Interview: Evonik's Activities in the Polyurethane Sector

We conducted an interview with authorized representatives of Evonik. They provided information regarding Evonik's activities in the polyurethane sector.

Selim, could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about Evonik?

Following chemical engineering studies at Istanbul Technical University and an MBA from Koç University, I have been in the chemical industry for 16 years, with the last 12 years at Evonik. I currently serve as Sales Director at Evonik Turkey. Evonik, with revenues around EUR 13 billion and 32,000 employees, is one of the world's leading chemical companies and, according to our claim, the world's largest specialty chemicals producer. Thousands of products manufactured in more than 180 separate plants are used in the nutrition, health, consumer products, agriculture, mining, chemical, construction and plastics industries.

Could you tell us about Evonik's activities in Turkey? Which regions do you primarily serve?

Evonik Trade has been conducting sales and marketing activities in Turkey for 33 years. While initially we only had responsibility for Turkey, we have now reached a point where many Evonik business units have chosen our Turkey office as their center for the MENA region. The Comfort&Insulation business unit (formerly polyurethane additives) also manages the region from Morocco to Pakistan with a team of 6 people from our Turkey office.

Seza, could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your activities in the polyurethane sector and your product groups?

I graduated from the Chemistry Engineering Department at Ege University. So far, I have had the opportunity to work in various areas including engineering, quality management and sales departments. I have been working as Sales Manager at Evonik for approximately 4 years. The TEGOSTAB, KOSMOS, TEGOAMIN, ORTEGOL, GORAPUR and TEGOCOLOR product groups, produced successively under the roofs of Goldschmidt, Degussa and Evonik and supplied to the Turkish polyurethane sector since the 1980s, were joined by DABCO, POLYCAT and VERSALINK product groups as a result of a new acquisition made in 2017. With these brands, we supply surfactants, catalysts, mold release agents and performance additives for sponge, molded sponge, rigid foam and high-density polyurethane applications. We are putting our quite extensive product portfolio at the service of Turkey's polyurethane sector. "While initially we only had responsibility for Turkey, we have now reached a point where many Evonik business units have chosen our Turkey office as their center for the MENA region".

Could you tell us about Evonik's business model, after-sales services and customer satisfaction philosophy?

Our business model is built on four main components: high-quality products, supply security, fast logistics and technical support. With more than 150 years of production and quality experience to German standards, we reflect this in all our products and operations. Additionally, being constantly prepared at Evonik to address force majeure situations and raw material fluctuations, which are frequently seen in the polyurethane sector, is one of our most important advantages. Particularly in the last two years, as a result of changes in our service package (Air Products acquisition and BEPS action plan implementation), we have increased our investments in both our logistics team and infrastructure to provide faster logistics. Our most important differentiating advantage is our fast and effective technical support, which is an indispensable element of our service package.

Uğurcan, could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about Evonik's technical support services?

After graduating from the Chemistry Engineering Department at Gazi University, I completed my master's degree at the same university. I have been working in the polyurethane sector since 2007. I currently continue my role as Technical Manager at Evonik. As part of the Evonik technical team, I provide technical support to our customers in new product development, improvement of process procedures and solving production problems. As the polyurethane technical team, we have more than 60 years of polyurethane experience. Thanks to our extensive technical team serving the polyurethane sector around the world, we can quickly respond to our customers' needs. To further advance our technical service capacity, we decided to build a polyurethane complex at our facility in Istanbul Tuzla. This facility will include a polyurethane application laboratory equipped with the latest technology as well as a training center, and we will complete it within 2020. With this investment, we will be able to provide much faster and more comprehensive services to our customers in Turkey, the Middle East and Africa regions.

What new trends are you following in polyurethane applications as Evonik, and what work are you undertaking?

Currently, the most important driver in the polyurethane sector in developed countries is reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) content as much as possible. Although Evonik already has a very broad portfolio of emission-free products, to be prepared for constantly changing standards, we are working together with leading automotive, furniture and mattress companies worldwide on reducing emissions and developing new products. Additionally, with the reflection of the e-commerce boom worldwide into the mattress sector, the "Bed in a Box" concept has begun to change both consumer and producer expectations. We are focusing our R&D efforts in a direction that will facilitate this change from a technology perspective.