We Conducted an Interview with Ceren Binici

In this issue of our publication, we conducted an interview with Ceren Binici, Sales Manager at Croda Kimya, on important topics including the company's structure, R&D and innovation activities, and sustainability approach.

First, we would like to get to know you. Could you tell us about your education, professional career and personal interests?

I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Middle East Technical University, and subsequently completed a master's degree in Business, Economics and Industrial Engineering at Politecnico di Milano in Italy. Over a career spanning more than 13 years, I have worked in various roles at multinational chemistry and biotechnology companies covering different regions from Western Europe to the Middle East and Africa. In July 2022, I joined Croda Kimya as Sales Manager responsible for the Personal and Household Care sectors.

Could you provide information about Croda Kimya's history and milestones? What is Croda Kimya's current structure, and in which regions do you operate domestically and internationally?

Croda Kimya is part of Croda, a global manufacturer and supplier. Croda is a company that stands behind successful global brands in the 'Life Sciences' and 'Personal and Household Care' sectors, manufacturing and supplying specialty chemicals trusted by customers and consumers through sustainable, high-performance products and technologies. Croda Kimya was established in 2011 and operates across a broad geographic region encompassing Turkey as well as Israel, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Georgia. In order to respond quickly to our customers' needs, Croda Kimya operates according to a principle of flexible and rapid adaptation; alongside innovative solutions, we also provide both technical and regulatory support to our customers during product development. With approximately 30 employees, Croda Kimya offers our innovative products and solutions to customers from our stocks located in Istanbul.

What products and services does Croda Kimya provide to create solutions for its customers? Could you provide detailed information?

Croda's principle is defined as 'Smart science to improve lives™', and our smart science is found in products that touch our lives every day, from life-saving medicines to sun protection, from agricultural productivity to seed development.   Our focus areas are 'Life Sciences' and 'Personal and Household Care'. Our Personal and Household Care business unit comprises two distinct sectors: cosmetics and home care. In this business division where we are close to the consumer, we provide innovative and sustainable solutions to our customers. Our Life Sciences business unit encompasses the Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Agricultural Chemicals sectors. With Pharmaceutical Ingredients, we provide high-quality health solutions to our customers, and with Agricultural Chemicals, we enhance performance in agrochemicals and help increase effectiveness through seed coating solutions.

Environmental awareness and sustainability have become even more important in recent years. Could you share your views on these topics and Croda Kimya's approach?

As Croda, we are committed to being a sustainable supplier through our innovative raw materials, and we have an action plan established to deliver positive contributions, particularly in areas affecting climate, nature and people, by 2030. From raw material sourcing through to the delivery of our products to customers, we continuously review all our processes to minimize negative environmental impacts. Eliminating process waste, reducing water consumption and our carbon footprint, as well as increasing our use of bio-based raw materials, are some of the important items included in this action plan. In addition, as Croda, we make important contributions to improving the lives of people around the world. For example, through raw materials we manufacture, certain vaccines developed provide important contributions in preventing serious diseases, and sun filter ingredients found in sun protection products contribute to skin cancer prevention, among different areas where we have positive impacts on human health. Finally, through our agricultural innovations, we support reducing the impacts of climate change and land degradation, and we help our customers in creating and protecting suitable land for crop cultivation.

From an innovation and R&D perspective, what innovations do you offer to your customers as Croda Kimya?

R&D is always at the focus of Croda, we value maintaining close relationships with our customers to understand industry needs and challenges, and we shape our R&D work accordingly. To be able to follow trends, we monitor global and local associations, and we create innovative solutions that the industry needs using our technology infrastructure. Although our raw materials are present in final products in small proportions, they make a difference through the performance advantage they provide in the end product, and with this awareness, we remain close to industry and consumers, continue to monitor their needs and expectations, and develop innovative solutions.

What criteria does Croda Kimya consider important when developing investment plans? Are you planning to make near and long-term investments?

Croda has a product portfolio capable of meeting the different needs of the industries in which it operates. We work to add value to our customers through innovative and differentiated technologies in which we specialize. In order to serve our customers in the personal care market with a broad product portfolio, we have made various acquisitions. To give examples, Alban Muller to develop our sustainable active ingredients portfolio, and Iberchem and Parfex to serve the growing fragrance market, joined the Croda family in recent years. We have also made some acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry; in 2021, we completed the acquisition of Avani Polar to strengthen our pharmaceutical ingredients division for next-generation medicines. We also have some regional collaborations. In Turkey, we work with Entekno, a manufacturing company, on the production and supply of raw materials that provide effective UV protection in sun protection products using scientifically designed micron particle technology.