Kenan Baytas Explains the Founding of Merbolin Boya

Merbolin Paints' Foundation and Development

Yorgo Hristidis is the person who has brought Merbolin to the present day… In 1882, the father of first-generation Yorgo Hristidis established the first manufacturing plant. But his father's name was also the same; Yorgo Hristidis. It was second-generation Yorgo Hristidis who laid the foundation of the factory in 1956. They are members of a Greek family from Ürgüp. Merbolin's first location was Fener - Balat and its original name was Merkez Boya İmalathanesi (Center Paint Manufacturing). The name "Merbolin" comes from this abbreviation. In 1953, they took "Mer" from "Merkez," "Bo" from the word "Boya," and added the suffix "Lin" at the end, thus the word Merbolin was born. Merbolin pioneered the paints sector in Turkey, and at the same time in 1953 opened the country's first paint factory, becoming the first brand to transition from a workshop to a factory. During this period, there were very few paint brands in Turkey. As a product group, only construction paints were produced. After 1965, industrial paints were added to our product range. In those years, Merbolin met all the paint requirements of companies like Arçelik, Beko, and Profilo. We exported ship paint to Norway until 1973. However, after the oil crisis that occurred worldwide in those years, this activity of ours stopped. Yorgo Hristiditis, the owner of the company who served his military service in Malatya, loved the local people and the region very much. During the Ecevit government, with incentives introduced in 1974, he decided to open a factory there. Production began in 1976. While industrial and construction paints were produced in the Istanbul factory, only construction paints were manufactured in Malatya. Between 1976 and 1980, Turkey entered a period when it could not find foreign currency. Therefore, raw materials became difficult to obtain. If I remember correctly, during that period foreign currency entered the country through money collected from workers in Germany. Thanks to that, raw material needs were met. During these difficult years, we carried out continuous work to keep the production line of industries producing in operation from stopping. Our slogan, which has been etched in memories for years as "The Painter's Passion," also emerged during these years. During this period, which coincided with the single-channel television years, our advertisements began to be broadcast with this slogan. There were even jokes about the paint advertisement being in black and white in the following years. Those days are among the memories we still recall with a smile. In 1980, during the Özal era, the 24 January Decisions were introduced. For this reason, interest rates increased. At this time, at the head of the company's management was Emre Hristis, the son of Yorgo Hristis, who had received psychology education in France. Since this person at the head of the company was not familiar with the sector and market, some irregularities occurred in management. Despite these irregularities, Merbolin continued to raise its momentum of success until 1985. Later in 1985, Merbolin was sold to a businessman from Malatya (Nurettin Soykan). Since he did not have an entrepreneur's spirit, and his profession was contracting, the years between 1985 and 1992 were recorded in history as a stagnation period for the company. In 1992, I brought an offer to purchase Merbolin to the then company owner Nurettin Soykan. He accepted. However, I did not have the capacity to purchase the factory on my own. At that time, I came to an agreement with the factory manager in Malatya. I went to my father to find the money I needed to pay. I explained that I wanted to sell some of my orange groves and explained the reasons. My father rejected this offer by saying "you don't buy factories by selling land." After some time, I provided the financial means to purchase 55% of the company. The remaining portion was purchased by Factory Manager Fuat Ercişli. Thus in July 1992, we purchased Merbolin and became partners. Our first business was to win the Kemerköy Thermal Power Plant tender with our industrial paints, setting a precedent. This very special paint used in thermal power plants did not exist in Turkey at that time. When we presented an offer to foreigners building the thermal plant, they were very surprised. By sending a sample of the special paint which they thought was not produced in Turkey, we won the tender. This paint I mentioned is a very special paint that can withstand temperatures of even 700-800°C. This special project greatly helped us to recover. We made investments. We were able to pursue different activities for our goals. For this reason, this development holds a special place for me. After these developments, we changed our structure. We increased the regions where we sold, strengthened our organizational structure. We made investments, purchased land, and continued our development. However, after 2000, a supply-demand imbalance occurred in the sector. This led to increased competition among these market players. Despite years passing, this competition continues to this day. However, when I look at the revenues and profit margins of companies, I see a large gap. I don't know how to prevent this. Unfortunately, we lost our partner Fuat Bey in 2010. He was a very good man, a valued friend, and my elder brother. I remember him with respect. Currently our partnership continues with his two sons and we work together at Merbolin. They are my nephews. Serhan, who is an industrial engineer, oversees costs and planning; Volkan, who is an architect, handles foreign trade and raw material matters. At the same time, my son Oğuzhan also works in the finance department. During our partnership with Fuat Bey, we worked very hard to put Merbolin back on track. We currently have a factory in Baku and Istanbul.

"Consumer awareness is very important."

