Interview with Tuncay Katırcı, Founder of Metaltek

We had a pleasant conversation with Tuncay Katırcı, Founder and General Manager of Metaltek. The sector's experienced professional shared the founding and development process of Metaltek with our magazine.

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

First of all, I believe all readers of this interview will agree by the end that this is a success story, because I have experienced the joy and pride of achieving the successes I will share below by building my team through the path I knew, without anyone's help or support, and through this opportunity I want to share with all readers what I have experienced during this process. I was born in Ankara in 1966. I started my working life by finding jobs during every summer term while still in middle school, because our family's financial situation required it. This working life of mine has continued uninterruptedly for 40 years. Of course, entering commercial life early has proven to be a very beneficial matter that developed me. I had the opportunity to learn by experiencing at a very young age how to understand life, get to know people, and how satisfying it is to earn my own money and the freedom it provides to a person. [caption id="attachment_125416" align="aligncenter"] Tuncay Katırcı[/caption]   In the university entrance exam I took in 1983, I gained admission to Ankara University's Faculty of Science, Department of Chemical Engineering, and graduated in 1988. After military service, I first worked for 2 years as Production Manager Assistant at Işık Alüminyum company in the production of aluminum suspended ceiling materials in painted form, and then after receiving a job offer from Yimka Kimya, which was Henkel's Central Anatolia Regional Representative, I worked for nearly 14 years in Henkel's pre-paint surface preparation chemicals department. Of course, this long work period allowed me to understand the importance and necessity of surface treatment processes for metals, and through the experiences accumulated in the paint-surface treatment equation as problems arose, I gained extensive knowledge and experience that guided me in my later business life and provided great impact and benefit. Additionally, through opportunities provided by Henkel, the numerous visits we made to the company's factory in Düsseldorf, Germany resulted in my understanding how they operated and how the global business world functioned, which proved very beneficial. During my 14-year working period, as a result of countless visits to the factories of dozens of different manufacturers in various fields located in Turkey's Central Anatolia, Black Sea, Mediterranean and Eastern Anatolia regions for business purposes, I had the opportunity to know many of our manufacturers, see their production conditions and quality procedures. Furthermore, not only that, but I also had the opportunity to know dozens of valuable employees, engineers, managers, general managers and business owners. Certainly, these acquired experiences guided me in the later periods of my professional business life, provided perspectives, enabled me to think multifacetedly, and helped me add very significant experiences that I could never obtain in return for any monetary compensation and develop myself. At the beginning of 2007, as circumstances changed, I pursued the dream of establishing my own business as an experienced chemical engineer.

Could you provide information about Metaltek's founding process and the stages it has gone through up to today?

When I founded Metaltek in May 2007, my goal was to produce certain basic and widely used maintenance chemicals that were not produced in our country, which are used in routine maintenance required by defense industry (Air-Land-Sea) vehicles and systems, listed in the military standards list distributed worldwide by Americans, and which are essential to use. As is known, R&D is a very risky business where you must spend money, effort and time until you determine the result and completion period, and until you complete your production successfully and move to sales. You may not even be successful as a result, and all your efforts and money spent may be in vain. When I started and progressed in the business, I first realized that I had to conduct many tests on the qualified chemical I was trying to produce. These tests required being carried out according to highly professionally prepared international standards and reaching the parameters you needed to provide. When I researched this matter, I realized there were no advanced laboratories in our country on these topics. I tried to get support from our universities, and I often doubted the accuracy of the test results I had conducted at the places I found. Of course, when I saw my own financial resources beginning to run out, I went through weeks and months thinking that I had reached the end of the road and had failed, feeling sad. Later, thinking about which institution might open a door for me, as a result of my research, I learned that TÜBİTAK supported new ideas and decided to prepare my own R&D project and seek support. After one or two unsuccessful attempts, as I had no money to spend, I decided not to get professional support. I worked until the mornings for days trying to develop my own project, and submitted the project I had prepared to TÜBİTAK. I want to mention here my dear mentor Hasip Yeniova with respect, affection and reverence. When I explained this project to him, he supported and encouraged me, and during TÜBİTAK inspections he personally came to my workplace. I cannot fail to mention how he defended and supported me in front of my professors of his own level. And this event helped me understand what true academicism really is. He took responsibility for the student he had personally educated. May he rest in peace. He was there for me during perhaps the most critical process in continuing my business life.

