Mapei Türkiye General Manager Mr. Selman Tarmur

In the interview we conducted, Selman Tarmur, General Manager of Mapei Turkey, provided information about Mapei's products and technologies.

Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself, your education and professional background?

I completed my studies in Mechanical Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and an MBA program at Marmara University. I worked for many years within the Bosch Thermotechnology organization. Between 2009 and 2013, I served as General Manager of Bosch Thermotechnology and Regional Director for the Middle East and Caucasus regions. Between 2013 and 2015, I held the position of Deputy President at Bosch Thermotechnology GmbH (Germany) in the Central Climate Systems business line. Between 2015 and 2017, I worked as Deputy President at Kaleseramik A.Ş., and between 2017 and 2018 as General Manager at Belenco Quartz Systems. As of June 2018, I assumed the position of General Manager of Mapei Turkey.

Could you provide information about Mapei's founding history and current structure?

Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei is today a large company that produces adhesive products for the application of all types of flooring, substrates and wall covering materials, as well as flooring products, thermal insulation products, exterior facade paints, multiple waterproofing solutions, specialty mortars, cement and concrete additives, restoration products, sports facility products, and products for underground construction, tunnels and tunnel boring machines. The Group's 2018 profile can be summarized as: 79 manufacturing facilities across 5 continents in 34 different countries, 82 subsidiary companies, and more than 10,000 employees within the group. The Group's 2017 consolidated turnover was EUR 2.5 billion, and it serves more than 66,000 customers with its high-quality products in one of the world's broadest and most complementary product ranges. Mapei also provides effective technical support services at all of its offices worldwide. This service, delivered by specialized engineers and job site support personnel, is appreciated by designers, architects, contractors and professional flooring applicators.

Which sectors does Mapei Turkey primarily supply, and what types of products?

Mapei Turkey, which entered the Turkish market five years ago, operates through its head office in Ankara, offices in Istanbul and Izmir, and a manufacturing facility in Polatlı OSB, one of Ankara's most important industrial zones. Mapei Turkey manufactures and sells products and systems for the construction industry with a broad product range that is always presented as a complete system, including ceramic adhesives and grout products, waterproofing systems, specialty and anchoring mortars, thermal insulation products, interior and exterior coatings, industrial floors and other building materials.

Could you describe your domestic and export sales activities? Which regions do you primarily serve domestically and internationally, and what types of products do you supply?

As Mapei Turkey, we group our 16 different product lines into 4 main categories and present them to the market. While we conduct all our sales in Turkey through more than 125 distributors, our distributors are companies specialized in the Ceramics Group, Construction Group, Stone Structure Repair & Historic Building Restoration Group, and Thermal Insulation & Paints Group. We primarily market our Ceramic Adhesives and Grout products, in which we are market leaders worldwide, through our distributor network consisting of the most prestigious ceramic retailers in Turkey. While we are currently seeking involvement in all major projects on Turkey's agenda (airports, hospitals, shopping centers and residential buildings), we provide support to certain key projects such as Istanbul's 3rd Airport, 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, Marmaray, Galataport and regional hospitals. With our select dealer network across Turkey, we provide timely and error-free service to all job sites, and our expert applicators and technical support department ensure the correct use of Mapei products on these projects. As Mapei Turkey, we understand the importance of our geographical location and we develop our medium and long-term plans by including other neighboring countries in this important region. With our highly competent team spanning from marketing to finance, logistics to other commercial departments, we are continuing our expansion efforts in accordance with Mapei's global policy, extending the commercial activities we have already initiated with Caucasian countries, Qatar and Ukraine toward the Near East and even the Middle East.

What kind of work do you undertake at Mapei in the areas of innovation and research and development?

Research and development form the foundation of our business. The core purpose of our commitment to research is to provide innovative and safe solutions to users even in the most complex job site work. 12 percent of our group employees are engaged in research, and we allocate 5 percent of our annual turnover to research and development. Mapei researchers work within a global network consisting of 28 main centers. Our Corporate Research Center located in Milan operates as the central analytical laboratory and coordinates the other 27 laboratories. In addition, our research and development laboratories support the Technical Service Department to meet our customers' most complex requirements and are supported by quality control laboratories located in all 79 of the Group's manufacturing facilities.

Could you provide information about Mapei's environmental policy and sustainability approach?

Mapei is a company committed to environmental protection through eco-sustainable certified solutions worldwide. For us, sustainability combines quality architecture with environmental protection and is of great importance. For Mapei, the long-term reliability of our products is very important. We provide products and solutions with higher durability, which help achieve material and energy savings, because these structures mean that buildings and infrastructure will not require intervention in subsequent years. We make significant contributions to the concept of "green" buildings with innovative, recycled, ultra-lightweight raw material-containing formulations that reduce energy consumption and emit very low levels of harmful organic compounds. Through our high mechanical performance and durable products, we extend the service life of building elements and structures, reduce waste materials, and use less material and consequently less energy consumption. To get even closer to the concept of eco-sustainability, we have developed solvent-free products that emit very low levels of harmful organic compounds. Through these products, we guarantee high quality to applicators and end users in enclosed spaces (within buildings). All Mapei products meet all quality, environmental health and safety management system standards set by authorized certification institutions such as GEV (Gemeinschaft Emissionskontrollierte Verlegewerkstoffe Klebstoffe und Bauprodukte e.V.), a German organization that controls the emission levels of flooring application products, adhesives and other materials used in the construction industry.

Could you provide information about investments you have made to date? Does Mapei have investment plans for the coming periods, and if so, what are they?

Over the past 5 years, we have continuously conducted training at our facility to develop both our distributor network and our applicator base. This year, we established a new line at our factory to produce our cement additives in Turkey, and as of August we began producing our cement additive products in Turkey. In addition, we planned to increase our market share in the floor covering product group with epoxy-based decorative products and cement-based decorative coating products. We also plan to expand our activities in the marine vessels sector with our Marine group products. We have also developed a special product series for LVT-designated vinyl flooring and wall coverings, which are increasing in popularity. Our next objective is to grow with our products that have proven their quality in worldwide projects and markets and to achieve a leading position in the market. We will also continue to introduce new products developed by our Italian headquarters to the Turkish market each year in accordance with our strategic plans.