Interview with Chairman of the Board Mr. Ünal Soysal from Petroyağ Company

We conducted a pleasant interview with Ünal Soysal, Chairman of the Board of Petroyağ Company, about the company's activity areas and R&D efforts. Soysal also provided information on measures the company implemented to adapt to the pandemic period. [caption id="attachment_126403" align="aligncenter"] Ünal Soysal[/caption]

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

I was born in Ankara in 1957. I graduated from the Chemical Engineering program at Gazi University. After working in the Mineral Oils Department of Petrol Ofisi for 8 years starting in April 1980, I joined Texaco as Turkey Sales Manager. When Texaco decided to withdraw from Turkey, I chose to establish my own company. This is how Petroyağ began its operations in 1993.

What are your product ranges and which sectors do you serve?

From the moment I established Petroyağ, my primary goal was to serve Turkish industry, and we focused on industrial oils that industry requires. We first became a leading and reliable company in Turkey in the oils sector by importing white oils and expanding their applications. The oil sector is quite broad, and we have expanded our oil types and service sectors continuously. White oils, aluminum mill oils, process oils, heat transfer oils and compressor oils are among our product ranges through which we maintain a strong market position. Additionally, we create added value by examining various projects from our customers in our R&D Center. We also provide consulting services for all lubricants and chemicals used in industrial production.

What is your perspective on R&D? Could you provide information about the R&D activities you conduct in your company?

R&D is very important to us. The reason Petroyağ is the third-largest industrial oil supplier in Turkey and the only company among these three with 100 percent Turkish capital is that we continuously perform R&D and introduce innovative products to the market with new application areas. We became the first R&D Center in our sector to be approved by the Ministry of Industry in 2017. We employ 23 personnel in our R&D Center. One person holds a doctorate degree and 7 persons hold postgraduate degrees. We have ongoing collaborative projects with TUBITAK and European Union programs. Through mutual projects we want to realize in R&D, we wish to use the industry-university-private sector triangle as it exists abroad and make it more effective. As we have increased our activities in recent years, I have noticed that our universities have various specialized projects, but these remain as projects and do not progress further. If these are supported by industry and the private sector and converted into commercial products, they will create enormous added value for our country.

Suddenly, the entire world was affected by the pandemic. What did you do in this unexpected situation? How did you get through the pandemic period?

We took action without delay. We addressed necessary steps one by one collectively. We implemented necessary measures, which we grouped under four main headings: Our Health, Our Safety, Our Togetherness and Assurance, and Our Future. First, we assured all our customers and suppliers that we would not delay their shipments by informing them of our measures and implementations. We developed plans to manage our finances effectively and prioritized cash flow management. We are a great family, and the health of our people is paramount. We guaranteed that no employee would lose their job, and we added new team members even during this period. The first two months were challenging, but we closed the year by recovering our losses through increased sales. Despite many changes such as safety measures, shift work in production and remote work for half our workforce, we managed all these transitions very well as a whole company. Although we went through difficult times, we overcame them and we are much happier now.

What does sustainability mean for your company? What measures do you take while producing for a sustainable world?

The most important step toward sustainability is innovation. We have established new facilities that prioritize R&D activities and generate adequate budgets for them. For this reason, we decided to continue our new projects. In our recently-established company and production facilities, our service understanding—speed, safety, ethical principles—and our solution-oriented approach with customers and employees, which we always prioritize, are components that make us a sustainable company. Understanding the importance of digitalization due to the pandemic, we also recognize that we should focus on start-ups that will enable us to adapt appropriately.