Interview with Bileşim Kimya R&D Manager Mrs. Betül Çelik

We had an enjoyable interview with Bilesim Kimya R&D Manager Mrs. Betül Çelik about the R&D activity, their targets in the coming years and the advantages they will bring to the sector.

Could you tell the readers about yourself and your professional background?

I completed my high school education at 50. Yıl Anatolian High School. Then I graduated from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Chemistry Department. Since my early childhood, I was very interested in science, which helped me choose the chemistry department. Simultaneously with 2 years of training from Aydın Senler, I worked in the Quality Assurance Department. At the same time, I completed my training in R&D and product development with Müfit Sabuncu. I have been working as R&D and Product Development Manager for about 8 years.

What would you like to say about Bilesim Kimya? Can you give us information about your activities and product range?

Bilesim Kimya entered the sector 20 years ago in the early 2000s. Through innovative and high-quality products, market share has increased in local and global markets. The product groups we manufacture are personal care and household cleaning. Our products include but are not limited to: hair shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion, skin care cream, whitening cream, air fresheners, deodorant, roll-on, foam soap, liquid soap, liquid cleansing cream, softener, surface cleaner, dishwashing detergent and vegan-certified cosmetics.

Could you tell us about your domestic and foreign sales activities? What activities have you carried out to improve your sales performance?

As of October 2019, 45% of total turnover comes from international markets and 55% from the local market. We export to more than 45 countries overseas. In the domestic market, we develop our own brand and private label products together. To improve our sales performance, research and development is our priority: we determine the needs of our customers and consumers and focus on innovative, high value-added products that provide time and performance advantages.

What is your perspective on R&D? Could you give us information about your R&D activities?

If we define the company as a living organism, R&D is at the heart of a company. Developing innovative products, delivering them to consumers, marketing them, explaining the product advantages compared to competitors, and using sustainable resources are very important. For this reason, we attach great importance to team competencies, measurement of these competencies, international systems, regulations, continuous monitoring of chemical inventory information, and we provide continuous resources for them. At the same time, as the R&D manager, I regularly organize quality training for all departments of our company. We conduct our R&D activities by continuously training our team. We maintain our research on raw materials, regulations, legal and country conditions at the highest level and carry out studies on important critical control points such as product stability and microbiological quality. I think there are two basic questions for product development: What does the consumer need? What raw materials, materials, test measurements and legal obligations do I need to meet to develop this product? When these two questions are answered correctly and studies are carried out carefully, success will follow. In 2019, Bilesim Kimya allocated significant budget to R&D resource needs, renovated its laboratories, and added 4 new test devices to its inventory and a software program for monitoring international legal regulations.  

What do you think about the recent changes in the personal care and household cleaning sector?

The personal care and household cleaning sectors have made significant progress as a result of a conscious consumer base, economic changes and rapid dissemination of scientific knowledge worldwide. The cleaning needs of people, which began many years ago, continue to increase and change. We know that the first known soap in history was made about 6,000 years ago in Ancient Babylon, when it was discovered that animal oils mixed with wood ash and water formed a cleaning agent. We also know that the Vatican devoted the largest budget to perfuming the palace, as the increasing odors (actually germs) in the Vatican caused a large number of people to become ill.   It was believed that incense would destroy bad odors (actually germs) and diseases. Cosmetics and cleaning needs not only increase but also change day by day. Bilesim Kimya is constantly researching and producing in line with these changes.

Could you talk about the social responsibility projects you have been involved in?

We are in contact with charities such as LOSEV and Gönüllü İyilik Hareketi. As Bilesim Kimya, we try to contribute to families there. We support the children of our company's employees to attend school. In addition, our social project 'Let's Read', initiated by our General Manager Sedat Çelik and Company Advisor Tülay Arsu, will be launched in 2020.

Could you give us information about the measures you have taken for a more livable world?

For a more livable world, using our natural resources such as water and energy without waste, emphasizing sustainable natural resources, providing system improvements for human resource development, time management and organization is the most important policy of Bilesim Kimya. In our TUBITAK project, we are developing an ecosystem-sensitive product range that can be obtained with minimal water, minimal chemicals and minimal energy. We are working to integrate this perspective into all our product groups and to adopt it across all Bilesim Kimya employees. We maintain waste treatment, recycling, water footprint and related activities at the highest level.