A Pleasant Conversation with Cavidan Karaca, CEO of Kimteks Poliüretan

In this candid and enjoyable interview with Cavidan Karaca, CEO of Kimteks Poliüretan San. ve Tic. A.Ş., we had the opportunity to answer our questions about his professional background, the company's development from past to present, its objectives and R&D activities, getting to know Mr. Karaca in every aspect.

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

I graduated from Middle East Technical University, Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1992. I started my career as a Production Engineer at Erkunt Döküm. Subsequently, I worked as a Production Engineer and Procurement Manager at Arçelik, and as a Procurement Manager at Omsan Lojistik. In 2002, I became one of two founding partners of İnnovis Danışmanlık, a consulting firm providing turnaround management services, and between 2001-2015, I served as Interim General Manager in various companies in the manufacturing, R&D and service sectors as part of turnaround projects, implementing restructurings and company transformation projects. Following a consulting project that began at Kimteks at the end of 2014, I have been serving as CEO since the beginning of 2015.

Could you briefly provide information about your company's founding process, facilities, production focus and market share?

Kimteks Poliüretan San. ve Tic. A.Ş. took its current identity on 1 January 2016 following the division of two business units of Kimteks Kimya, an establishment with 33 years of history. Following the division process, Kimteks Kimya continued its activities in sales and distribution of synthetic leather, plastics, paints and coatings, and textile chemicals, while Kimteks Poliüretan A.Ş. continued its work in design, manufacturing, sales and marketing of polyurethane systems within a 'System House' structure. In brief; Kimteks, which has been in the real sector for 33 years, has been active in polyurethane systems since 1989 and, as you know, is Turkey's first 'Polyurethane System House' manufacturing company. Our production facility is a modern plant with exemplary equipment in the Gebze Plastics Organized Industrial Zone. Although there are differences in product groups, Kimteks holds a leading position in the Turkish market in the footwear product group, which is its primary area of service.

Could you tell us about your product range and product features? Which sectors do you serve?

Kimteks serves four main sectors in the industry: Footwear, Flexible, Rigid and C.A.S.E. Thus, it is a system house that aims to serve every market and application, with a product range that addresses all these applications. Of these product groups; the footwear product group, as the name suggests, supplies raw material systems to companies manufacturing soles for footwear and slippers. The Flexible product group serves the automotive, office furniture sectors, while the Rigid product group supplies products to many sectors including white goods, insulation, construction, solar energy, pipe insulation and furniture. "C.A.S.E" refers to Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, Elastomers, and is a product group consisting of small, fragmented, highly dissimilar applications, seeking solutions to very different and unmet demands and needs, requiring technology and know-how, and capable of serving many of the customers of the other three product groups in some way.

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

Our basic structure consists of a sales organization specialized in activity areas in both the Turkish market and export markets. We have regional organizations in areas where we provide intensive service in the Turkish market. In export markets, in addition to direct work with many countries where we are active, we also have collaborations with country distributors or effective sellers in those countries. More than approximately 30% of our sales are to 30-35 different countries where we export.

Could you provide information about your laboratory and R&D activities? What can you tell us about your R&D investments?

As I mentioned earlier, we have an exemplary production facility, laboratory and R&D structure in the sector. However, our goals are large, and we are making serious investments in R&D in terms of both human resources and equipment. In 2016, our R&D team was further strengthened with the participation of new colleagues with high sector experience. Our goal is to continue our R&D activities as an 'R&D Center' by the end of 2016. We are currently managing 3 TEYDEB projects in progress. Additionally, we support our R&D staff in pursuing master's and doctoral studies.

What are the important issues you focus on to ensure the long-term presence of your products in the market?

The way to remain permanent no longer lies in maintaining a superior position in the classical aspects of quality, logistics and cost advantages. These are already necessary conditions and requirements. To remain permanent; it is important to anticipate the sector's future needs in advance, to be a pioneer in R&D work in this regard, to continuously improve by increasing our customers' competitiveness, and to maintain our position as a 'preferred' company. This is our priority.

What activities do you conduct in terms of environmental protection and occupational safety sensitivity?

Our commitment to environmental protection and occupational safety, beyond legal requirements, is an indispensable priority as a responsible and conscientious corporate entity. We have made serious investments in this regard and have a team that is aware of our sensitivity in this matter at every level and performs their duties properly. Through our weekly meetings, consultants and conscious policies, we proceed by taking necessary precautions on environmental and occupational safety matters.

What kind of services do you offer to ensure customer satisfaction and meet expectations? Do you provide post-sales support to your customers?

