Interview with Kimsel Board Member Mr. Ömer Balcıoğlu

"We had a pleasant interview with Ömer Balcıoğlu, Kimsel Board Member and Polyurethane Business Line Director. Balcıoğlu shared with us details about the structure of the Polyurethane Business Line, innovative projects and 2020 targets".

Could you please briefly tell us about your education and professional background in the sector?

I was born in Istanbul in 1982. I graduated from Moda College and then I studied Business Administration at Işık University. I have been continuing my professional business life in Kimsel since 2001. During this process, I worked in almost every field from the logistics department to the finance department at Kimsel. I have been a member of the company's board of members since 2013. For the last 2 years, I am at the head of the Polyurethane Business Line that we have created within the scope of LANXESS distributorship. I manage all activities of this line of business, which include coating, adhesives, sealant, elastomer (CASE) group polyurethane systems.

Could you please tell us about the development process of your company from its foundation to the present day?

Kimsel was established to provide chemical raw materials supply to the chemical industry in 1996 by Kürşat Balcıoğlu. In the beginning, this process which only started with the sale activity of several varieties of paint and construction chemicals, has been continuing with Turkey distributorship of 15 different companies which are global giants nowadays. Kimsel is also the Stan Countries distributor of these 15 giant companies. Construction chemicals, paint, varnish, ink, polyurethane, epoxy, textile and cosmetic raw materials and silicone oils are the areas where Kimsel regularly supplies raw materials to manufacturers. Kimsel is a supplier that supplies around 500 different chemical raw materials to its nearly 2,000 customers, keeps these materials in stock regularly and provides fast supply from stock. The motto "Chemistry of Leadership", which is our corporate philosophy and expressed on many platforms, clearly summarizes Kimsel's approach to the work.

"The motto 'Chemistry of Leadership', which is our corporate philosophy and expressed on many platforms, clearly summarizes Kimsel's approach to the work".

Could you please tell us about your products, your target group and the industries that you serve?

There are about 50 different product groups in Kimsel's portfolio that can appeal to many sectors. Apart from providing raw materials to main sectors such as construction, paint, varnish, textile, cosmetics, we also have products for many private manufacturing sectors, machine manufacturers and manufacturers who are in the sub-industry position. (Detailed information can be found on our website). For example, for the polyurethane business line that I manage, water and solvent-based polyurethane prepolymers, water and solvent-based blocked isocyanates, epoxy flexibilizers, polyurethane dispersions, hot-cast polyurethane prepolymers, spray polyurethane systems are the products that Kimsel sells. In addition to the existing sectors, we have started to sell various polyurethane systems to companies that produce fibers with various properties, and automotive sub-industry companies. In addition, we expect some of our special products to be used by companies operating in the defense industry in our country in the near future.

Could you please tell us about your sales activities? Predominantly, which regions do you focus on?

Kimsel's sales area includes almost all of Turkey. Additionally, we have sales and exports to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. In the Polyurethane Business Line, in addition to Turkey and the Stan Countries distributorship, Kimsel is the Middle East distributor of LANXESS Urethane Systems.

"Our distributorship of LANXESS Urethane Systems, which we have been maintaining for about 2 years, has constantly grown and developed over the past period".

Have you recently developed an innovative product that will make a difference in the polyurethane sector?

We are the distributor of LANXESS on polyurethane systems and LANXESS has many innovative products for the polyurethane industry. We are making a special effort to bring our customers together with these innovative products. In addition, we have a special polyurethane dispersion (PUD) product group, especially for fibers used in glass fiber, textile fiber, and engineering plastics. It is possible to use these dispersions in the production of innovative and very durable fibers. We carry out special studies on this subject. We offer our customers special products that can withstand temperatures up to 150°C in the hot-cast polyurethane prepolymers group. We are making an effort to offer water-based polyurethane systems that are suitable for human health, environmentally friendly and to minimize work safety risks for our artificial leather industry. We expect "breathable" polyurethane dispersions with permeability properties that can be used in artificial leather, textile, and fiber sectors to meet the special needs of these sectors. Likewise, our projects are continuing on polyurethane dispersions to be used in the production of water-based polyurethane paints, varnishes, and inks.

What are the 2020 targets of Kimsel Polyurethane Business Line?

Kimsel has a character that aims to be a leader in every field it operates. This is our primary goal too for the Polyurethane Business Line as in every business line. Our distributorship of LANXESS Urethane Systems, which we have been maintaining for about 2 years, has constantly grown and developed over the past period. In the first year of our distributorship, we made a strong introduction to the sector, especially in hot-cast polyurethane prepolymers. We continued our second year by adding double-digit growth figures over the strong entry in the first year. We expect again double-digit growth in hot-cast polyurethane prepolymers in 2020. If we achieve this goal, statistics show that we will become the leading supplier of the industry. We will cooperate with many reputable companies from many different sectors in 2020 on blocked isocyanates, polyurethane dispersions, and other urethane surface coating systems. With these collaborations, we believe that we will achieve significant successes, as on the hot-cast elastomers side.