Reportage: Murat Soygür
Kubilay Boya, known for its emphasis on R&D activities, continues its successful journey through strategic collaborations. The company is preparing to open its new facility soon and is leveraging artificial intelligence and automation in its production processes.
Today, every visionary industrial establishment prioritizes investment in artificial intelligence and automation infrastructure at the top of its target list. Production proceeds continuously in facilities designed with next-generation technologies. Kubilay Boya is one of the established companies with this vision. We spoke with the company's General Director İhsan Bilgiç about recent activities, sector trends, and the impact of artificial intelligence on production processes.
Can you tell us about the latest trends and developments shaping the paints and coatings sector?
The paints and coatings sector today has a rapidly changing and evolving structure in light of innovation and R&D activities. This change and development occurs through the influence of factors such as the rapid advancement of digital industry and raw material technologies, environmental awareness, and shifts in consumer preferences. The latest trends shaping the paints and coatings sector can be listed as intelligent/functional coatings, zero VOC (volatile organic compound) paints sensitive to human health and the environment, and the use of digital technology in paint and coating production processes. Intelligent coatings are used to impart functions to surfaces that consumers may request. Examples of these include antimicrobial coatings, scratch-resistant varnishes, and fire-retardant paints. Our company's R&D Center, with expert R&D personnel in the field, is one of the major factors in our position as a pioneering company in the sector. Quality control is quite important to ensure the durability and performance of surfaces.
İhsan Bilgiç
Can you provide information about quality standards? What position does Turkey hold in this regard?
Quality control, as in every sector, holds vital importance in the paints and coatings sector. Ensuring the durability and performance of surfaces and confirming that each produced batch of paint has the desired properties are only possible through strict and proper quality control practices. Quality standards are used to check the conformity of products to specifications determined through intensive efforts. If one batch sent to the customer does not match another, as a result of customer dissatisfaction, the competitive strength of that company will be seriously compromised. Turkey is progressing rapidly in terms of compliance with international quality standards. Particularly, the harmonization process with European Union norms and cooperation with international accreditation organizations have strengthened Turkey's position in the quality control field. However, efforts to comply with quality standards and improve quality control processes continue continuously. In this way, Turkey increases its competitiveness in the international market and strengthens its capacity to deliver quality products and services.
Collaborations and partnerships make it possible to continue innovation. Have you had any recent collaborations?
Yes, we have consistently evaluated and continue to evaluate various opportunities to sustain innovation through collaborations and partnerships. From 2008 to today, we have had various collaborations with two of the world's major paint companies. Our primary objective in these collaborations was to benefit from innovation and their experience, and I believe we have made substantial gains. Strategic collaborations, especially joint projects conducted with academic institutions, strengthen our R&D activities and enable the development of new technologies. In this context, we conducted long-term academic collaboration with Prof. Dr. Yusuf Yağcı, Faculty Member of ITU Chemistry Department and one of Turkey's notable academics, whom we lost last year when he passed away in office. We worked with him on polymer chemistry, light-induced polymerization, and most recently on antiviral coatings. As a result of these studies, we introduced highly valuable products to the paints and coatings sector market, published our work in international Q1 journals, received national and international support, and were awarded patents in the protection of intellectual and industrial property rights. Through our collaborations, we have produced numerous new products and academic studies that add value to our country, and we have had the opportunity to represent our company in the best way on national and international platforms.
To what extent are you utilizing automation and artificial intelligence technologies to increase efficiency and productivity in paint and coating processes? What transformation has this technology created in your sector?
Our factory is currently operating at full capacity. With an investment project developed through a TÜBİTAK-incentivized R&D project aimed at producing a new mid-to-high technology product, we received the incentive certificate. However, in this project, which is also supported by the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology, we have chosen complete automatic systems consisting of automation and automatic dosing in all equipment, mixing machines, and automatic filling machines. We have begun trial production and hope to open our new facility within the coming months. When we put the system into operation, we will have provided double the additional capacity to our current output. Through projects like this, the use of automation and artificial intelligence technologies in paint production processes will make the production process faster and more effective. I think in the near future, artificial intelligence will be used even in the paint formulation process. With artificial intelligence, one of today's most important technological advances, people can analyze large data sets that are difficult to analyze in a short time and extract meaningful conclusions from this analysis. Thanks to these characteristics, new paint formulations can be created within seconds. In the coming years, we may encounter next-generation paints perhaps formulated by artificial intelligence.
What are your forecasts for the future of the paints and coatings industry? How is your company preparing for the future?
90-95% of our company's total production is wood or furniture paint. It is known that Turkish furniture exports continue to grow export-oriented. We foresee that Turkish furniture holds a very good position globally in terms of quality-price ratio and will continue to grow. For this reason, our future vision is shaped toward continued growth. On the other hand, good momentum has been achieved in exports in recent years and growth continues. Our exports grew 115% over the past four years, and we believe the country's future in exports is very open. We currently export 17-20% of our total production to 25 countries and forecast this ratio will reach 25-30% in the coming four years. Another important parameter in our company's future vision is to evaluate opportunities such as collaboration or partnership with the aim of becoming a global player.
Who is İhsan Bilgiç?
İhsan Bilgiç was born in 1963 in Bor, Niğde. He graduated from Çukurova University Faculty of Agriculture in 1983. He began working at the Ministry of Village Affairs and Cooperatives the same year. With the reorganization in 1985, he assumed positions as district director, branch manager, and deputy provincial director within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Village Affairs. In 1996, he was assigned to the Isparta Provincial Agriculture Directorate and continued in this position until 2000. In 2000, he terminated his public service through resignation and began working in the private sector. In 2001, he started his activities in the paints sector as General Director at a paint company in Menemen, İzmir, and continued in this position until 2005. In October 2005, he took office as General Director at Kubilay Kimya ve Boya San. Tic. Ltd. Şti., newly established within ALOSBI, from the start of the company's production activities, and continues to hold this position. Bilgiç has also served as Paint Committee Chairman at the Aegean Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2012.
Gallery
