Interview with Tolga Sarı, General Manager of Drachem

Interview with Drachem General Manager Tolga Sarı In our interview, Drachem Founder and General Manager Tolga Sarı provided information about the products and services offered by Drachem.

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

I was born in Istanbul in 1978. I have a degree in business administration. For 22 years, I have worked as a middle and senior-level manager in various areas of the chemical industry, both domestically and internationally. Of these 22 years, 13 years were spent in factory management, which encompassed production, investment, quality and logistics. During this period, I worked for 2 companies that are sector leaders in their respective fields in Turkey. Subsequently, I spent 9 years as a senior manager, with sales-marketing and finance added to these experiences. For this reason, one could say that these initial 13 years, spent in production, plant management and investment, gave me a kitchen-level understanding of the sector. I learned a great deal, and this was a serious advantage for me over the years. For good reason, generally in Turkey, of 10 senior managers in positions such as General Manager, on average 7 come from sales backgrounds, 2 from finance backgrounds, and only 1 from production. I can say I was among this rare 1. This sometimes became an important selection criterion. I held senior management positions abroad, and at the end of 2019, returning from abroad, I joined an important investment activity in the sector as General Manager. During this period, as a company and team, we established an important facility and achieved significant sales successes. At the end of 2021, I ended my professional management career and initiated the establishment of "Drachem Chemical Company".  

Could you provide information about Drachem's founding process and the stages it has gone through to the present day?

The initial founding idea of Drachem and thoughts about the company name were born in Germany. Subsequently, we decided to operate in Turkey. The company was established in Turkey at the end of 2021, and in 2022 it made a rapid start in sales and marketing activities in Turkey. In Turkey, there are many large and valuable chemical raw material producers and sales companies that have worked hard in this field and sector for years, making investments. The services and efforts they have given to our sector and to our manufacturing companies are indisputable. As Drachem, we aim to remain among these firms by working and putting in the same effort. Success is important, but more important than that are permanence and sustainability.

What are the products, brands and services offered by Drachem? What types of products does Drachem primarily supply to which sectors?

As Drachem, we aim to specialize in certain raw material groups and establish a permanent position in the market. We have 3 main product sales groups: the "acetate group" containing ethyl and butyl acetate products, the "acid group" containing 2 acid products along with acetic acid, and the "solvent group" containing alcohol, IPA and similar products. In the coming periods, we plan to continue our operations only in these product groups.

Could you tell us about your domestic and international sales activities? What types of products are you selling to which regions domestically and internationally?

As is known, we conduct sales of products manufactured at Adokim's Antalya facility, which is Turkey's first domestic producer of ethyl acetate and butyl acetate. While investments were nearly impossible to see in Turkey during the pandemic period, Adokim showed remarkable courage with its confidence in our country and sector, bringing an important investment and facility to our nation. We also, together with our team colleagues, take pride in selling Adokim products. Our acetic acid product we bring to Turkey regularly every month and conduct its sales. In these 2 product groups, we have monthly sales tonnage reaching 3,000 metric tons. Beyond this, we are also entering the European market, particularly with our acid product group.  

What type of activities does Drachem conduct in the areas of technology and innovation?

As is known, we are a sales company. However, in today's world, it is impossible to stay away from technology and innovation. Our company uses the latest ERP management systems, and besides this, we have decided to invest in CRM. In this way, we will very well categorize and determine customer habits and consumption trends, reaching our goal of providing the fastest and best service. Now, when competition is this fierce, raising your service level and quality to the top will make you distinctive.

What are your views on the Turkish chemical sector and its current development?

We can say that the Turkish chemical sector is experiencing its golden age in recent years. Following the automotive sector, the chemical sector has the largest increase in export ratio. Particularly during the pandemic period, while many European manufacturers declared Force Majeure one after another and halted their facilities and production, during this time the Turkish chemical sector worked continuously, multiplying its capacity. On the other hand, supply times from the Far East, led by China, reaching 60-90 days to Europe caused eyes to turn to Turkey during the post-pandemic period when demand was high and rapid supply was required. Wherever you look, there was no country more ready than Turkey, which is close to Europe. On the other hand, again with the Far East leading, freight rates reaching historic highest levels, placed Turkey and the Turkish chemical sector in a position of being an important supplier for Europe and nearby geographies, and solidified this position. Besides this, getting ship bookings to Europe was nearly impossible. In the chemical sector, we experienced a period of serious demand not only in production but also in logistics in the past 2 years. These are positive developments we experienced for our country, but on the other hand, Turkey is not in a position as a primary raw material producer country; let us acknowledge this. It is in a position as a semi-finished and finished product producer. We must work with all our might to reach a position of primary raw material producer through long-term planning and investments. Chemistry exists in every area of our lives. The world is moving and will be directed by those who produce computer and software technology, as well as those who produce chemical and pharmaceutical technology and products.

Could you tell us about Drachem's investment plans and future objectives?

We have completed and ongoing investments in information technologies such as ERP and CRM. Beyond this, we have serious investment plans in logistics activities. We will share these in the coming period. Parallel to these investments, our goal is to increase our sales by 25-30% in 2023. In exports, our priority market has always been Europe. An organization with 30% of our sales being exports is also our short-term objective for 2023.