Recently we conducted a survey on paint consumption. It has not been finalized yet. However, based on the initial data we received, quality paint consumption has increased. This indicates that people are becoming more conscious about paint consumption. The paint sector is very ungrateful. Once a product comes off the shelf, it is very difficult to bring it back. You need to try to keep it on the shelf. Due to the stagnation period experienced between 1985 and 1992, Merbolin achieved market dominance in the provinces of the southeastern and eastern regions due to the Malatya factory rather than Istanbul sales. This sales dominance continues to this day. Similarly, our market share in the Black Sea, Western Mediterranean, and Aegean regions is quite good. In the Marmara and Central Anatolia regions, we will begin to establish a stronger presence in the coming periods. However, due to logistical constraints and difficulties in quality production, we sold the Malatya factory in 2008.

R&D Development

Merbolin started R&D work very early and reached the importance of research and development very early. Since the 1970s, production and product development work has been carried out with very valuable people. In fact, there were times in the early years when we sent production personnel to Germany for training. Most of the employees in our R&D department continue in their positions. People well known throughout the sector and Mr. Cemil Demir, who has brought special products to Merbolin for many years, continues to work as a technical consultant for our company. I am very grateful to him for the awards and efforts he has brought to our company. A Dealer Meeting in ŞanlıurfaFrom left to right: Ali Kılınç (Factory Manager), Hakan Elmacıoğlu (General Manager Assistant responsible for Marketing and Sales), Kenan Baytaş (Board Chairman), Fuat Ercişli (Board Member), Cemil Demir (Technical Manager), Haydar Erdem (Regional Sales Manager) Cemil Bey developed a paint called MerboTherm made from space shuttle materials. This paint was produced with technology that would replace cladding and provide 25% heat insulation on outer surfaces and 20% on inner surfaces. There are other names on the market claiming to produce this paint. However, we don't just claim it. We passed tests from Salford Laboratories, an accredited British university, and obtained certification. However, we are waiting for the finalization of our partnership decision with our new foreign partner, with whom we are negotiating to carry out production and promotional activities more comprehensively. You will hear the name of this product frequently on the market very soon.

Export Activities

We currently conduct export activities to Iraq, Turkmenistan, Libya, Algeria, and Syria. However, due to political and social developments in those regions, we may have to stop our exports. However, we do not intend to take a step back in our work with these countries, whether through trade fairs or distribution channels.

Education and Seminars

I am a person who places great importance on education. Without education, you certainly cannot progress. For many years, we have organized educational seminars for painting masters and technical teams. We inform our dealers in the provinces we visit in advance. We invite our dealers and painting masters to the hotel where we will organize the seminar for training. In these seminars, we both introduce our paints and explain their usage features. Everyone who comes receives gifts in a bag including overalls, pants, caps, etc. There is also a raffle. Afterwards, we all eat together. We have 690 sales points in Turkey. We also organize separate seminars and meetings for our dealers. In this way, we maintain our presence in the market like a large team at all times. Besides this, we also have in-house training. We ensure our employees' participation in seminars and courses related to occupational safety, TSE, marketing, and export.

Corporate Social Responsibility Campaigns

We perform paint maintenance work on schools in the southeastern and Black Sea regions where our market share is good. From time to time, we also support the clothing of children in schools. Although the intensity of organizations I have recently joined does not leave me time to deal with these matters, we try to meet the requests that come to us in the best way we can. I am currently on the board of management of ISO, BOSAD, and TOBB Sandık Vakfı. At the same time, I also have duties at the Exporters Association.

Environmental Responsibilities

In addition to the civil society organizations I have taken on duties with, I also manage the Environmental Specialization Commission of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry. Approximately four or five years ago, there was no treatment facility in the Dilovası region where our factory is located. During that period, with my special efforts, we established a treatment facility in our factory. Since I am on the environmental commission, I did not think it was right to produce without taking any precautions for our waste. For this reason, we did not want to wait for the opening of the general treatment facility. Especially during my duties in the environmental commission, I still carry the necessity and responsibility of leaving a better world to future generations with a sense of duty. I currently think that many regulations that have come into force under the scope of the European Union are heavy for our country's conditions. In many European countries, regulations are given a 10-year period to come into force. Our country was not given such an opportunity. Since the sectoral budget is insufficient, I think we need to prepare the infrastructure and gradually overcome some issues step by step.

"Capital alone is not sufficient for success; human resources are very important."

First of all, you need to believe in teamwork. Capital alone is not sufficient for success; human resources are very important. For this reason, each department must act with separate responsibility but as a whole. This consciousness is a factor that provides continuity. For example, we have no new employees in our company. Our newest employee has been here for 8 years. All our team members working in production and other departments are people who have worked within Merbolin for many years. We are like a family here. There is a responsibility project applied in some regions of Europe. Job descriptions are given to responsible people. The work to be done is clear. Our employees have been adding value to Merbolin for years with this sense of responsibility. I am particularly sensitive about health. All managers working with us have special health insurance. In the coming periods, I am working to ensure that our workers also benefit from this privilege. Being united at weddings and holidays is very important for the continuity of a company. I attribute this sensitivity on my part to sincerity to having been part of working life from very young ages.

Recommendations for Young Entrepreneurs

I believe Turkey will progress further thanks to the young generation. Because there are now more alternatives to reach knowledge and goals. When we were young, we would go to the post office several times just to make a phone call. Now it is different. Young people should make good use of these opportunities and should always improve themselves… Save