We conducted a pleasant interview with Ayla Çuhadaroğlu, Founder and General Manager of Odak Kimya. Çuhadaroğlu shared important information about innovative products for color management solutions offered to the sector.
Could you please briefly tell us about your education and professional background in the sector?
I graduated from İstanbul Technical University, Chemical Engineering Department in 1989. I worked in two companies where I gained valuable experience in my career. One was at Profilo A.Ş. production facilities for three years as Chemical Process Chief, followed by Tara Chemistry for 6 years as Sales Manager.
At the end of 1998, we established our company Odak Kimya Ltd.
Could you please tell us about the development process of your company from its foundation to the present day?
Odak Kimya was established at the end of 1998 to demonstrate and serve color management solutions. We started with sales of color measuring devices in industries such as paints, plastics, automotive, and others, cooperating with world leader companies, including GretagMacbeth.
Every year, we added new products to our product portfolio that complement each other. We were careful about expanding the product palette. While adding new products, we simultaneously gained authority to make sales in other sectors of GretagMacbeth (printing, packaging, inks).
X-Rite is another powerful brand in color measurement systems, which was strong in the industrial sector, whereas GretagMacbeth was strong in textile and printing sectors with pre-press product portfolios. After the merger of both companies in 2016, a very strong color management solution provider across all sectors emerged.
As a result of this merger, X-Rite positioned us as distributor in the industrial sector. Until 2014, we were responsible for all sectors except textile. As of 2014, we started working as a solution partner for all X-Rite market segments.
We operate with a total of 28 people across three offices located on the Anatolian and European sides of Istanbul and in Adana.
"Odak has been positioned as 'Sole Distribution Partner and Authorised Service Center' since the beginning of 2019."
Could you please tell us about your products, your target group and the industries that you serve?
Odak Kimya was established at the end of 1998 to demonstrate and serve color management solutions. We started with sales of color measuring devices in industries such as paints, plastics, automotive, and others, cooperating with world leader companies, including GretagMacbeth.
Every year, we added new products to our product portfolio that complement each other. We were careful about expanding the product palette. While adding new products, we simultaneously gained authority to make sales in other sectors of GretagMacbeth (printing, packaging, inks).
X-Rite is another powerful brand in color measurement systems, which was strong in the industrial sector, whereas GretagMacbeth was strong in textile and printing sectors with pre-press product portfolios. After the merger of both companies in 2016, a very strong color management solution provider across all sectors emerged.
As a result of this merger, X-Rite positioned us as distributor in the industrial sector. Until 2014, we were responsible for all sectors except textile. As of 2014, we started working as a solution partner for all X-Rite market segments.
We operate with a total of 28 people across three offices located on the Anatolian and European sides of Istanbul and in Adana.
"In our field of study, product sales, after-sales application support, service and industry-specific training services to maximize customer satisfaction, investments in necessary equipment and training are priorities."
"In our field of study, product sales, after-sales application support, service and industry-specific training services to maximize customer satisfaction, investments in necessary equipment and training are priorities."
This year, you implemented a restructuring as "X-Rite sole distributor and service sales model in Turkey". Could you please tell us about this?
After the GretagMacbeth-X-Rite merger, Odak was already Authorised Distributor for all market segments except textile in 2006. We took over the textile market in 2014. We supported paints and plastics markets as two partners. Odak has been positioned as Sole Distribution Partner and Authorised Service Center since the beginning of 2019.
With this new role, Odak became the only X-Rite partner worldwide that supports the entire X-Rite product range, as X-Rite partners are classified according to their market segments.
Have you recently introduced an innovative product to the sector?
TAC7 Total Appearance Capture and VLB Virtual Light Booth products support the digital workflow from design to production, underpinned by color measurement appearance technology. I believe this represents a significant innovation.
Could you tell us about Odak Kimya's after-sales services and customer satisfaction philosophy?
Due to the technological and high-quality standards of the products we work with, we believe we make a difference by serving with technically equipped sales and application support teams. In other words, our differentiator is our "Experienced Team".
At the same time, our local service as an authorized service and calibration center provides great flexibility for both industry and us. Odak Kimya makes a difference through the consultancy we provide to our customers, naturally stemming from the diversity of sectors we serve and our deep field experience.
In our field of study, product sales, after-sales application support, service and industry-specific training services to maximize customer satisfaction, investments in necessary equipment and training are priorities.
With the development of complementary products in our product portfolio, we will continue our investments to strengthen our identity not only as a supplier but also as a solution provider.
Odak Kimya is a specialized company in the field of color. What is the importance of color and how does it affect consumer behavior? According to psychological research on marketing, the purchase decision is based on the impression formed in the first ninety seconds, and we make 93% of our perceptions through color. In purchasing decisions, color plays a role of 83%.
For this reason, the importance of color as a quality control parameter is increasing daily, so all sectors need to be careful about color.