Our activities in this regard are at a level that serves as an example in the sector. An team we have structured under the name Technical Support; working in a matrix with our production, sales and R&D teams, conducts 'routine visits' not for common trials and problems typical in the sector, but in the sense of knowing our customer's conditions, feeling them, and seeing their needs in advance. We observe serious contributions to both our customers' satisfaction and the interrelationships of their processes.

Could you provide information about your company's mission and vision?

Our mission is to meet the expectations of our stakeholders at the highest level with a business approach that respects individuals and society, is governed by law and ethical values, and is sensitive to the environment in our sector. Our vision is to achieve 100% growth within 5 years until 2021 through the quality of our products and services in our sector, to become the market leader in Turkey in 2020, and to increase our export ratio to 40%.

What can you tell us about internal communication in your organization? What initiatives do you undertake to improve your employees' performance?

We have an internal communication plan. Within this plan, we have project work that we meet weekly, monthly, seasonally and annually, with joint process owners monitoring and tracking together. Outside of work, we have a team that produces and implements social responsibility projects on behalf of our organization. We have a communication event where we reward the educated children of our employees, albeit modestly. Another team of ours is KAT, 'Kimpur Activity Team'; this team also works proactively based on the expectations and planning of our employees for spending time together outside of work – not classical organizational activities like meals, birthday celebrations, etc., but also rafting, trekking and similar activities.

What are the most important problems in the polyurethane sector, and what kind of solutions do you propose?

I see the most important problem as the lack of adequate emphasis on R&D and limited human resource profiles restricted to general chemistry knowledge. Polyurethane is a dynamic product. Recommending the right product for the right application is the top priority. This is only possible through serious R&D and technical team experience, investment in human resources and ensuring continuity. It is very important for us manufacturers to be pioneers rather than followers in this regard, and to take action through collaborations with universities and work with international consultants until this accumulation of knowledge is built in the sector.

What would you like to say about your company's targets and projects?

Kimteks is a dynamic company undergoing transformation management. We have a serious five-year growth projection aligned with our vision, and our infrastructure and human resource investments continue. Our goal is to maintain and increase our market share in the footwear and flexible activity areas in the sector. However, we have radical targets for the Rigid activity area, particularly in the refrigerator, insulation and construction sectors, and we are in the midst of a serious offensive in this regard. In exports, as mentioned, when we draw a compass centered on Turkey, all surrounding countries are our target markets. In our export markets, both to reach more countries and customers and to ensure that our customer's share of our sales does not exceed 5%. Our goal is to be a company managed with corporate structure and fast, flexible, pioneering.

What are your views on the polyurethane sector? Do you have a message you would like to convey to the sector?

The global polyurethane market increased from 13,650 kilotons in 2010 to 17,950 kilotons in 2016, and the average annual growth rate is 4.7%. The Turkish polyurethane sector has achieved much higher performance and growth rates in this regard, and still has considerable growth potential. While Turkey's economic growth averaged 3.88% over the last 10 years, according to our market research and analysis, Turkey's polyurethane market annual growth appears to have realized approximately 7-8%. This shows that the polyurethane market in our country is growing with Turkey's economy but somewhat independent of it, its performance is above the world average, and it offers us quite attractive opportunities. Manufacturers that emphasize technology and know-how and combine this with the right strategy will move to a more advantageous position compared to competitors in the coming years. We have formulated our strategies in this regard, made plans regarding our investments, technology and human resources, and are pursuing our goals. In all markets and applications we serve and will serve, we place importance on continuous innovation, expertise and technical service. We will quickly and agilely solve our customers' unmet needs, new product and application demands, providing our customers with these "tailor-made" designed, value-added performance solutions while adding extra value, and through the win-win formula, we will grow more and earn more together with our customers.

Finally; how do you spend your free time to protect yourself from the negative effects of stress created by business life? Could you tell us about your hobbies so we can get to know you better?

I have a small daughter, and like every mother, nothing is more enjoyable than being with her and spending time with her. However, I am among those who have managed to learn not to bring work into my personal life. I do not live work and current problems outside of work. I love to travel. Traveling is a hobby I share with my spouse. I also love cooking and eating. In this regard, our trips are mostly focused on good food routes. On each trip we travel 1,000-1,500 km. In parallel, I mostly read books about food and culinary culture and conduct research. Besides this, I exercise from time to time, though I sometimes neglect it. I also greatly enjoy reading comics, and I have comic series that I follow weekly. However, the real truth is that I never had dreams of retirement; my greatest hobby has always been 'working'.