During these studies of mine, there are colleagues who carry the label of chemical engineer, hold positions in important institutions, listen to the work and efforts I described, and say "only Americans can produce this," trying to block my way and damage my morale and motivation, and who are insecure about themselves and their knowledge—my regards to them too... They could not stop me, but when I wanted to add the high-quality products I really managed to produce to the international showcase, I must say that foreign countries really built great walls in front of me.

In short, when you want to do something different, you don't need foreigners to create obstacles. You can already see dozens of people in our country who are demoralizing, always negative, produce nothing but talk, excessively detail-oriented, afraid to use initiative. This is a message for all friends from every field who want to do new things—do not abandon your path, you may fail but continue with belief and determination. Remember, success belongs to those who say they will succeed. As a result of my successful R&D work, when I had two projects and produced two different maintenance chemicals, went to military maintenance companies and obtained acceptance of my products after successful practical trials, and began receiving orders, I can say that another page opened before me. Through this opportunity, I extend my thanks to dozens of courageous officers at military maintenance facilities who opened their doors to me. Working together with people who responded and approved domestic, qualified product production in their country with great desire and courage—what I consider real patriots—has always made me proud. Through this opportunity, I also realized that nothing can replace success. With this confidence, I continued my work.

After TÜBİTAK, we continued on our path with R&D support from KOSGEB and similar agencies. I used all the support we received for the R&D projects I had undertaken and to develop the laboratory I had established. As a result, I already had the necessary foundational knowledge in corrosion and aging tests in particular, and we succeeded in conducting tests according to the latest system test equipment and test standards.

In the next step, we decided to continue on our path as an independent, impartial referee laboratory by obtaining EN ISO 17025 accreditation certificate from the Turkish Accreditation Institution. As a result of intense effort and work, we managed to establish a good quality system and on 19 May 2012 we succeeded in becoming an accredited test laboratory. Thanks to our laboratory and the tests we conduct, I closed the laboratory gap I suffered from for years, especially in producing chemicals suitable for military standards. Now I can provide test support to many of our manufacturers who follow my path and try to produce quality paints, chemicals etc. suitable to these standards, which makes me additionally happy. The international tests we conduct (according to ASTM, ISO, DIN, MIL, EN, BS and other standards) include extremely technical, critical and detailed tests that only 10-15 test laboratories in the world can perform. Through our careful and principled work, our recognition and laboratory brand visibility increased with each passing year. We have somehow crossed paths with all manufacturers in the sector. Through our successful and impartial tests, we became the approved test laboratory of many large manufacturers as the entire sector came to our laboratory with confidence, and we continue to present test results performed by professional staff and trained quality personnel in developed report format in both Turkish and English. Not content with that, after internal audits conducted by Qualicoat, a Switzerland-based certification and marking organization, at our laboratory, we earned the right to become an approved Qualicoat laboratory in our country. The fact that dozens of critical test result reports we provided to our automotive suppliers were accepted with appreciation by OEMs such as BMW, Mercedes, VW, Opel, Ford, etc., containing evidence that you receive recognition from all over the world when you do something well, was a major source of great motivation that made me happy as a chemical engineer and laboratory owner, activated me, and enabled us to continue on our path rapidly. Besides this, with dozens of test services we provided to the giants of the defense industry such as Aselsan, Roketsan, FNSS, Nurol, Havelsan, TAI, TEI, etc., we earned their appreciation and experienced the joy, together with our entire team, of being a laboratory they always refer to and approve. In addition, we became a laboratory that regularly conducted tests every year within the Qualicoat scope for all powder coating manufacturers (Jotun, Akzo, Pulver, İba, Dyo, Arsonsisi, Axalta, Mikropul, Mikroton, KC Kimya, Element, Setaş, Boyasan, Turbo) producing in our country. We continue to provide test services to all liquid paint manufacturers (Kansai, Betek, Kanat, Dyo, Marshall, etc.). We became the approved laboratory for all manufacturers in the white goods sector such as Siemens, Bosch, Vestel, etc. With our initiative in Russia, we signed an agreement with RAEA-APRAL, the Qualicoat General Licensor in Russia, and agreed that test operations for Russia and all Turkic Republics would be conducted by our laboratory, and our cooperation has continued increasing year by year. By increasing our test scopes every year in line with requests from our customers, we continued to develop our laboratory. We managed to increase from 2-3 employees at the start of this journey to 20 employees by the second half of 2021. Currently, 7 chemists and 4 chemical engineers work in our laboratory. With new personnel recruitment in the second half of 2021, this number will reach 8 chemists and 7 chemical engineers. Of course, managing an institution with so many chemists makes me very happy and proud as a chemical engineer. I hope we continue to grow in the coming years and increase these numbers further. In my 14-year business life at the company I founded, I must especially emphasize my gratitude to the dedicated employees who have been by my side for over 10 years, giving me strength, providing ideas, offering support and providing great support to our development, because success in business is only possible through a team that cares about the work, applies their mind. I want to share again with all friends this sentence that I believe in and say from my heart: the most valuable resource is people. If you have smart, dynamic, responsible colleagues around you, your path will be clear too. This adventure that we started in 2007 in a rented space covering a total of 500 m² will continue in the second half of 2021 in a 3-story factory of our own, each floor of which is 1000 m² and totaling 3000 m² of closed space, with a total factory area of 4000 m². It would not be an exaggeration to say that our new facility, which has extremely advanced capabilities, consists of professional laboratory sections, contains every kind of facility, where our employees will be happy from a social perspective, with green areas and furnished with fruits and vegetables we have grown and harvested, will also sign new successes. Through this opportunity, I want to state that I look to the future with hope and greatly believe in Turkey's private sector. I had the opportunity to be in various parts of the world and knew people of different nationalities, but I would not be wrong to say that I have not seen the practical thinking, aggressiveness, desire and determination to produce something in Turkish people in any other country's people to such an intense degree. I believe this makes us more enterprising, more fearless, more active and more successful than people of other countries.

