Interview with Zafer Kaşıkara, Country Director of 3M Türkiye
3M Turkey Industrial Products Group Country Director Zafer Kaşıkara answered our questions about his professional background, the company's entry process into the Turkish market and its product groups.
We conducted an engaging interview with Zafer Kaşıkara, Country Director of 3M Turkey. Kaşıkara shared important information about 3M Turkey's objectives and projects.
Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself and your professional background in the sector?
After Saint Joseph French High School in İzmir, I graduated from METU Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2001. I joined the 3M family in June 2007. I served successively as Automotive Division Sales Manager, Abrasive Systems Sales Supervisor, Automotive and Abrasive Systems Sales Manager, Industrial Tapes and Adhesives Sales Manager. Currently, I serve as Country Director of 3M Turkey Industrial Products Group. Before joining 3M, I worked as Field Manager for Mineral Oils at Petrol Ofisi from 2005-2007 and as Project Engineer in the Production Control Department at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey from 2003-2005.
Could you tell us about your domestic and international sales activities? In which countries does 3M have offices? Which global markets do you prioritize?
3M is a US-based 100% publicly traded global company. We operate in 70 countries outside Turkey and our products are sold in more than 200 countries. As 3M Turkey, we serve with approximately 600 employees. We have a production facility in Çerkezköy, and we will open our regional production hub "Super Hub" in Çorlu, which is under construction and installation, in 2016. 3M's priority targets globally and in Turkey are: automotive, construction, electrical-electronics, chemical production, personal care, health and safety sectors, in line with global mega trends.
Could you summarize for our readers your company's market entry process in Turkey and its history in the industry? What does the Turkish market represent for 3M?
At the global level, 3M is structured into 5 main business groups - Consumer Products Group, Electronics and Energy Group, Health Care Products Group, Industrial Products Group, and Safety and Graphic Solutions Group - and comprises 28 active sales and marketing divisions under these groups. For over 110 years, 3M has offered creative solutions with more than 55,000 industrial and personal products to dozens of sectors including personal care, home, hobby and stationery products, electrical, electronic and telecommunications systems, health products, traffic safety, graphic and advertising solutions, worker and workplace safety solutions, and automotive, construction, and chemical production. 3M, operating in 70 countries, has 89,000 employees worldwide. Our workforce in Turkey is approximately 600.
We entered the Turkish market by establishing our sales organization in 1987. In 1988, we launched Scotch-Brite™ in Turkey. In 1992, we established our first production facility in Turkey in Çerkezköy and expanded our portfolio with new products added each year. We began producing occupational safety products in 2001, industrial/filter product groups in 2002, personal care products in 2005, automotive products in 2008, and health products in 2009. We continue production at our 60,000 square meter production facility in Çerkezköy. In 2012, 3M decided to invest in "Super Hub," a regional production hub as our second production facility in Turkey. Our Super Hub production facility in Çorlu, which is under construction and installation and scheduled to open in 2016, will span 200,000 square meters. This facility, which is of great importance for 3M's international activities, will increase our production and export volume in Turkey.
Turkey is 3M's second largest area in Central and Eastern Europe and the third largest in Europe, Middle East and Africa. 3M Turkey holds strategic importance both globally and within the Central and Eastern Europe region due to Turkey's strong economic dynamics, market dynamism, and growth potential. After Super Hub Çorlu becomes operational in 2016, this position will be further strengthened. Our investments here are part of our strategy to invest in developing markets. The rapid and sustainable growth we have demonstrated as 3M Turkey is appreciated by our global organization.
Could you provide information about your company's quality policy and principles?
3M is an institution that continuously ranks among the world's most innovative companies. Throughout its 110-year history, 3M has developed dozens of superior technologies and mastered them. These technologies are used by all 3M business units. Thus, we can produce quality and unique solutions that help our customers in the various sectors we serve overcome the challenges they face.
Could you also summarize your industrial product groups, one of your areas of expertise, and the characteristics of your products?
