Interview with Haldun Bakkal, Sales Manager of Genmar

In our interview, Haldun Bakkal, Sales Manager of Genmar, provided information about the products and technologies they offer in the adhesives and sealants fields.

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

I graduated from İ.T.Ü. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1987, and after completing my military service, I began my engineering career in 1989 as a maintenance engineer at Parsan Makine Parçaları Sanayii A.Ş. Following this period, I continued my career in different sectors and companies. To list them quickly: Sales Engineer at Genmar A.Ş., Sales Engineer at Güriş A.Ş., Paint Methods Engineer at Oyak Renault A.Ş., Assistant Manager of Machinery and Equipment Department at Garanti Finansal Kiralama A.Ş., and Project Manager TR at Geico A.Ş. Most recently, since 2003, I have been continuing my career as Sales Manager for Paints-Sealants Application and Liquid Transfer Equipment in my second tenure at Genmar A.Ş.

Could you provide information about Genmar's founding process and the stages it has gone through to reach its current state?

Genmar began its life in 1986 with a team of two people and the sale of Ingersoll Rand pneumatic assembly equipment. From the very beginning, it has been evolving with the philosophy of "Creating Value While Manufacturing," aiming to provide ergonomic equipment and solutions that increase efficiency and quality in customers' production lines while reducing costs. Today, Genmar acts as the Turkish representative of 17 different world-renowned brands in their respective fields. Genmar continues its activities under the headings of assembly and smart transport, paints and sealants applications, liquid filling, and lean manufacturing systems, offering package solutions, turnkey projects, service and training services with a team of 55 personnel.

What are the products, brands and services that Genmar offers, particularly in the Adhesives and Sealants fields? Which sectors does Genmar primarily serve in these areas and what types of products does it offer?

Our solution partner in adhesives and sealants applications is Graco, one of the world's most prestigious brands in this field. Graco not only has a wide range of equipment in adhesives and sealants but also closely monitors market needs and trends. Taking into account the application requirements of end users and the variety of chemicals used, the most suitable equipment is prepared for use by different sectors. As Genmar, we implement system solutions tailored to needs with standard equipment in our product range, and we also meet customer requirements by carrying out project work in situations requiring solutions. While the weight of our customer portfolio consists of automotive, commercial vehicles and supplier industries, we serve every sector where adhesives and sealants applications exist. Recently, we have been focusing on investments in electric vehicle battery production.

Could you tell us about your domestic and foreign sales activities? What types of products do you sell to which regions domestically and internationally?

I can confidently say that we have a presence in every region of Turkey where industry is located. Our sales and service engineers conduct customer visits despite health and visit difficulties we have experienced due to pandemic conditions. In addition to these visits, we conduct product or customer-based webinars, presentation meetings and demonstration activities. As pandemic conditions ease further, we intend to increase our efforts in these areas. Of course, trade fair activities held in Turkey, particularly specialized fairs, play an important role for us in reaching new customers and exchanging up-to-date information with our existing customers. We believe that the Adhesive&Bonding Eurasia fair, which will be held for the first time in Turkey, will also be an important step for Genmar in this context. Currently, we do not have specific work directed toward foreign markets. Our activities in these countries are largely carried out through joint project work with engineering or robot companies based in Turkey.

What kind of work do you carry out in the areas of technology, innovation and R&D as Genmar? Do you have university-industry cooperation projects, and if so, what are they?

As mentioned earlier in the adhesives and sealants field, we work on special projects for customer needs that cannot be met with standard equipment. In these projects, our solution partners are chemical supplier companies or robot/engineering firms. In our other areas of activity such as assembly, smart transport and lean manufacturing systems, we also have projects realized through the designs of our technical service and project teams, as well as patented products.

Could you provide information about Genmar's environmental policy and sustainability approach? What can you tell us about your occupational health and safety work?

As Genmar, our priority and goal has been for the "Genmar" brand to evoke the concepts of trust, quality and stability in our customers, ahead of the brands we represent. Genmar has built its mission and vision on becoming the priority and permanent choice of the manufacturing industry and providing sustainable value creation for all stakeholders. The most important strength in achieving these values is Genmar's team of 55 people. The working conditions and arrangements of our team members, who are trained, experienced and open to continuous improvement in their respective fields, are provided at the highest level with this consciousness. Under the guidance of our Occupational Safety Specialist within our organization, every precaution regarding occupational safety is applied without compromise, whether in our offices, service and production areas, or in work and construction sites at customer locations. One of our first trainings following recruitment is provided by our Occupational Safety Specialist. For work to be carried out in special areas, such as working in explosive atmospheres, external trainings are planned and implemented.

What criteria does Genmar prioritize when drawing up investment plans? Does Genmar have investment plans for the upcoming periods, and if so, what are they?

We can say that the most important investment for Genmar is its employees. Despite pandemic conditions that negatively affected business life in early 2020, Genmar added 11 people to its workforce within two years. In parallel with the increase in our team members and in order to work more efficiently with our stakeholders, Genmar is planning to move to its new building within the coming year, which will include testing, training and presentation areas.