Ms. Seda Belen Erdir Answered Our Questions

Organik Kimya's Senior Department Director Seda Belen Erdir answered our questions about the company's operations.

Could you briefly introduce yourself and share your academic and professional background so our readers can get to know you?

After graduating from Istanbul Technical University's Chemical Engineering department, I continued my education with a Master's degree in Engineering and Technology Management at Boğaziçi University's Industrial Engineering program. I started my professional career during the same period, and as lifelong learning has always continued, I had the opportunity to pursue academic education while working professionally. During my time at Organik Kimya, I completed an MBA program at Koç University through an executive development program sponsored by the company. In my professional career, I have held positions in various areas of the chemical sector for 17 years, primarily in chemical distribution. During my seven years at Univar Turkey, my first company, I held various positions including sales support, sales engineering, sales management, and department management. As my first workplace and having worked with very valuable managers, it was a period where I developed myself and gained valuable experience. While working as Paint Chemicals Department Manager at Univar, I decided to move to a manufacturing company to gain different experiences and joined Organik Kimya as Building Chemicals Turkey Sales Manager. During my first two years with Organik Kimya, I worked as Building Chemicals Turkey Sales Manager in the Building Chemicals Department, where I was responsible for water-based polymers we produced, powder polymer products manufactured exclusively by Organik Kimya in Turkey, and other specialty chemicals imported from abroad and offered as packaged solutions to building chemicals customers. In 2015, with a promotion opportunity presented within the company, I took over the Distribution and Industrial Solutions Department, one of six business units of Organik Kimya, with my primary responsibility shifting to chemical raw material distribution. In my current position, I manage Organik Kimya's distribution business while also overseeing sales management of certain specialty chemicals produced by Organik Kimya and supplied to the Personal Care, Detergent, Oil and Gas Industries. As the Distribution and Industrial Solutions Department, we work with a rich portfolio of customers, suppliers, and products covering Personal Care, Detergent, Color Cosmetics, Paints, Building, Plastics, Polyurethane, Rubber, Oil and Gas industries. I greatly enjoy being part of this diversity and dynamism, and discussing with my team what more we can accomplish. [caption id="attachment_157832" align="aligncenter"] Seda Belen Erdir[/caption]

What are your hobbies and interests outside of work?

Just as in my professional life, I enjoy traveling in my personal life, being in active and social environments, and spending time with my group of friends. Over the last five years, I have been closely involved in sailing, a sport that encompasses all of these activities. We started this sport as a small team within our own circle, and since 2021 I have continued it as Organik Kimya Sailing Team Captain within Organik Kimya. Besides this, my greatest area of interest and motivation is, of course, spending time with my family and loved ones.

Could you share Organik Kimya's history, its current structure, and the industries it serves?

Organik Kimya was founded in 1924 as Elkasan Kimya, a distribution company engaged in chemical raw material distribution. Our company, which holds the title of being the oldest established distribution company in Turkey, began manufacturing operations by founding Organik Kimya A.Ş. in 1965 to produce and sell water-based polymer emulsions. Since then, by increasing our R&D, production and technology capacity, we now serve more than 2,000 customers in over 100 countries with products manufactured at four different production locations, two of which are in Europe. Organik Kimya operates under six different business units serving the following sectors: Paint Solutions, Building Solutions, Textile & Leather Performance Solutions, Pressure Sensitive Adhesives and Paper Solutions, Industrial Adhesives Solutions, and Distribution and Industrial Solutions. In addition to products we manufacture, through our distribution activities we provide packaged solutions to our customers in every industry we operate in with products from over 40 suppliers we represent in Turkey, and we strive to be an effective solution partner in these fields. Our company, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, adopts an innovation-based global vision and a corporate management structure, while growing with the warmth and agility that comes from being a family company, and will continue to provide better service to our customers by drawing strength from principles such as quality, innovation, and sustainability.

Could you inform us about the products in your paint solutions portfolio and their properties for the paints sector?

In the paints sector, in addition to our water-based polymers and thickeners serving different applications such as decorative, industrial, wood, and metal coatings, we also supply specialty additives from important manufacturers such as Münzing, Solvay, Berolan, Rudolf, TS Chem, Shinetsu, Maflon, Chemipol, and Sinochem, which we source from different regions of the world, to our customers in these sectors. With a new distribution agreement we plan to complete this year, we also plan to be more active in the floor coating industry.

Could you tell us about your domestic and export sales activities, which regions and products do you focus on?

We conduct 25% of our total sales to Turkey, approximately 50-55% to Europe, and the remainder to other export countries. Our largest business unit, Paint Solutions, accounts for 50% of our total exports. This business line, which has significant market share in Turkey and Europe, continues to increase export rates in different regions of the world with our patented product Orgal® Orgawhite developed for the paints sector. On the Building Solutions side, with the powder polymer product we supply to the rapidly growing construction sector, which is manufactured exclusively by our company in Turkey, we are market leader with the ORP® brand in Turkey while increasing our sales in export markets every year. Regarding pressure sensitive adhesives, we continue our R&D activities in parallel with our growth targets, particularly in Europe.

What are the key aspects you focus on to maintain your quality and provide better service to your customers?

Quality continuity emerges as one of the most important factors in line with our current situation and growth targets. We have automation-based production facilities that enable us to maintain quality continuity, and we also have a structure that continuously improves and develops itself through Innovation Boards held every quarter of the year.

What does sustainability mean for Organik Kimya and what work have you undertaken in this regard?

Sustainability is a core value for Organik Kimya. We have directly integrated 11 of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals into our company strategy. Every year we publish a consolidated Sustainability Report in accordance with GRI standards. We approach sustainability at both corporate and product levels. Our corporate efforts include resource efficiency, emissions reduction, water savings, minimizing our carbon footprint, and providing a safe and healthy work environment. At the product level, based on our customers' requests to improve the footprint and handprint of their products, we have developed our own sustainability criteria. For Organik Kimya, sustainability involves creating long-term value for stakeholders and ensuring the company's continued success in the future.