Interview with Duygu Arslandağ, Technical Sales and Product Manager at Nordmann

In our interview with Duygu Arslandağ, Technical Sales and Product Manager at Nordmann, we discussed the establishment and success story of Nordmann in Turkey.

Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself, your education and your professional background in the industry? I graduated from Marmara University's Chemical Engineering Department in 2009. I have been in chemical raw material trading for 10 years and am passionate about industry and production. I have worked with over 600 products from many global suppliers. Since my first day in the profession, I start each day remembering Atatürk's words "Every factory is a fortress" and try to provide the best service I can for Turkish industry.  

Could you tell us about Nordmann's establishment and development process?

Nordmann is a global distributor founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1912 and is 107 years old. It currently operates in 23 countries and continues to grow and globalize. At age 104, our Turkish company, established in Istanbul in 2016, continues to grow rapidly under the leadership of General Manager Rüştü Barkay, supporting many different industries with a high-quality service approach. We provide sustainable and rapid supply through our warehouses—4 in Istanbul and one each in Izmir and Mersin.

What are your products and product groups? Which sectors do you serve?

We supply technical, specialty additives rather than commercial products. Our core activity areas are paints and coatings, inks, adhesives, textiles, construction chemicals, cosmetics, rubber, plastics and composites sectors. Considering the sectors addressed by your magazine, we can list our main product groups as waxes, carbon black pigments, kaolin, matting agents, colloidal silica, monomers, silicate binders, dispersing agents and defoamers, catalysts, aluminum silicates and nano-technology products. Thanks to our global supply network, we can offer a broad product portfolio from 7 continents. Please contact us for any product you are looking for.

Could you tell us about the domestic and international structure of your supply network?

With 107 years of experience, stock in 23 countries, 4 supply offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai (China) and Mumbai (India), dozens of quality suppliers from 7 continents and a total of 6 warehouses in Turkey, we offer a flawless supply chain. If we were to list some of our suppliers who are world leaders, we can mention Honeywell, Grace, Ka-Min, Evonik, Röhm, Reaxis, MPB, Wöllner, Patcham, Ingevity, Nyacol and Sumitomo.

What sets Nordmann apart from other global distributors? How do you think you make a difference in this field?

Technology and sustainability. As Nordmann, our principle of loyalty to all business partners, our financial strength and the supply advantages I mentioned above make us leaders in sustainable supply. From the second half of 2018, many companies decided to limit imports and not hold stock due to economic reasons, which put our manufacturers in difficult situations. However, we thought the opposite with our principle of sustainable supply and went through 2018 and 2019 with maximum stock. Another feature of ours is having a technical team that closely follows technology and innovation. Our sales approach is not based on "displacing existing raw materials" but on "adding value" to the manufacturer or product. We call this "There is always something better at Nordmann."

Could you tell us about your after-sales services and customer satisfaction philosophy?

In 2018, 90% of Nordmann customers selected us as a Class A supplier. We have also been honored by Shell, Total, Honeywell, Ka-Min and Wacker as the best distributor. Nordmann is a solution partner; we never see ourselves as a sales office.

Could you provide information about your new supplier Grace and its products?

Our cooperation with Grace began in June 2019 and grew faster than we expected. Matting agents with different properties, colloidal silicas, aluminum silicate products and, most recently, anti-block additives for the plastics sector have greatly enriched our portfolio. Since we source from German factories, the delivery time for products is quite short. We are confident that we will reach a very good volume with Grace products.

What are the criteria and methods for creating an effective supply network worldwide?

To facilitate operations and sales tracking, manufacturers now tend to receive reporting from a single source. This also shows that global distributors operating in many countries are taking on an increasingly important position. As for effectiveness, we can list the most important requirements as financial strength, transparency, integrity and openness to development. Anything else you would like to add… In 2020 we will be at the paintistanbul&Turkcoat fair, we are waiting for everyone.