousand square meters of enclosed area. Thanks to our warehouse's proximity to Charleston and Savannah, America's largest ports, we rapidly ship products to North America, the US domestic market, Canada, Mexico and also South American countries. In this way, we make timely deliveries to our customers. In early 2023, we completed the installation and commissioning of our first fully equipped laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment at our AKPA US facility in South Carolina. In our new laboratory in North America, we not only conduct quality control and application tests but also develop products tailored to our customers' special requests and respond quickly to demands. At the same time, by meeting the technical expectations of our business partners, we strengthened the foundations of AKPA Kimya's growth strategy in North America. As AKPA Kimya, we continue research and development work in science and technology not only in our country but also in other countries where we operate. With our offices and warehouses in Germany and Spain, we continue to develop our presence on the European continent and our competitive strength daily, and increase our company awareness through trade fairs and events we participate in.
To what extent do you benefit from artificial intelligence and new generation technologies in your operations? What can you tell us about your company's digitalization vision?
We prioritize digitalization efforts and make significant investments in this area; with SAP S/4HANA, a complete and modular cloud ERP system, we conduct our operations in real-time with artificial intelligence and analytics features. To ensure our production continues safely and increase traceability, we use the latest technology in automation systems, and we provide work tracking and performance measurement digitally. We benefit from artificial intelligence and new technologies on our websites and closely monitor digitalization.
Can we learn about your "sustainability" approach? In this direction, what are your future planning for the long and short term?
Creating added value for our country with a focus on sustainable growth and high innovation; prioritizing nature, environment, our customers and employees and increasing the quality of life of all our stakeholders; maintaining our presence in national and international standards on a foundation of safety are among our priorities. As AKPA Kimya, we are taking steps to create a more sustainable world. In this context, energy efficiency is an important topic in our environmental focus area and we have accelerated our efforts in this field. Thanks to the solar panels on the roof of our Muratlı facility, we generate 28 percent of the electricity we consume from solar energy. At the same time, we plan to increase our renewable energy use through wind turbines whose installation is underway. With our ISO 50001 Energy Management System certificate, we made our energy performance more efficient. We have also started work on carbon and water footprint to minimize carbon emissions.
The foundation stone ceremony for the secondary school you will build in Tekirdağ Muratlı took place recently. Can you tell us a bit about this school?
Let's discuss the support you provide to education. As AKPA Kimya, to provide not only economic but also social contribution to the society we live in at the highest level, we implement numerous corporate social responsibility projects and aim to benefit society. In line with this purpose, on 9 May 2024, we held the foundation stone ceremony for the Kemal Darcan Secondary School project in Muratlı district. The Kemal Darcan Secondary School Project includes: 20 classrooms, an indoor sports hall, an independent art studio and a space observatory. With our secondary school project, we aim to adapt to the changing conditions of the new century, develop qualified human resources on the path to building the knowledge society of the future, provide equal opportunities in education and enable students to receive quality education. With the quality education opportunity we will provide to students and the value we create, we will support the development of informed and healthy individuals.
Do you have any projects within the framework of university-industry collaboration that you have implemented or plan to implement? Organic peroxides, initiators, accelerators and paint driers are your areas of expertise. What are the products, differences and innovations you offer in these areas?
Our R&D department was established in 2005 and was approved as an R&D center by the Ministry of Industry and Technology in 2017. We are a well-equipped R&D center. We add new equipment to our state-of-the-art devices daily and expand our team. In our R&D center, with our high-tech equipment and dynamic team, we develop innovative intermediate products and add value to our customers.
To meet customer requirements, we prioritize R&D investments in our high-tech laboratories. We expanded our Environmental Laboratory established in 2018 further in 2023 by equipping its new facility with state-of-the-art devices. We also conduct joint projects by collaborating with universities and publish articles in international academic journals.
Our company carries out various projects for product development and technical support with a professional R&D team with high knowledge and experience, and significant R&D investments play an active role in our company's growth process. As AKPA Kimya, we not only respond to our customers' needs in the most suitable way but also conduct special studies according to application areas, and provide training on how to test our products. With this solution-oriented production and development approach, we have brought our service quality to the highest level. High-quality products and technical support provision are among AKPA Kimya's distinctive advantages.
At the same time, our company continues its work related to the Chemical Classification, Labeling and Packaging Regulation. Meanwhile, we increase our competitive strength with our REACH-certified products in the European market and conduct necessary work for the safe and proper use, storage and testing of the products we manufacture. While producing in a challenging and dangerous sector, we reduce our country's external dependence and rapidly respond to the developing industry's needs with our quality products. As AKPA Kimya, rather than a supplier-customer relationship, we work with our customers as team members and solution partners. In this way, we establish long-term business partnerships and ensure the smooth, long-term operation of the supplier, employee and customer chain.
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