We had a pleasant interview with Evonik Sales Director Mr. Selim F. Kubat, Evonik Sales Manager Ms. Seza Yücel and Evonik Technical Manager Mr. Uğurcan İyidir. They gave information about Evonik’s working in the polyurethane sector.

Could you briefly introduce yourself and Evonik?

After graduating from Chemical Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and earning an MBA from Koç University, I have worked in the chemical industry for 16 years, with 12 of those years at Evonik as Business Director. Evonik is one of the world's largest chemical companies, with approximately EUR 13 billion in turnover and 32,000 employees. We position ourselves as the world's leading specialty chemicals company, producing thousands of products across more than 180 production facilities, serving the nutrition, consumer goods, health, agriculture, mining, construction, automotive, chemicals and plastics industries.

Could you tell us about your sales activities in Turkey? Which regions do you focus on predominantly?

Evonik Ticaret has been operating in Turkey for 33 years with sales, marketing, technical support and logistics activities. Initially established to serve the Turkish market only, various Evonik business lines now manage a larger regional scope from Turkey. Our comfort and insulation business line is one of these, managing the MENA region from Istanbul with 6 dedicated personnel.

Could you introduce yourself and describe Evonik's activities and products for the PU industry?

After graduating from Chemical Engineering at Ege University, I worked in various areas including engineering, quality management and sales. I joined Evonik 4 years ago and currently work as Business Manager for our comfort and insulation business line. Since the 1980s, under the umbrella of Goldschmidt, Degussa and Evonik, we have supplied the brands TEGOSTAB, KOSMOS, TEGOAMIN, ORTEGOL, GORAPUR and TEGOCOLOR to the local PU industry. Following the acquisition in 2017 of Air Products' chemicals business, we expanded our portfolio with the brands DABCO, POLYCAT and VERSALINK. With these strong brands, we offer surfactants, catalysts, release agents and performance additives for the production of flexible, rigid, molded and high-density polyurethane foams.

Could you tell us about Evonik's after-sales services and customer satisfaction approach?

Our business model is based on four main components: high-quality products, supply sustainability, fast logistics and ongoing technical support. We have over 150 years of high-quality production experience, which is reflected in all our products. Additionally, we work to address raw material supply fluctuations, which are common in the polyurethane industry. To capitalize on the changes in our business portfolio over the last two years, including the Air Products PMD acquisition and implementation of BEPs, we have invested in our logistics team and infrastructure in Turkey. Finally, fast and reliable technical support is a crucial component of our offering, which differentiates us from competitors.

Could you introduce yourself and describe Evonik's technical support activities?

I completed my bachelor's and master's degrees in Chemical Engineering at Gazi University and have worked in the polyurethane industry since 2007, joining Evonik in 2016 as Technical Manager. As a member of a global technical team, I am responsible for supporting our customers in new product development, process improvement and day-to-day production issues. With approximately 60 years of polyurethane foam experience and active operations worldwide supported by a large technical team, we are able to provide fast and reliable technical support to our customers. To enhance this service in the region, we are developing a polyurethane complex at our Istanbul facilities that will serve the market with a foam laboratory and training center. With this expansion, we will offer faster and more comprehensive services to foam producers in the MEA region.

What new trends and developments is Evonik following and working on?

One of the major challenges facing the PU industry is reducing the VOC content of PU products as much as possible. At Evonik, we already offer a wide range of VOC-optimized products to the market, and we continue working with leading producers in the automotive, furniture and mattress industries to meet future, increasingly stringent VOC standards. Additionally, we are developing products to support our customers in producing foams for "Bed in Box" concepts.