Through our innovative products and services in the Industrial Products Group, we help manufacturers develop their commercial activities and meet the needs of our international and local customers through our global network. We offer thousands of products and solutions under main categories including vehicle maintenance and repair products, marine products, abrasives and grinding materials, personal care products, filtration systems, advanced chemical products, aerospace products, industrial tapes and adhesives, and automotive solutions.
Could you provide information about the occupational safety solutions you offer and your achievements?
We have superior quality occupational safety products that make significant contributions to ensuring workplace health and safety in various sectors. Companies and workers have known the 3M brand for many years and use our products with confidence. In building this trust, 3M's innovative products and solutions for occupational health and safety play a major role. In 1972, we developed a dust mask approved by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health*. The PVC earplugs Ear-Classic we produced that same year continue to be widely used today for their comfort and effective hearing protection. Since those years, in the area of 3M Personal Protective Equipment, we continue to provide new products and solutions to meet our customers' needs with our evolving technology. In our extensive product range, there are more than 3,000 different products including dust and gas masks, powered and supplied-air systems, hearing protectors, communication solutions, eye protectors, welding fume and other protective equipment and respiratory systems, measuring devices, visors, protective clothing and helmets.
As a manufacturing company, what activities does 3M undertake for environmental protection?
In every area where we operate, we are careful about environmental protection while developing new technologies, and we prioritize environmentally friendly production in our products that reach end consumers. By providing solutions in line with sustainability and social responsibility policies of the institutions we collaborate with, we add value to performance and business costs. At 3M, we work to create a better world for all people. We use our capabilities, expertise and technologies to deliver innovative solutions while also considering long-term effects.
Could you provide information about your Filtration Systems, which is also one of Boyatürk's file topics? What solutions do you offer for which sectors?
We offer comprehensive solutions in industry, pharmaceutical industry, food and beverage production, food service sector, domestic water treatment, and air filtration. 3M experts in many fields of industry such as pharmaceutical, biotech, and industrial water treatment provide consulting to customers on solving problems in the liquids they use and on taste, odor, hardness, and equipment protection.
3M also supports installation, process optimization, and troubleshooting activities with the support of ISO-certified laboratories. With over a century of experience, it enables customers to identify and implement the exact solution they need. 3M Filtration Division, which always prioritizes high customer satisfaction, serves customers through our technical support teams in Turkey and abroad in many areas including validation support, system optimization, and problem solving.
Could you tell us about your laboratory and R&D activities? What can you say about your R&D investments? Could you provide information about your employee profile?
For over 110 years, 3M has demonstrated its innovation capability through more than 55,000 products by using its advanced technologies in new and unexpected ways. The greatest factor in achieving this diversity is that 3M is a solution-focused institution that does not settle for customer satisfaction. Customer-inspired innovation forms the DNA of 3M. The source of new ideas and products, and therefore innovation, at 3M is customers. 3M is an institution that derives 35% of its annual revenue from products that did not exist 5 years ago, and a significant portion of ideas developed with customer inspiration transforms into innovations. 3M has more than 40 Innovation Customer Technical Centers dedicated to conducting innovation processes with customers. These centers leverage 3M's global R&D capabilities and 46 technology platforms to communicate and collaborate with customers and implement innovations to meet customer needs.
Aware of the value of research and development in promoting growth, 3M allocates 5.5% of its revenue annually to R&D activities. This percentage will reach 6% in the coming years, which is well above the world average. 3M's global R&D workforce is approximately 11,000.
3M's business model is based on promoting organic growth by inventing new products that have never existed before. This business model enables not only the creation of new products but also the establishment of new sectors such as coated abrasives, pressure-sensitive tapes, nonwoven respiratory masks, and fluorine materials.
What can you say about internal communication at your company? What efforts do you undertake to enhance your employees' performance?
