Interview with Çağdaş Çağrı

We had a very pleasant interview with Cağdaş Çağrı, Country Manager of Eigenmann & Veronelli for Turkey. Mr. Çağrı shared valuable information with us regarding the company's products and services in the life sciences field, as well as its domestic and international activities.

First, we would like to introduce you to our readers. Could you provide information about your education, professional career and personal interests?

First, I would like to extend my condolences to all our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake disaster that struck our country. I believe that as a nation we will overcome these difficult days by standing united, heal our wounds and emerge from this process stronger as a whole country. I was born in Istanbul in 1976. After completing my secondary and high school education at Istanbul Boys' High School, I continued my higher education at Boğaziçi University. After graduating in 2000, the same year I went to the United Kingdom to pursue a master's degree in finance and business at the University of Exeter. After receiving my master's diploma, I returned to my country and began my professional career. Following brief experience at Trakya Döküm and Şişecam and after completing my military service, in 2003 I started working at Bayer Turkish Industrial Products Division, responsible for the sale of rubber and paint raw materials, and I have been in the chemical sector for approximately 20 years since then. Starting at a leading producer company like Bayer, especially in the chemistry field, and the training I received during my approximately five-year tenure there was a great opportunity for my career. Subsequently, between 2008-2015, I served as manager of the plastics, rubber and paints divisions at Brenntag Kimya, one of the largest players in the chemical raw material sales and distribution sector, and gained very important experience in chemical raw material distribution. During my last two years at this company, I also had the opportunity to take on an international role as the responsible party for all European markets in rubber product groups. Since November 2015, I have been serving as Country Manager of Eigenmann & Veronelli Turkey.

When was Eigenmann & Veronelli founded? How has your company developed over this period?

Eigenmann & Veronelli was founded in 1910 by two cousins, Giovanni Eigenmann and Adolfo Veronelli, and is a Milan-based chemical raw material producer and distributor. Our organization, with primary expertise in specialty chemicals, has focused on expanding its operations outside Italy from the 2000s onwards and established its own legal entity in Spain, Russia, and finally Turkey in 2013. Our Turkey operations, which began as a partnership with a local company, transformed into a 100% foreign-owned structure in 2016 when the remaining shares were acquired. Particularly at the end of this period, our company gained significant growth momentum, and managed to increase its turnover from approximately EUR 8 million over an approximately seven-year period to a very significant threshold of EUR 45 million as of last year. This growth, created entirely organically, was achieved mainly through our entry into new sectors and development of customer depth through new supplier agreements. Of course, proper planning of human resources in our company's organization, operational improvements, customer proximity, and utilizing the positive synergy between products we represent from companies where we act as both producer and distributor with our own produced raw materials formed the building blocks of this success. Despite being the most recently established among our subsidiaries, achieving the highest sales and profitability is a source of great pride for our entire team. Eigenmann & Veronelli offers products for many different industries.

Could you provide information about your company's products and services, particularly in the Life Sciences field?

Our Life Sciences division consists of two main groups: personal and household care products, and pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements. Particularly in the personal care field, our expert team provides the cosmetics industry in Turkey with a wide product portfolio including hair, skin, body care and colored cosmetics raw materials. Through our laboratory services used for formulation and technical support, we meet our customers' innovation needs that vary according to developing trends over time. We offer to the Turkish market high-performance and effective raw materials produced by our suppliers in Italy and with whom we have distribution agreements.

In which regions in Turkey and abroad are you providing solutions to your customers with what types of product groups?

We carry in our portfolio nearly all of the main raw materials used in the manufacture of personal and household care products. We have a very broad product portfolio consisting of surfactants, emollients, emulsifiers, esters, re-fating agents, active groups, plant extracts and oils, vitamins, rheology agents, silicones, preservatives and UV filters. Despite being a relatively recent establishment, I believe we have made significant progress in a short time in the supply of active and auxiliary substances for the pharmaceutical and dietary supplement markets. On the export side, it is a very new structure for our local operations and regarding exports, particularly esters, emulsifiers, re-fating agents, antifoaming agents and process aids used in the rubber sector produced in our own facilities in Italy, we have begun sales to some neighboring countries and Turkic republics. Additionally, our partner representatives provide support for exports through us in these regions if they do not have other distribution networks there. We also aim to develop Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries in our export operations in line with our plans going forward. We especially see sustainability issues gaining increasing importance in recent years.

What sustainability approach does Eigenmann & Veronelli adopt?

Eigenmann & Veronelli's headquarters in Italy has fulfilled its responsibility on sustainability, which has gained much importance in recent years, and has begun producing RSPO grade versions of some raw materials in its portfolio. RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certification aims to ensure the sustainability of palm nurseries grown and reduce damage to rainforests. Additionally, in our production facilities, work is regularly carried out to comply with all regulations regarding waste management, preventing environmental pollution and reducing emissions. Beyond that, nearly all of our international-scale supplier representatives have training and action programs at the highest standards in sustainability and social responsibility.

Do you have any work carried out by Eigenmann & Veronelli in terms of innovation and R&D?

Our Eigenmann & Veronelli Italy R&D Center continuously works on new raw materials with more natural and sustainable characteristics and high performance. Polyglyceryl esters and emulsifiers can be counted among these.

Is Eigenmann & Veronelli planning investments in the near and long term? What criteria do you prioritize when planning these investments?

Eigenmann & Veronelli Turkey has not needed a growth strategy through company acquisition due to the very rapid organic growth we have demonstrated to date. Additionally, our organization, being a family company, has maintained a distant stance on growth through acquisition until now. However, very significant changes in this perspective have occurred with our new management. Particularly, we are much more willing to invest in sectors where organic growth would take a very long time and which hold strategic importance for our growth. On the other hand, given that we are now the largest country outside Italy in terms of volume created, I believe management will prioritize investments in regions where we do not yet have a presence or are weaker. With operations in more countries, Eigenmann & Veronelli will become an increasingly important regional player in the coming years.