Interview with Erkan Sezer, General Manager of COIM Türkiye

General Manager of COIM Turkey Erkan Sezer shares insights on professional experience and products supplied to the sector.

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

I was born in Bursa in 1954. I completed my primary, secondary and high school education in Bursa. In 1977, I graduated from the Chemistry Engineering Department at Boğaziçi University. Following my graduation, during the first ten years I worked in technical and commercial positions at leading contracting firms in our country and later at multinational petrochemical companies such as ICI and Union Carbide. Between 1993 and 2014, my career at Enser, the COIM distribution company of which I was also a partner for 22 years, was a very colorful, meaningful and valuable period of my professional life. Since 2014, I have continued my professional career as General Manager of COIM TURKEY.

Could you tell us about your company's establishment and development process?

COIM TURKEY was established in 2014 when the distribution company Enser was acquired by COIM SpA, an Italian company and a leading supplier of polyester and polyurethane systems and chemicals to the world. COIM has been recognized with respect in Turkey, particularly in the footwear sector since the late 1980s, and continues to develop its market presence. Today it serves as an important and leading polyurethane system supplier to many industrial sectors (footwear, automotive, textiles, building insulation, machinery parts, packaging film lamination, synthetic leather, ceramics, etc.).

Could you tell us about your domestic and export sales activities? Which regions and what types of products do you primarily sell domestically and internationally?

The COIM group of companies manufactures products primarily at its facilities in Italy (Offanengo), as well as in Singapore, the USA, Brazil and India, and distributes its products to all world markets through local companies and distributors. The COIM group's total global production reaches 345,000 tons/year, with total global sales turnover exceeding USD 1 billion. COIM's principal product groups: Diexter (saturated polyester polyols), Laripur and Laricol (TPU thermoplastic polyurethanes), Imuthane (hot-cast polyurethane prepolymers), Larithane (PU solutions for synthetic leather), Urexter (footwear PU systems), Isoexter (rigid foam systems), Novacote (packaging film lamination adhesives), Filco (fiberglass binder resins), Plaxter (monomeric and polymeric plasticizers), Ketanox (organic peroxides). COIM TURKEY supplies high-quality and high-performance products manufactured by the group to Turkish industry in an uninterrupted, direct, secure and efficient manner, while also operating with the vision of providing advanced solutions and extra added value to our valued customers. Our domestic markets are primarily concentrated in Istanbul-Kocaeli (automotive, machinery, footwear, building insulation, textiles, packaging, ceramics, etc.), Bursa (automotive and machinery parts), Ankara (footwear, machinery, mining), Izmir-Manisa (footwear, machinery, white goods), Gaziantep (footwear, machinery parts), Adana (machinery parts), Konya (technical materials), Uşak (ceramics). Although modest, exports to Turkic republics are carried out by our distributors. In addition to COIM product groups, our main agencies include Lucite International (acrylic polymers), Asahi Glass Chemicals (fluoropolymers), Contifibre (polyamide yarns).

What is the importance of the Turkish market for COIM?

Turkey is seen as a market with continuous growth potential due to its population approaching 80 million and rising living standards. Due to increasing demand, the applications and variety of polyurethane use are steadily growing. Many things once considered luxuries are now basic necessities. Compared with static, saturated European markets, Turkey appears as a rising star. We want to increase our market share as an important supplier to many sectors, particularly footwear, automotive and machinery parts, thermal insulation panels, flexible packaging film, and cast elastomers. Along with our efforts to increase market share, COIM feels the responsibility of helping develop environmental and economic standards for society with its experience exceeding 40 years in the Turkish market and its technological and innovative vision in production.

Could you tell us about your R&D activities? Do you have any projects developed jointly with universities?

COIM's research and development center is located at the Italy Offanengo facility. At this facility, equipped with advanced technology and carefully maintained to the highest standards, expert researchers work intensively to produce innovative and ecological solutions for all COIM markets. COIM allocates significant resources annually for R&D activities, to which it attaches special importance. Specific application development studies required by our customers are also carried out at this center. Cooperation with universities may be included in our future-oriented projects. "Polyurethane, which finds diverse and efficient applications, is in close contact with us in our daily lives, in our beds, pillows, armchairs, refrigerators, shoe soles, cars, printers, mobile phones, etc."

What steps do you take to ensure your products remain preferred?

The solutions we provide to our customers with our products must remain valid for as long as possible, be updated when necessary, and deliver the expected benefits. To achieve this, we must maintain close contact with our customers, understand their needs, and also monitor market trends. On the other hand, it is important that our customers receive the right product at appropriate cost. After-sales service is very important and valuable to our customers. Our personnel are kept at a high level of technical knowledge with the support of our Italian technical center. When needed, our Italian technical center specialists can reach our customers within 24 hours.

What are the most notable innovations and technological developments in the polyurethane sector? Could you tell us about your innovation work?

Polyurethane, which finds diverse and efficient applications, is in close contact with us in our daily lives, in our beds, pillows, armchairs, refrigerators, shoe soles, cars, printers, mobile phones, etc. It increases our comfort and makes our lives easier. The socks and garments we wear gain elasticity from the polyurethane fibers they contain. With thermal insulation panels, we protect our buildings from environmental effects and consume less energy. Heavy machinery with large wheels filled with polyurethane instead of air provides safer and longer-lasting service. It is possible to multiply these examples by hundreds. Polyurethane has brought and continues to bring innovation in all its applications.

What are your sustainability initiatives?

Sustainability, one of the core principles of COIM's vision, is addressed both environmentally and socially. COIM Sustainability Management sets systematic targets annually (across and outside all production facilities) regarding environmental protection, health, quality and customer satisfaction, and reviews and adjusts operations and systems accordingly without compromising quality. In my view, sustainability means meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations. Today we see a model that addresses environmental balance and economic growth together, one that enables efficient use of natural resources and values environmental quality while meeting present needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We understand sustainability as clearly understanding the current situation, analyzing the risks and opportunities that trends bring to companies, and reorganizing company operations, products and services accordingly.

How do you assess the polyurethane sector from Turkey's perspective?

With economic growth, diversification and increase in demand, and rising manufacturing technology levels, polyurethane consumption continues to develop and grow. Polyurethane is finding increasingly broader applications. Competition is at the highest level. Along with our dependence on imported raw materials, domestic production of raw materials and intermediates (polyester polyols, MDI/TDI systems, TPU, hot-cast elastomers, polyurea, etc.) is gaining increasing weight and product variety is expanding. A highly dynamic sector. There is much more to be done.

Do you have a message for the sector?

We wish that valued polyurethane users accept us as a solution partner.