Yuka Kimya Founder Hüseyin Şahin Answers Our Questions

Founder of Yuka Kimya Hüseyin Şahin Answered Our Questions In the interview we conducted, Founder and General Manager of Yuka Kimya Hüseyin Şahin answered our questions. Mr. Şahin shared valuable information with us regarding his company's products and services.

Could you share your professional background and your company's founding story so our readers can get to know you and your firm?

In 2010, I graduated from the Chemistry Department at Anadolu University in Eskişehir. After military service, I started working as an R&D Laboratory Specialist at Denge Kimya. Denge Kimya operates as one of the leading domestic companies in the textile chemicals sector. During my 7-year R&D period as a specialist and manager, I worked on projects involving silicone-based polymer synthesis and emulsions. Between 2010-2017, while continuing my R&D activities, I was part of the team that founded the DENSURF brand. To develop the marketing side of the DENSURF brand, I left my R&D duties, which I loved dearly, and worked as DENSURF Product Manager in marketing for 1 year. In January 2019, I left Denge Kimya and founded Yuka Kimya. Yuka Kimya began operations as a DENSURF brand distributor for the Marmara Region and continues as the Turkey Distributor for DENSURF.

Yuka Kimya serves which sectors and what product groups do you offer to the paints and coatings sector?

Our flagship customer group is paint manufacturers. Considering the distribution services we provide and the advantages offered by the DENSURF brand, we have begun to become a major player in the paints and coatings sector. Additionally, we can serve composite, polyurethane and ink manufacturers with our existing DENSURF products. Our goal is to deepen our presence in these customer segments in the short and medium term with both existing and new products. The product groups we offer to the paints and coatings sector consist of: DENSURF HR series heat-resistant silicone resins, DENSURF SM series surface modifying agents, DENSURF DA series dispersing agents and DENSURF AF series anti-foam agents. [caption id="attachment_154774" align="aligncenter"] Founder and General Manager of Yuka Kimya Hüseyin Şahin[/caption]

Do you have an innovative product recently introduced to the market, and what is your most preferred product among the products you distribute?

Looking at 2023, DENSURF DA 4010 and DENSURF DA 4123, our high-molecular-weight dispersing agents, stand out as innovative products with their performance. Our most preferred products are the heat-resistant silicone resins in the DENSURF HR group. The DENSURF HR series is preferred by our customers thanks to its product quality and supply convenience advantages.

Could you mention your sales volume, and which regions do you primarily serve?

The Istanbul Tuzla region, Kocaeli Gebze region and greater Ankara are the areas where our customers are concentrated. The vast majority of our sales come from these three regions. In 2022, Yuka Kimya achieved approximately 150 tons in paint additive and silicone resin sales. We forecast doubling this volume in 2023.

What do you pay attention to in order to ensure customer satisfaction?

We have focused on 2 points to improve customer satisfaction. First, responding to orders quickly. By tracking our customers' purchasing habits, we try to manage our inventory effectively. Our other focus is understanding our customers' demands correctly with a technical and dedicated team and offering the appropriate product. To maintain customer satisfaction, we conduct frequent customer visits to monitor our customers' satisfaction and needs. We conduct customer satisfaction surveys each year to improve the service we will provide to our customers.

Are you planning to expand your supply network, and could you share with us the work you have done in this area?

Looking at our supply structure, approximately 90% of our sales comprise DENSURF products. Working with a domestic producer provides a significant advantage for Yuka Kimya in terms of supply chain management. We plan to expand our supply network. For this purpose, we participated as visitors in the European Coating Show and American Coating Show in 2022-2023 and held discussions with new suppliers. We have 2 points we pay attention to when selecting our new suppliers. Our primary criterion is that the product groups of new suppliers do not overlap with the product groups that Denge Kimya currently operates in and will operate in the future. The second issue we pay attention to is focusing on products that can create differentiation through technology rather than product groups where price competition is intense. Within this scope, we have focused on water-based coating materials and UV-curable system raw materials, which will have a place in the future of the paints and coatings sector.