What products, brands and services does Metaltek offer, particularly in the areas of paints, coatings and surface treatment? In these fields, what types of products does Metaltek mainly provide to which sectors?

Through the accelerated tests it conducts, Metaltek reveals all aging effects that finished products with paint, surface treatment and coating applied will face under atmospheric conditions (heat, cold, moisture, salt spray, sun, rain and all mechanical effects, etc.) with extremely advanced test equipment and helps manufacturers determine the risks they may face 5-10 years later. Due to this situation, we continue our business life by maintaining contact with all paint, surface treatment and coating manufacturers. As I mentioned before, by conducting the tests needed by almost all of these manufacturers and supporting them in developing their products, helping them determine what problems they might face in the future by providing guidance in the R&D stages before their products reach the market. Additionally, starting especially in the second half of the year, we are preparing 5-6 different training organizations each year for all stakeholders in the sector, under my leadership as an expert with 30 years of experience in our laboratory. This, I know, is also a great desire of dozens of our developing, growing institutions that aim to increase quality. When we make training available in this scope on topics such as coating technologies, paint-surface treatment equations, some special tests performed, points to be considered after testing, post-test evaluations and dozens of other useful topics, we will provide extremely useful information to these sectors and those working in the sector, raising their awareness. Therefore, by supporting them in increasing their contributions to their institutions, we want to fulfill our social responsibility duty. I believe that if the knowledge and experience I possess only remains with me, it will not benefit our country, but only when shared does it have value. Besides this, we aim to provide dozens of manufacturers who want to improve their surface treatment-paint facilities, reduce corrosion risk and find ways to increase the service life of their products with audit plans we will prepare after inspections at their facilities, if they wish, showing them the ways to produce higher quality, longer-lasting products.

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

We are the sole approved laboratory in our country of Qualicoat, a Switzerland-based quality and certification organization. Besides our country, we provide test services to relevant manufacturers in the Czech Republic, Russia and all Turkic Republics. We also respond to occasional test requests from European countries. We have an expansion plan to Middle East countries between 2021-2022. When we find the appropriate environment and time, we intend to increase our effectiveness and work in this region. We have also taken under evaluation recent project requests from Chinese investors for joint laboratory operation. Our discussions continue on what we can accomplish.

What kind of work do you do as the Metaltek company in the areas of technology, innovation and R&D? Do you have projects developed within the scope of university-industry cooperation, and if so, what are they?

As I mentioned, in our early founding years I conducted years of work and dozens of studies in the R&D field. Through this opportunity, we managed to produce, develop 7-8 qualified maintenance chemicals and supply domestic products to military maintenance companies in our country, cutting off imported products. We continue to sell these special products of ours. We do not yet have university-industry cooperation, which is something I really desire. I hope that in the future we will have real meaningful cooperation with one of our universities on a truly valuable project.

