An Enjoyable Conversation with Oktay Aşkın, General Manager of Evonik

We had a pleasant conversation with Oktay Aşkın, General Manager of Evonik Ticaret. Oktay Aşkın shared with us important information on topics such as the company's development process, its operations and sustainability policy.

Could you tell us about yourself, your professional background and your career journey at Evonik?

In 1999, I took my first steps in my career at Evonik in Germany in the Comfort & Insulation business unit (formerly Goldschmidt GmbH). In subsequent years, I worked as Sales Manager responsible for Western Europe and Latin America regions, and later India and Turkey regions were added to my areas of responsibility. In 2012, I came to Turkey and took on the role of Business Development Director responsible for Turkey and Azerbaijan at Evonik Ticaret, and contributed to laying the foundations for sustained growth by building new ventures in many business lines. From 2017 onwards, I assumed the title of Business Director managing domestic sales, marketing and technical teams, and additionally served as Deputy General Manager from 2020 to February 2023. Since February 2023, I have been serving as General Manager of Evonik Ticaret. [caption id="attachment_157264" align="aligncenter"] Oktay Aşkın[/caption]

Could you share information about Evonik's development process in Turkey and the sectors it serves?

Evonik is one of the world's leading manufacturers of specialty chemicals. Our company, headquartered in Germany, operates actively in more than 100 countries. In 2022, Evonik achieved sales of EUR 18.5 billion and operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR 2.49 billion. Our company, with approximately 34,000 employees worldwide, serves in Turkey with a total of 200 personnel, 60 of whom are within Evonik Ticaret. Today, Evonik Ticaret covers 13 different business lines and serves in every field of chemistry, from paints to cosmetics, from pharmaceuticals to plastics, from construction chemicals to food. In addition to sales and marketing services, we operate as a structure providing technical services through application laboratories, technology and service centers, meeting not only Turkey's needs but also those of the Middle East and Africa. As a Turkey team, beyond chemistry, we work with the goal of creating innovative, profitable and sustainable successful solutions for our customers.

What products are you offering to the polyurethane sector and what efforts are you undertaking to develop these products?

Evonik is a global leader in polyurethane additives and serves the industry with a wide product range. These products include catalysts, surfactants, mold release agents and performance additives. We work closely with our customers, which allows us to continuously monitor the latest trends and issues affecting our markets, enabling us to proactively develop innovative solutions to meet changing market demands. Evonik's research and development centers in Germany, America, Singapore and China carry out this work meticulously.

Do you have an innovative polyurethane product that you will particularly focus on presenting at Putech Eurasia?

Evonik is in a position that develops and advances the sector in product development. Technological developments, changing dynamics, environmentally friendly regulations are quite decisive in this regard. Recently, the PU division took important steps in digitalization and developed the TEGO® RISE software which will also be presented at the fair. One of the products we will be presenting is also KOSMOS® T 900, our metal catalyst with a low emission profile that we developed.

Could you tell us about your export activities? Which products do you mainly export to which regions?

From Turkey, we export most of the products in our range to Middle Eastern countries for which we are technically and commercially responsible in the polyurethane sector.

How do you assess the development of the polyurethane sector in Turkey and could you speak about the importance of the Turkish market for Evonik?

Turkey is one of the three largest polyurethane markets in Europe. In the flexible foam market, it is now in a leading position. We anticipate that the Turkish market will advance further globally in the near future. We have accordingly increased our investments particularly in Turkey. Our "Home of Polyurethane," opened at our center in Istanbul, Tuzla, aims to be a technical support and training center for Turkey and Middle Eastern countries.

The climate crisis we are facing is pushing all of us to act more responsibly for the world. What efforts are you making in the field of sustainability at Evonik?

At Evonik, we are committed to providing sustainable solutions that create value for our customers with our mission of "Going beyond chemistry to improve life, today and tomorrow." Sustainability is at the center of our corporate strategy, permeating our research and development, portfolio management and every aspect of our culture. We have already achieved significant sales from products with a positive sustainability profile and are committed to increasing this share to above 50% by 2030. Among our focus areas are combating climate change, promoting circularity, protecting ecosystems, ensuring health and welfare, and we do not compromise on the transparency in our sustainability reporting. A short time ago, we successfully issued our green bond for the second time. We will continue to lead in providing sustainable solutions that benefit our customers and the environment.