We Had an Enjoyable Conversation with Tulga Dal, General Manager of İBA Kimya

We had an enjoyable conversation with Tulga Dal, General Manager of İBA Kimya. Dal emphasized the great importance they place on R&D and provided information about the products they have developed. Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself, your educational background and professional experience? I was born in Ankara in 1970. After Ted Ankara Koleji, I graduated from the Chemical Engineering Department at ODTÜ. Since 1996, I have held positions in various departments of our company. As of 2009, I have been serving as General Manager of İBA Kimya. Could you provide information about the establishment of İBA Kimya and the stages it has gone through to the present day? Considering production facilities, machinery equipment, number of employees, as well as turnover and production volume, what is the current structure of İBA Kimya? İBA Kimya was founded in Ankara in 1977. It continued its operations in the field of wood paints and varnishes and industrial paints. In 1995, it established Turkey's fourth electrostatic powder coating production facility. In 2006, it formed a partnership with Spanish company Valresa in the wood paints and varnishes sector. By 2016, with a turnover of TRY 300 million and 500 employees, it has established itself among leading organizations in the region, manufacturing in Ankara, Kayseri and Slovakia.

What sectors does İBA Kimya mainly serve, and what types of products does it supply? Could you provide information about İBA Kimya's products, brands and services?

In wood paints and varnishes, we serve with our Valresa brand; ready-to-use high-solids polyurethane products, UV-cured systems and water-based, fire-retardant coatings. With our Ibavet brand, we offer a wide range of polyurethane and cellulosic products to the furniture sector. With our electrostatic powder coating products, we serve the household appliances, architectural, furniture, industrial machinery, electrical and lighting, and automotive sectors. We aim to provide solutions that will add value to our customers' products. With our advanced R&D and manufacturing technology, we are able to offer a wide range of product solutions. Our products include; super-durable exterior powder coatings, anti-graffiti products, solar-reflective powder coatings, decorative products in crocodile pattern, chrome, stainless steel and various textured finishes, heat-resistant products, low-temperature-cured gloss and matte products. What kind of work do you conduct in innovation and R&D as İBA Kimya? Do you have projects developed within the scope of university-industry cooperation, and if so, what are they? Through a TUBITAK-supported project called 'Keep Fresh', we developed a coating that keeps fruits and vegetables fresh for longer periods in storage environments. Besides this, as a result of our R&D activities, our specially developed products include; soft-touch powder coatings, "Corrshield" surface treatment chemical-reducing or eliminating powder coatings, thin-film and ultra-thin-film powder coatings, hygienic powder coatings, polyester compression molding tool-cavity powder coatings.

Could you tell us about your domestic and export sales activities? What types of products do you mainly sell to which regions domestically and abroad?

We aim to best identify customer expectations and fulfill them comprehensively. Domestically, we provide sales and technical service through an extensive distribution network consisting of 5 regional offices and 3 dealer organizations. We meet customer demands from regional and dealer inventory in the shortest time possible. İBA Kimya's exports are in a continuous upward trend. Through our branches in Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Russia, we provide sales and technical services to customers. We carry out exports through our representatives to Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia countries. Could you provide information about İBA Kimya's environmental policy and sustainability approach? What can you tell us about your work in occupational health and safety? We have adopted the principle of leaving to future generations a world where the effects caused by environmental pollution have been completely eliminated, and of ensuring occupational safety by protecting human health in our activities. For this purpose, we have established and diligently maintain an integrated management system. We have developed systems to prevent occupational accidents and occupational diseases arising from our electrostatic powder coating production and sales activities. By controlling processes that could cause soil, air and water pollution, we have reduced our waste and increased recovery. With the "Corrshield" powder coatings we developed, we have eliminated the chemical surface treatment process performed on materials before coating, resulting in less waste to the environment. Additionally, with the low-temperature-curing powder coatings we developed, we have achieved energy savings. Could you share your thoughts on the industrial paint, coating and surface treatment sectors in Turkey? In terms of these sectors, what do you think are Turkey's advantages and disadvantages? The industrial paint market in Turkey constitutes 40% of the total paint market. We see that industrial production is shifting from west to east globally. Turkey is benefiting from this change. As a paint sector, we are prepared. We have sufficient technology and capacity. We observe an increase in special product requests from our customers across all sectors. Quality criteria are increasing day by day, and expectations are rising. We try to meet these expectations with the new technologies we have developed. What criteria are prioritized when İBA Kimya formulates investment plans? Do you have investment plans for the coming periods, and if so, what are they? Our investments and capacity increases continue in the areas of environmentally and human-friendly products: water-based, UV-cured and powder coating products.