İzel Kimya General Manager Alev Süngü Answers Our Questions

General Manager of İzel Kimya Answers Our Questions Alev Süngü, General Manager of İzel Kimya, which has been operating in the paints and coatings sector since 1996, answered our questions. Mr. Süngü shared valuable information on topics such as İzel Kimya's product groups and R&D activities.

Could you introduce yourselves to us?

Alev Süngü, I serve as General Manager at İzel Kimya.

Could you share with us the founding story of İzel Kimya, its current structure and the sectors it serves?

İzel Kimya was established in 1996 to supply alkyd resins to the Turkish paints and coatings industry. Over the past quarter century, through R&D efforts, we have managed to expand our product range to include acrylic resins, epoxy resin hardeners, saturated polyester resins, and polyaspartic resins. İzel Kimya's production facility is located at GEBKİM on 10,000 m² of land with 8,500 m² of enclosed space and is designed to remain open for investment and expansion. From this modern facility, İzel Kimya supplies high-performance products tailored to customer requirements to leading paints and coatings manufacturers in Turkey, Europe and various countries around the world. Over the years, İzel Kimya has built close relationships with its customers both domestically and internationally, based on sustained product quality, product performance, technical support and the ability to develop solutions for customer demands and needs. At this point, we export to more than 70 countries and continue to expand our network of cooperation every day. [caption id="attachment_156154" align="aligncenter"] Alev Süngü, General Manager of İzel Kimya[/caption]

What are the product groups you offer to the paints and coatings sector?

We offer a broad product portfolio to the paints, coatings and varnish sector, including alkyd resins, acrylic resins, epoxy resin hardeners, saturated polyester resins and polyaspartic resins. Our product groups can be used across a wide range of sectors, from industrial coatings to wood coatings, from road marking paints to marine paints, from floor coatings to automotive refinish paints.

Could you tell us about the capabilities of your R&D center and the work being carried out there?

Since our establishment, we have been working to build a strong R&D culture at İzel Kimya. We are the first and pioneering R&D center of its kind in Turkey. With 27 years of experience, in 2017 we applied to the Ministry of Industry and gained the right to become an accredited R&D Center that same year. In our laboratories, we work using the latest technology, and with our experienced R&D team, we develop innovative solutions and contribute to the sector on a global scale. We continuously develop our technological infrastructure through ongoing investments to develop resins that meet the constantly changing and evolving needs of the national and international paints and coatings industries. In addition to projects conducted within our own R&D team, we implement joint projects with scientific institutions such as TUBITAK and universities, providing knowledge and technology transfer between academia and industry. We also contribute to Turkish defense industry through our work in the defense sector. Our R&D team is particularly focused on the development of polyaspartic resins, acrylic resins and bio-based products, which we believe have significant potential in the future.

Could you share your understanding of sustainability with us and what areas you focus on for more sustainable production?

Using the sustainable development goals of the UN Global Compact as a guide, we have developed our sustainability strategy to encompass our processes, products and stakeholders. In line with our environmental sustainability commitments, we prioritize the use of environmentally friendly raw materials in our production system and implement improvements to reduce energy and water consumption. We carry out continuous work to increase production efficiency. We are expanding our environmentally friendly product range, such as polyaspartic resins and high-solids products. Through our scrubber system, we prevent the release of evaporating solvents and toxins to the environment; we also direct our solid waste to recycling facilities without causing environmental pollution. We monitor our carbon footprint and implement necessary measures to reduce it. Last year, we achieved a carbon footprint reduction of 8.7%. Ensuring the welfare and job satisfaction of our employees forms an integral part of our sustainability vision. In this context, we regularly organize training programs to help our employees achieve their full potential. Additionally, by creating modern, safe and ergonomic workspaces, we aim to increase the productivity and well-being of our employees. We prioritize occupational health and safety as among our most important concerns. We implement strict safety protocols and measures to protect our employees' health and safety against hazards. As a result of our efforts, in 2022 we were awarded Bronze classification by Ecovadis. We continue our commitment to carefully evaluating the life cycles of our products and taking the necessary steps. We are making steady progress toward publishing our first sustainability report.

Finally, what are your objectives for the coming period?

We are moving forward with confident and rapid steps toward becoming one of the leading international resin suppliers. Through our strategic steps, which are inherently about change and transformation, we are implementing changes both in our process and production operations and in our organizational structure. Over the past 3 years, we have invested significant effort in achieving continuous productivity increases in production and integrating automation systems and ERP. In the coming period, we aim to take our company to the next level through new software automation systems and our R&D investments. In addition, our innovative product development projects for various subsectors of the paints and coatings industry continue to progress rapidly.