We Conducted an Interview with İsmet Uçarlı, Marketing Director of Jotun Boya

One of the most important companies in the global paints industry, Jotun has been successfully operating in Turkey since 1986. We had an enjoyable conversation with İsmet Uçarlı, Marketing Director at Jotun.

After completing his studies at Istanbul Technical University's Environmental Engineering department and then an MBA program at Istanbul Bilgi University, Norway-born İsmet Uçarlı joined Jotun in 2003 as Marketing Manager. When the responsibility for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, one of Jotun's 7 regions, was assigned to Jotun in 2013, he continued in his role as Marketing Director. Today, Uçarlı is responsible for marketing and decorative paints across 13 countries in the region, including Turkey. Could you provide information about Jotun's founding process and the stages it has gone through to the present day? Taking into account production facilities, machinery, number of employees, as well as figures such as turnover and production volume, what is the current structure of your company? Founded in Norway in 1926, Jotun is today one of the world's leading players in construction paints, powder coatings, industrial paints and marine paints. One of the most important values of Jotun Group is to achieve sustainable performance through organic growth. Headquartered in Sandefjord, Norway, Jotun operates in 7 regions in the construction paints, industrial paints, powder coatings and marine paints segments. Today, Jotun is represented in more than 100 countries with 9,800 employees through 37 factories and 63 companies.

Looking at Turkey, we began our operations here in 1986. In 1989 we established the Jotun Powder Coating plant in Çerkezköy, and in 1993 we built the Jotun Paint factory.

Our wet paint facility, where construction paints, marine paints and industrial paints are produced, operates with an annual production capacity of 50 million litres. Our powder coating plant has a real production capacity of 20,000 tons. We have two factories in Çerkezköy and a depot in Gebze. From our beginning to the present day, we have continuously grown and become one of the most important players in the sectors in which we operate in Turkey. As Jotun, we also protect many iconic structures. The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, Freedom of the Seas, Palm Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab are just a few of the projects we have coloured. As Jotun, we also protect the most prestigious structures in Turkey. Some of these projects are the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Bosphorus Bridge, Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Varyap Meridian, Sabiha Gökçen Airport and Atatürk Airport.

What are the main sectors that Jotun supplies to, and what types of products? Could you provide detailed information about your company's products, brands and services, particularly in the scope of interior and exterior facade paints?

Jotun is one of the world's largest construction, marine, industrial and powder coating manufacturers. Today, we are market leaders in industrial paints for energy, infrastructure, power plants, bridges and offshore concepts; and in marine paints for new construction, maintenance and repair and yacht segments. In the powder coating sector, we are among the leading manufacturers with products we supply to furniture, white goods, building components, pipelines and other industries. In the construction paints sector, we have a rapidly growing market share with our interior facade, exterior facade and wood coating series. In interior facades we offer unlimited colour alternatives with water-based products, while in exterior facades we provide our customers with both long-term protection and an aesthetic appearance. As Jotun, one of the most important things that differentiates us is our stores located at more than 250 points across Turkey. At each of our Jotun stores, we serve our customers with our colour machines and colour standards. We can produce any desired colour within 3 minutes, and we can also instantly reproduce any colour on a sample using our colour reading technology.

What kind of work do you carry out in the fields of innovation and R&D at Jotun?

We place great importance on providing our customers with high-quality, environmentally friendly and long-lasting service through our products. For this purpose, Jotun Group makes significant investments in R&D work. We have laboratories in various countries around the world. After Norway, Malaysia, India, the USA and China, Jotun Group has decided to open a laboratory in Turkey. Through the new laboratory, we will conduct regional R&D activities from Turkey in the coming years.

Could you tell us about your domestic and international sales activities? What types of products are you primarily selling to regions domestically and internationally?

As Jotun, we have responsibility for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region within the Jotun organizational structure. We serve Romania, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine under our regional responsibility. Domestically, we reach our customers through our rapidly expanding distributor network.

Could you provide information about Jotun's environmental policy and sustainability approach? What can you tell us about your work related to occupational health and safety?

Jotun is a brand with very high environmental sensitivity. We view sustainability as a long-term competitive advantage. We concretise this through our "Green Steps" concept, which is valid worldwide. Our "Green Steps" concept comprises five important subject headings: lower solvent emissions, energy efficiency, reduced carbon footprint, waste recycling and reduced use of harmful substances. In all the countries where we operate, we continue our activities related to the green steps we are taking. With our products that have low V.O.C (volatile organic compound) levels and formulations that do not contain harmful components such as lead, mercury and chromium, we create environmentally friendly and healthy living spaces. In order for all these features to become a global standard, we cooperate with many institutions and organizations. For example, we are one of the founding members of the Green Building Association (ÇEDBİK). Occupational Health and Safety is very important to us. Our production facilities hold OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management system certification, ISO 14001 environmental management system certification and ISO 9001 quality management system certification. We experience almost no issues related to work accidents and injuries. We make decisions regarding occupational health and safety together with our employees. Committees formed by employees submit projects to improve their own work environments; these projects are evaluated and implemented shortly afterwards.