We had an enjoyable interview with Mehmet Sözer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of İshakol Boya.
We had an enjoyable interview with Mr. Mehmet Sözer, Chairman of the Board of İshakol Boya, one of the leading companies in the Turkish paints sector. Sözer provided information about the company's history and its current structure.
We conducted a pleasant interview with Mehmet Sözer, Chairman of the Board of İshakol Boya, one of the most important companies in Turkey's paints sector. Sözer provided information about the company's history and current structure.
Born in 1973, Mehmet Sözer completed his higher education in Business Administration in the United States. He began his career in the procurement department at İshakol Boya. After developing his experience through various positions in different departments, he became General Manager in 2006. He has served as Chairman of the Board for the past seven years.
Could you provide information about İshakol Boya's foundation process and the stages it went through to reach the present day?
İshakol Boya, Turkey's first paint producer, has pioneered the Turkish paints sector for years, making significant contributions to bringing it to contemporary standards today. Süleyman İshakoğlu, a young entrepreneur from Çayeli district in Rize who came to Istanbul during World War I, established the company İshakzade Biraderler with his brothers to engage in paint manufacturing and trading in Karaköy, Istanbul. During the difficult period between 1923 and 1924, and following the withdrawal of his brothers from the partnership due to the economic crisis in the 1930s, the company came entirely under Süleyman İshakoğlu's ownership. In 1944, machinery was imported from Germany and a modern factory was built according to the standards of the time. Oil-based and water-based paints of European quality were produced in this factory. Süleyman İshakoğlu, one of the leading industrialists of the continuously developing young Turkish Republic, established a new factory in Halıcıoğlu in the 1950s to develop and expand his facilities. With the addition of alkyd resins to production in the 1960s, the factory became fully integrated and decided to produce every type of paint needed by Turkey. In response to increasing paint demand in the 1970s, İshakol Boya Sanayi A.Ş.'s third production facility was established on the Istanbul-Pendik, E-5 highway. We lost our valued founder, an industrialist and philanthropist who was one of the rare individuals raised by the Turkish Republic, in 1984. As members of the İshakoğlu family and employees, we have taken upon ourselves the responsibility of carrying this company, which our founder left us after starting the story of paint in Turkey, into the future in a manner befitting its name and heritage. İshakol Boya San. A.Ş., which has always placed great importance on product and service quality, continues its operations at its facilities in Gebze Organized Industrial Zone, where it moved in 2012.What types of products does İshakol Boya supply to the main sectors? Could you provide information about İshakol Boya's products, brands and services?
İshakol is a specialist producer of decorative construction paints. In addition to water and solvent-based paints, it produces complementary auxiliary products for consumer use. Its target audience is homeowners, in other words, those repainting their homes. The company is the owner of not only Turkey's first paint producer but also Turkey's first paint brand. The İshakol brand was registered in 1946 and received trademark protection. Taking into account data such as production facilities, machinery park and production volume, what is İshakol Boya's current structure? İshakol's fourth production facility in Gebze Organized Industrial Zone began operations in 2012. Gebze Organized Industrial Zone, Turkey's most advanced industrial zone, hosts Turkey's largest national and international companies. Our new facilities, built with an investment budget of 15 million USD, incorporate smart building technologies. European Union Standards were used as the basis for occupational health and safety, environmental values and ecological balance protection. Our new factory has an annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes with the current layout. Our facilities were designed modularly so that equipment upgrades alone would increase current capacity by 100%. If the reserve parcel within our land is also utilized, production capacity could reach 150,000 tonnes annually.What kind of work do you conduct at İshakol Boya in the areas of innovation and R&D?
Our company, which took its first steps in information technologies by using simple electronic accounting machines before 1980, developed information systems on various platforms over 25 years and transferred to a Swedish-sourced ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software system called Jeeves Enterprise in 2003. Through our software and hardware systems updated annually in line with advancing technology, our internal and external units work in harmony in an electronic environment. Our investments in technology are reflected in the market as superior products and excellent service. By integrating our nearly 100 years of production experience with our state-of-the-art facilities, we bring our high-performance products to our consumers. With more than 1,200 standard product varieties and established production capacity capable of meeting the paint needs of more than 1,500,000 homes annually, our new factory has impressed both European and American investors. Online orders dispatched to our sales channels spread throughout Turkey are produced within 48 hours and handed over to the logistics department through optimal use of production technologies and information technologies. As Turkey's first national paint producer, the importance we place on quality and innovation is reflected in our results. Following the introduction of nanotechnology paints to the market in 2006, the introduction of hybrid paints to our consumers in 2008 are just some examples of our dynamic R&D infrastructure. Our products are formulated by undergoing stability tests in our special climate chamber to meet the different needs of different regions. A first in Turkey was achieved when it was decided to use BASF color pastes in COROB coloring machines. As a result of our superior R&D team's coordinated work with expert solution partners in the field, our Color Master Coloring System was created.Could you provide information about İshakol Boya's environmental policy and sustainability approach? What can you tell us about your work related to occupational health and safety?
In our childhood, flowers used to grow in İshakol Boya cans in homes. With this awareness, we structure and organize our operations in compliance with OHS, aiming to make the working environment safe and healthy. We are a company as old as the Republic, approximately a century old, and as a result of this objective, our company has experienced almost no occupational accidents. We conduct full health check-ups for our employees every year. We conduct continuous training to create awareness of environment, occupational health and safety in all our employees. We hold OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certifications. We work with our team to improve the performance and ensure the continuity of Environmental and OHS Management Systems. In our water-based production, our VOC ratios are below the levels specified in EU directives.Could we learn your thoughts about Turkey's paints sector?
According to BOSAD (Paint Manufacturers Association) data; in the decorative paints category, the domestic market volume of the sector, which reached 550,000 tonnes in 2015, is around USD 700,000,000. Per capita paint consumption is 11 kg. There is strong presence of international capital and its investments are increasing. Europe's top four paint producers are, in order, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Italy. Turkey ranks as Europe's 5th largest paint producer and is rapidly progressing toward becoming the 4th largest paint producer. According to data from the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Directorate General of Environmental Management; today in our country's paint sector, there are approximately 20 large-scale enterprises with advanced production technology alongside around 600 small and medium-sized enterprises operating throughout the country. When domestic market conditions are taken into account; the greatest threat negatively affecting the sector is the unregulated operation of under-the-table and small enterprises. Unreceipted purchases and sales, uninsured workers, lack of essential environmental and occupational health measures and many other negative factors create unfair competition conditions that put not only producers but also consumers in a difficult position. Government supervision and enforcement measures will raise sector quality. What criteria does İshakol Boya prioritize when drawing up investment plans? Does İshakol Boya have investment plans for the coming periods, and if so, what are they? When making our investment plans, we calculate forward-looking growth possibilities. Indeed, although our new factory where we relocated four years ago has an installed production capacity of 30,000 tonnes, its infrastructure was designed to support 150,000 tonnes of production. We aim to implement our expansion plans in parallel with our sales volume.Gallery
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