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

As Metaltek, I certainly believe that we have a certain level of awareness regarding the environment, especially with all our chemistry-trained employees. This individual awareness actually constitutes a whole. This world is a legacy to us, and we approach the matter with all our employees with the awareness that we should pass this legacy to future generations in the least damaged manner possible. Regarding occupational health and safety, it is a matter I emphasize greatly—requesting regular training from the institution we purchase services from so that our employees are more careful in their work and become informed by taking the protection measures necessary to themselves while working. Additionally, we periodically conduct practical training given by one of our personnel with first aid training certification in our laboratory, acquiring very useful information about how to deal with possible accidents, myself included.

What criteria does Metaltek prioritize when creating investment plans? Does Metaltek have investment plans for the coming periods, and if so, what are they?

I believe it no longer makes much sense to be part of a long-term investment plan. Because we all experience and know from our lived experience that expectations, preferences and what is wanted in the world change in very short time periods. Therefore, we investigate, consider and examine every investment opportunity that will be carried out and implemented in shorter periods. The time and benefit equation is very important to me. In this context, we have every kind of investment plan on our table, starting with international projects. Additionally, the superior experience and accumulated knowledge we possess in the field of laboratory services has now made us an expert consulting firm. Sometimes this experience provides us with the opportunity to participate in new investments only as a consultant firm, enables us to reach the level of conducting knowledge transfer, which has also taken Metaltek to another position. Of course, this is not only through monetary investments but also provides us with a superior card and opportunity in terms of information technology transfer. I evaluate it as a matter deserving recognition that some of our institutions reverse this cycle instead of being a technology-transferring country. As I mentioned before, the Middle East looks like a worthwhile position for us to invest and cooperate. We are taking necessary steps. In our discussions with Chinese investors, we focused more on technology transfer issues. Carefully monitoring the opportunities that will emerge in coming times, as a Turkish company we will act aggressively and will certainly never abandon our goal of carrying the METALTEK brand, which is already known and recognized in Europe and Russia, to all world geographies.

How was the 2020 year for Metaltek and the Covid-19 pandemic process? What are your forecasts and expectations for 2021?

2020 became a year in history as the year we experienced a possibility that no one could imagine, which could occur once in 100 years in the world. We know that no one could think of such an epidemic disaster and prepare for it. Of course, we at Metaltek were not prepared either, and we were caught by this earthquake precisely at the stage of building our factory, that is, investing. I must say I was really very anxious. Suddenly you face the risk of losing your business and income. You have commitments, you have an institution you need to run routinely, you have routine expenses, and there is nothing you can do with your own hands. This was actually another painful experience that showed how humanity, which rules all the world, has its hands tied in the face of natural disasters. Thank God, we must say that although we experienced a contraction, we at least found the chance to keep our institution open, and with the high dedication of our employees, we managed to get through this painful period. Of course, this was thanks to the solid bonds we had built over years with very widespread sectors. Through this opportunity, I want to express my condolences to all our friends who lost loved ones in this epidemic and wish mercy for those who lost their lives. Sometimes life runs its own course without involving you in the work, and we can only watch what happens. 2021 definitely started painfully, but after vaccines are completed, we understand that life will slowly return to normal, and this will happen after the second half of the year. After that, we need to move quickly as a country, because as a result of the circumstances, there are thousands of our people who have lost their jobs, whose businesses could not open, whose income has ended. My greatest wish for them is that conditions normalize as soon as possible and that our people, who are now squeezed, tired, exhausted and think they have no way out, take their places in business life, both as employees and as employers. I look to the second half of 2021 with hope for the private sector and our people. My greatest wish is also that we support each other as much as we can by showing interest in each business we open, with the aim of healing each other's wounds. I hope I have signed an interview that you can read without being overwhelmed. Actually, this article was a good opportunity for me, someone who has been working non-stop for 14 years and has not had the chance to stop and think. It gave me the opportunity to share with you on such a special day as April 23rd dozens of things I have experienced over the years but could not express, could not share and have carried in my inner world. It was an interview where I could convey freely and as it came from my heart and could put into words. Finally, I want to say this: let us never lose our hope, let us not forget that every negativity actually contains a positivity within it and new chances will come to us. Let us know that this country has very nice people, that we have minds that produce and create, and let us have confidence in ourselves. Through this opportunity, I want to express my gratitude and thanks to all the dear managers and employees of the Industrial Paint & Surface magazine who gave me this interview opportunity. I wish you all well-being, health and success.