In line with the initiative culture prevailing at 3M, every employee, regardless of their role and position in the company, is considered the leader of their own job. Employees with a certain degree of freedom within their areas of responsibility are allowed to take initiative. Employees, who are obliged to deliver the expected work results, can proceed without any restrictions on how to achieve those results. At this point, creative and innovative thinking are highly valued characteristics. Every employee is expected to view their work in this light, to move beyond conventional approaches and bring innovation. In this method, employees are allowed to make mistakes, with the goal of learning from errors and not repeating them. 3M's "Leadership Behaviors" initiative also contributes to the realization of each 3M employee's vision. These behaviors consist of six points in total: "Play to win," "be innovative," "promote collaboration and teamwork," "prioritize and execute," "develop others and yourself," "be honest and transparent."
3M Turkey employees also have the opportunity to receive mentoring from both 3M leaders in the Central and Eastern Europe region, of which the company is part, and from leaders in different countries in the global organization. The human resources training and development department ensures that employees are matched with the most appropriate mentor according to their development needs. The mentoring program, which typically lasts one year, provides significant benefits not only to the mentored employee but also to the mentor. Mentors thus increase their skills in leadership, consulting, and communication while also expanding their communication networks.
Does your company have social responsibility projects?
As 3M, by providing solutions in line with the sustainability and social responsibility policies of the institutions we work with, we add value to performance and business costs. Our own social responsibility projects, however, are conducted not on a business unit basis but under the 3M umbrella. In this context, we prepared a public service announcement in which well-known actor Sümer Tilmaç played a character called "Reflektor Refik" to increase reflective use in vehicles and raise public awareness about counterfeit reflective products. We continue to reach a wide audience through radio spots, poster works, and training. What are your sustainability activities?
Sustainability, an integral part of 3M's corporate culture, is at the center of innovation. It plays an important role in our business philosophy and forms the foundation of our growth vision. We are aware that conducting our business in new and more rational ways will both benefit us as a company and help reduce negative environmental impacts. We can say that sustainability is a natural extension of our values. We continue to support economic, social, and environmental sustainability at all times. Our vision is quite simple: while helping to meet today's societal needs, we respect the needs of future generations.
What are the strategies that drive 3M to success?
Our vision at 3M is as follows: 3M technology advances every company, 3M products beautify every home, and 3M innovation enriches every life. Innovation, as a distinguishing feature of 3M's growth, reflects a culture where creative ideas and technologies are shared. 3M innovations enable 3M to continuously offer practical and creative solutions to problems encountered every day around the world. Most often, the most successful new products stem from unmet and sometimes unspoken customer or consumer needs. 3M understands where customers suffer most and gets ahead of competitors through strong relationships built at regional, national, and global levels. Our scientists and researchers observe behaviors, identify needs, and bring their thoughts to the laboratory; they bring together ideas that pave the way for new innovations with sophisticated technologies.
How is 2014 going for your company's targets? What would you like to say about your goals and expectations?
In 2013, we generated USD 31.4 billion in revenue from our worldwide sales. In recent years, we have also achieved significant growth in exports. With a 25% increase compared to the previous year, we ranked among Turkey's top 400 exporters in 2013. While we produced for 39 countries from our Çerkezköy factory in 2013, we increased our exports to 55 countries in 2014. When Super Hub opens, we will further increase our product supply and exports to both domestic and international markets.
Finally, do you have a message you would like to convey to the sector?
For Turkey to be a leading country in the developing world industry, it is essential to invest in R&D and new technologies. For this reason, as 3M Turkey, we offer the technology and scientific power that 3M possesses globally to Turkish industry. We have decided to establish Customer Innovation Centers in Turkey as well, where we provide customers with the opportunity to learn about and experience 3M products under the guidance of our R&D team. This investment, which we plan to open in 2015, will provide advantages such as taking our R&D activities in the country to the next level, expanding our organization with highly qualified employees, and increasing 3M's global R&D capacity.
Gallery
Advertisement
Ad Space728 × 90
