Interview with Mehmet Kahraman, Partner at Senko Ltd.

We conducted an enjoyable conversation with Mehmet Kahraman, Partner at Senko Ltd., about the company's development over the years, the product groups they have offered to the sector and their product characteristics, goals and investment activities.

First, to introduce yourselves to our readers, could you tell us about yourself, your education and your professional background in the sector?

I was born in Istanbul in 1977. I graduated from the Environmental Engineering department of Istanbul Technical University in 1999. The same year, I began my master's degree in the same department. When I abandoned the idea of an academic career, I started my master's degree in Economics at Yıldız Technical University in 2000. Throughout my university life, as it was during my master's studies, I worked continuously part-time in the automotive sector. I completed my master's degrees in 2002 and completed my military service in 2003. Among the job offers I received, I chose Senko Ltd., where I currently work and am a partner, and started here as a Sales Engineer.

Could you tell us about your company's development process since its establishment? Which sectors do you serve? Could you provide information about your service areas?

Senko Industrial Products and Agency Limited Company was founded in 1982 by Dr. Ersin Eti, one of the two founding partners, who is still in office and leads us with his extensive experience regarding the sectors we serve and his professional career. Starting with agency activities for two companies at its initial establishment, Senko Ltd. today provides raw materials, machinery, equipment, chemicals, turnkey lines, engineering and consulting services to approximately 25 European-origin companies, primarily serving the ceramics, porcelain, refractories and glass industries. Moreover, we serve many sectors such as automotive, paints and coatings, chemicals, polymers, plastics, white goods, metal and painted metal, iron and steel, aluminum and defence industry, as well as universities and research institutions, through the companies we represent that produce the best and most well-known laboratory, quality control and test equipment in their fields.  

Could you tell us in detail about the product groups and product characteristics you offer to the paints and coatings sector?

The paints and coatings sector is one of the important sectors we serve. We supply laboratory, research and development and quality control equipment to the largest brands in the sector. The most important company through which we serve this sector with the product groups it possesses is Erichsen GmbH. With paints and coatings surface test equipment, corrosion control and test equipment, sheet metal and material test equipment, we can meet a significant portion of the sector's laboratory and quality control test equipment needs. The products of Erichsen GmbH are known and preferred by the sector as reliable, robust, durable and high-quality. Every type of paint and coatings manufacturer and other sectors using these products wish to see Erichsen company products in their laboratories.

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

Since we are a representative company, we do not have overseas sales activities. However, we have sales to some Turkic republics where the companies we represent do not have agencies or country offices. Our main area of activity is the domestic market. Therefore, we operate throughout Turkey. Of course, the Marmara and Aegean regions, where industrial areas are concentrated and which include the paints and coatings sector, are areas where we work intensively.  

Could you provide information about your position in the sector as Senko? What are the characteristics that differentiate you from your competitors?

As Senko Ltd., we have the policy of being the sole representative of the companies we represent, not taking similar company agencies and selling products whose technical details we know very well. Therefore, we have never been a catalog company. The greatest advantage this brings is customer confidence. As mentioned earlier, we work with the largest names in the sector. Of course, we are also the preferred choice of the sub-suppliers of these companies and companies in sectors that use paints and coatings products, such as automotive, white goods, and painted metal. Of course, our sales policy is also one of the reasons we are preferred. For firms that contact us for product demand or that we find have product needs as a result of our sales activities, we make every effort to visit them and see the application or problem on-site so that their problems, needs and the appropriate solution can be fully determined and we can offer equipment in the right brand, model and configuration. When your first objective is not sales but solving the customer's problem, the sale comes later even if it does not happen at that time. Another reason we have gained our customers' favour in this way is our sales and service staff who are trained and have engineering infrastructure.

Could you provide information about your employee profile? What activities are you doing to improve your employees' performance?

Our company employs 15 people. There are 5 engineers in sales and marketing, and 3 people in after-sales services and service. Our employees in sales and service attend the relevant training sessions conducted by the companies we represent in their own organizations every year. Employees working in sales and marketing, in addition to having detailed knowledge about the products of the agencies they are responsible for, also have general knowledge about the products of all companies we represent. Moreover, employees receive commissions at certain levels from sales. In our horizontally structured company, the most important matter is that employees are comfortable and happy. For this reason, everyone works as if they are working in their own company.

What kind of services do you have to ensure customer satisfaction and meet their expectations?

Customer satisfaction begins for us before the sale. Quick feedback to the customer, offering the correct and most optimal solution in terms of price-performance is very important for us. In after-sales services, whether by phone, online support, or rapid on-site intervention are essential. We try to serve our customers as quickly as possible according to our workload. Additionally, workshops we organize together with our companies are good opportunities to provide information to our current and potential customers about new products and applications. Of course, the sector-specific fairs organized by Artkim Exhibition Organization, which we attend almost every year, are one of the most important means to meet our current and potential customers and present our products live and practically.

Could you provide information about your company's mission and vision?

For Senko, each investor in Turkey is a partner. Turkish resources are our capital. Senko, a guide to suppliers from all over the world in our country, achieved successful results with the principles it did not abandon in creating productive partnerships with our investors. The unchanging values that brought Senko to its current success are: the love it has for the work it does, the respect it has for nature and people, and the value it gives to labour and time. Senko takes pride in being successful in all the work it has carried out from its establishment in 1982 until today.

How is 2017 going for your company's goals? What would you like to say about your targets and expectations?

Despite the political and economic problems our country is experiencing, the companies we serve in almost every sector with strong financial structures are pursuing a policy of turning crisis into opportunity during such periods and continuing their investments. Apart from this, universities and research institutions supported by both the state and European Union funds continue their purchases despite everything. For all these reasons, in 2017 we are approaching our previous years' sales, surpassing our not very optimistic expectations at the beginning of the year. Our hope and expectation is also that investments and foreign investors will increase, and our economic, political and legal problems will be resolved as soon as possible, and we will see a better sector, economy and ultimately Turkey for everyone.

To know and introduce you better; could we learn what you do to relieve work stress and relax a bit? Do you have any hobbies or interests?

For someone with two sons aged 6 and 10, the best way to relieve work stress is to spend time with them. If time permits from work and family, riding a bicycle and swimming for sports are my favourite activities.

Finally; do you have a message you would like to convey to the sector?

As competitors increase and profit margins decrease, companies that do not go for product differentiation, do not use the latest technology in their production and products, and do not invest in quality control and research and development unfortunately close down and disappear during such periods. Small and medium-sized enterprises that have entered this sector and made investments must continue their research and development investments so as not to disappear, and leading companies in the sector must do the same to prevent loss of market share and to enter the next period strongly.