We conducted an enjoyable interview with Nilay Midilli.

We conducted an enjoyable interview with Nilay Midilli, Industry Director for Paints, Construction Chemicals, Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers (CASE) in Univar's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, about her professional background, new job description, product groups and services.

Ms. Nilay Midilli, first of all we congratulate you on your new position and wish you great success. Could you tell us briefly about yourself and your professional background? Could you also explain your new job description?

Thank you very much. I graduated from Yıldız Technical University's Chemical Engineering department. I started working in the chemical distribution sector 17 years ago. My first company was Eral-Protek, where I began as a sales engineer, and I took on various responsibilities until the company was acquired by Univar in 2011. After joining Univar, I served as Country Manager for Univar Turkey between 2011 and 2015. In March 2015, I was appointed Commercial Manager responsible for the CASE industry in Univar's Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and took on responsibilities including managing major suppliers, new business development, and managing technical and commercial teams. In July 2016, I was appointed to the role of Industry Director for Paints, Construction Chemicals, Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers (CASE) in the Univar Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. In this new position, my responsibility is to support the implementation of Univar's CASE industry strategy and strengthen Univar's supplier and customer network through our purpose-built commercial and technical organization.

Could you tell us about your company's development process from its foundation to today?

The history of our company dates back to 1924, when George Van Waters and Nat Rogers opened a small firm in Seattle, Washington, USA to buy and sell maritime supplies, paints, raw materials and cotton linters. From the 1960s onward, the company grew through a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions, and adopted the name Univar in 1974. Today, Univar is a global leader in the distribution of chemicals and additives and also provides related services. The scale we possess, our geographic reach, diverse distribution channels, sector expertise and comprehensive product portfolio enable us to build strong and long-term relationships with our suppliers and provide single-source solutions for our customers. Since the end of 2014, Univar has served the industry in the EMEA region through a three-pronged approach: "bulk chemical distribution, local chemical distribution and distribution focused on specific industries," tailored to the needs of different customers and markets. This organizational arrangement was designed to increase performance and focus on the needs of specific customers, specific markets and suppliers. In the EMEA region, the CASE industry is also one of the selected focus sectors, managed centrally with specialized sales, technical teams and technical capabilities.

Could you tell us about Univar's product groups and the sectors you serve?

Univar offers customers across a wide variety of sectors an extensive portfolio containing over 4,500 chemical products. We distribute to more than 115,000 customer locations worldwide. Our chemical portfolio includes acids and bases, surfactants, glycols, inorganic compounds, alcohols and, in addition, hundreds of other specialty chemicals and additives used in final markets. The sectors we serve include: • Agriculture, • Paints, Construction Chemicals and Adhesives, • Environmental Sciences, • Food and Beverage, • Household and Industrial Cleaning, • Energy, • Personal Care, • Pharmaceutical Ingredients.

Could you provide more details about the Univar CASE product groups and services you provide to the relevant sector?

As I mentioned earlier, Univar offers a very broad product range to diverse markets containing both specialty products and general chemicals. In the paints and adhesives market, we remain one of the most important general chemical distributors, and the general chemicals serving this sector are managed by local Univar teams. Differently, the CASE business unit for which I am responsible is managed centrally in the EMEA region and operates in 26 countries. We have a team of over 100 people responsible solely for the sales and marketing of specialty product groups for the CASE sector. Our main product groups include silicone resins and additives, epoxy resins and hardeners, polymers and emulsions, cellulosic ethers, powder polymers, thixotropic agents, pigments, carbon black varieties, dispersants, neutralizers, polyurethanes and fillers. In addition to our core product range, we also offer numerous other specialty chemicals that complement our product portfolio to serve our customers. With our two paint laboratories located in the United Kingdom and Italy, we are able to support our customers in developing new and innovative paint systems. Our team has long years of research and development, paint formulation and testing experience across a wide range of technologies and industries.

Could you provide information about Univar's policies and principles?

Our vision is to be a world-leading company where the best people want to work in chemical product distribution and in products and related services, and to benefit all stakeholders. We value relationships, achieve success through performance, pursue growth through innovation with new markets and opportunities, and do everything safely and without compromising integrity. Safety is always our number one priority. We take every care to protect our employees, customers and suppliers through safe delivery, storage, safe operating practices and safe working conditions.

Ms. Nilay Midilli, could we learn about your after-sales services and customer satisfaction philosophy?

In addition to selling and distributing chemicals, we provide important distribution services and value-added services for manufacturers and our customers by utilizing our transportation and storage infrastructure and our extensive experience in working with chemicals and hazardous materials. This intermediary role is becoming increasingly important, particularly as chemical manufacturers show a growing tendency to outsource distribution at increasingly higher levels to meet their needs and raise supply chain efficiency. These services include: • Inventory and sample management, • Product information and technical expertise, • Blending, mixing and repackaging, • MiniBulk storage and distribution systems, • Waste management services, and • ChemPoint.com, which primarily operates in North America and EMEA, a unique distribution platform that facilitates the marketing and sale of specialty and specialty chemicals.

Ms. Nilay Midilli, what aspects do you focus on to ensure your products' long-term success in the market?

Our employees, by perfectly adapting to sector, geographic and end-market needs, are able to offer our customers extensive expertise, including developments provided by our supplier partners. Similarly, our supplier partners rely on our market information coming from markets and our customers.

What are your company's activities regarding health, safety, sustainability and REACH?

Univar's emphasis on high safety standards and practices has resulted in reductions in safety-related and environmental incidents over the past decade, and 2016 was recorded as Univar's safest year. Through accident prevention efforts, work stoppage authority, process and facility inspections, safety committees and training, post-incident reviews, safety and environmental audits, we strive to eliminate accidents in the workplace. We place great emphasis on reducing our environmental impact and carbon footprint, ensuring the safety of our employees and neighbors, helping our suppliers and customers grow by providing sustainable solutions, and ensuring the safe use of our products. Univar also has a number of ongoing sustainability and waste reduction initiatives. Univar has been involved in the REACH process for years, including working with FECC. As a party that helps shape the rules in this area, Univar is ready to provide monitoring, consulting and management services to our customers for REACH compliance. Regarding joint support for products we deliver under REACH, we continuously exchange views with our suppliers.

Ms. Nilay Midilli, do you have any new projects for 2017 that you would like to share with us?

We are continuously improving our commercial and technical capabilities. Recently, we enabled our company to enter new markets with some of our important suppliers, and we continue to add new specialty product ranges from new suppliers to our portfolio. We will focus more on laboratory services to strengthen our technical support and help our customers develop new systems. Our team is working on organizing customer events, technical seminars and new product launches for 2017.