Interview with Utku Koca, Sales and Business Development Manager at Luma Kimya

We conducted an enjoyable interview with Utku Koca, Sales and Business Development Manager at Luma Kimya. Koca shared his company's success story with us. [caption id="attachment_103119" align="alignleft"] Utku Koca[/caption]

Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself, your education and your professional background in the sector?

That's quite a difficult question... It's the hardest part for me, explaining myself. I can say that I was born and raised in Istanbul and lived a modest life until university. One of the radical decisions I made in my life without any regret was choosing not to attend university in Istanbul. I then studied Polymer Engineering at Yalova University. During this period, I was involved in amateur theatre, dance – where I discovered I had no talent – and computer games – which is now called e-sports. I had an adventure in America through a summer work and travel programme, and if I were to tell that story, I would need to write another very long article. Since I devoted most of my time to activities outside of school, I naturally graduated later than my peers. Three months after graduation, I moved to Izmir and got married a year and a half later. I continue my life as the father of a four-month-old child.

"I would define the key to global success as honesty, communication and accessibility with customers and suppliers."

Throughout my life, I have had the opportunity to work in many different sectors. In the final period of my studies, I took on a guiding role in overall factory management and on the board as the sole engineer at a newly established company in the cosmetic packaging sector. After graduation, I left to move to Izmir, where I worked as a production engineer in the EPS packaging sector. Shortly afterwards, I started working at Pergo, where I had studied engineering. As a product design engineer, I took responsibility for designing several products and their transition to serial production. I would like to remember Ahmet Bey with respect, who contributed greatly to my development at Pergo and whom we lost recently. Due to family reasons, my wife and I needed to move back to Istanbul a year and a half later. For this reason, I left Pergo and moved to Istanbul, where our paths crossed with Luma Kimya. I have been working at Luma Kimya for one year.

Could you tell us about Luma Kimya's success story from its foundation to today?

Definitely, our success at Luma Kimya is due to the nearly thirty years of knowledge and experience we have in the sectors we work in, as well as mutual tolerance, trust and respect. I feel fortunate to be part of a team composed of people who live by this understanding, both within and outside our company.

"In our supplier evaluations, the environment and environmental sensitivity are important criteria."

What are Luma Kimya's products and product groups? Which sectors do you serve?

As Luma Kimya, we work to serve the polyester, polyurethane, polymer, adhesive, ink, construction chemicals and textile chemicals sectors. If we were to categorize our products, it would not be wrong to divide them into polyisocyanates, amines, glycols, acids and alcohols.

Could you tell us about your sales activities? Which regions do you primarily serve?

I prefer to use the term "working together" rather than sales. I can say that what we do is more business development than sales. Generally, we operate on a proforma basis. We try to bring together our customers with the companies we represent under the most suitable conditions. We work by socializing through visits, dinners and organizational events. I can say that we try to serve our customers with the most suitable service regardless of region throughout the country. Generally, since industrial zones are located in the Marmara and Aegean regions as you know, I can say that we mostly work in these regions.

Developing technology and digitalization offer innovative opportunities for many sectors. What are your efforts regarding digital transformation at Luma Kimya?

As Luma Kimya, I can say that we keep pace with digitalization. We keep our data in a cloud system accessible to all our employees. We are able to work from any point where we can receive internet service or where the mobile network operates. In the supply process, we develop our own system to work compatibly with both our suppliers' and customers' systems. Within this scope, our primary objective is to increase operation and service efficiency along with digitalization.

What do you think needs to be done to make a difference for global success?

I would define the key to global success as honesty, communication and accessibility with customers and suppliers. As long as you choose the right people to work with and act with awareness of your responsibilities towards them, you will achieve success.

What are the conditions for building a strong supply chain in the paints and coatings industry?

As in every sector, first of all, mutual communication and trust are very important. Another point is understanding the needs of the customer and market and providing solutions with complementary products and services. Of course, you also need to follow current innovations and trends. Although the paints and construction sectors have been hit due to economic turbulence, they are sectors that are growing and will continue to grow. By following these developments and correctly explaining market dynamics to your business partners and providing the most suitable conditions for your customers – in market terms – you can become a strong supplier.

Could you tell us about your sustainability efforts?

We need to examine sustainability separately from economic, social and environmental perspectives. From an economic perspective, we support our customers' current operations with our technical and commercial knowledge, and we constantly continue our research for alternative raw material procurement that we can provide as complementary to the sectors we work in. From a social perspective, I can say that as Luma Kimya, we work with respect for human rights and prioritizing efficiency. Finally, there is the environment. We try to act responsibly regarding the environment as much as we can. In our supplier evaluations, the environment and environmental sensitivity are important criteria. To summarize briefly; we evaluate our suppliers' products and services within this framework and shape our future supply chain in this context. Within the company, we first separate our packaging and battery waste. Even in vehicle purchases or rentals, we consider the environment and add the environmental factor to price and performance comparisons, preferring vehicles with lower emissions, and additionally, we participate in training, seminars and similar events related to the environment.

Were there new decisions you made while managing the pandemic process? Did you carry out any work in this regard?

After Covid-19 news began spreading in Wuhan, China, we began taking precautions by postponing our international travel. When the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, we increased the precautions we had taken. Within the scope of these precautions, I can say that we very quickly set up a work-from-home organization using the opportunities provided by the digital world. Additionally, we indefinitely postponed customer visits and organizational events. Along with these, we remained in constant contact with our customers and suppliers. I don't think I need to remind you that outside of work, people went through or are going through a psychologically difficult period. As Luma Kimya, I can say that we tried to be the side that kept morale high, was constructive and supportive. Generally, looking at the April-May period, we were pleased to see that we completed a difficult period above our expectations and it showed that we were doing our work correctly. In the new normalization process, we work in shifts and, as everyone should do, we protect ourselves, pay attention to our personal hygiene and observe social distance in the office. Personally, I do research on the subject, participate in trainings and make efforts to make the environment we work in even more hygienic.