Interview with Adem Kahraman, General Manager of Modelform Kimyevi Ürünler

We had an enjoyable conversation with Adem Kahraman, General Director of Modelform Kimyevi Ürünler, about the company's development from its founding to the present day, the products it has offered to the industry, and its sales activities.

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

I graduated from ODTÜ Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1991. I began my professional career as a Natural Gas Design Engineer. After military service, I wanted to work for a multinational company and pursue a career there, so in 1995 I joined Ciba-Geigy as a Sales Engineer for industrial adhesives and molding and modeling resins and polymers that can be machined in CNC. During my time there, in 1997 I established my own company, Model Form, and obtained the distributorship for Ciba products. In 2007 I resigned and took over my company. Initially we started with epoxy and polyurethane flooring production, and later we began producing our own commercial brand through the distributorship of Rampf tooling solutions. Corepox stands for epoxies and Corepur for polyurethane systems. Currently we are marketing CNC-machinable blocks from Rampf tooling company for modeling and molding applications. We continue production of one and two-component epoxy adhesives and rapid prototyping and molding resins.

Could you briefly provide information about your company's founding process, facilities, production scope, and market share?

Our factory is located in Esenyurt and covers 2,000 m². We conduct production and sales with 12 personnel. We prefer to work with inventory and always strive to deliver materials to our customers on time. While our exact market share is not known, we are in a leading position in our field.

Could you tell us about your product groups and product characteristics? Which sectors do you serve?

Our products include epoxy surface resins, castable resin systems, lamination resin systems, fast-curing polyurethane systems, infusion resin systems, vacuum bagging systems, mold release agents, various filler powders, CNC-machinable blocks of various densities and dimensions, polyurethane and epoxy blocks, and modeling pastes that can be applied both manually and by machine. Our surface resins are classified according to their wear resistance, thermal and chemical durability. Our casting systems are similarly classified according to wear and heat resistance, and the hardeners also vary depending on the different thicknesses of the models or molds to be cast. We have two and three-component polyurethane modeling resins and filler powders. Our lamination systems are suitable for hand lay-up, infusion and vacuum bagging with various viscosities and working times, while also showing thermal resistance ranging from 55-60 degrees to 225 degrees. As for sectors, we serve the automotive, ceramic, marine, aerospace, white goods manufacturers, casting pattern makers and factories, flooring contractors, shoe sole makers, rapid prototypers, control apparatus manufacturers, LRTM and RTM producers, gift item manufacturers, electrical and electronics companies, composites manufacturers and many special application users.

Could you tell us about your sales activities? Which regions do you mainly serve?

Our sales team prepares daily shipping schedules until noon and depending on the situation, they dispatch shipments either on the European or Anatolian side. Our shipments are prepared and dispatched until 3 p.m. every day. Inter-city warehouse or cargo transport is used. Our technical staff provide support from the office or by visiting customers. We mainly serve the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Konya, Kütahya, Eskişehir, Adana, and Bursa. Our company also produces for European countries either as a contractor or under our own brand.

Could you tell us about your R&D activities?

Our R&D work is proceeding at full speed under the supervision of our Production Manager.

Could you provide information about your company's quality policy and principles? Do you provide after-sales support to your customers?

Our company definitely has a quality policy and we are trying to advance this system further through feedback from our customers. I can give you an example: in our recent export to the Netherlands, it was stated that REACH and CLP compliance procedures had been completely renewed and that if not complied with, no purchases would be made, so we updated all our TDS and MSDS documents accordingly. Labels were also updated. Our packaging was also converted to UN numbers.

What activities do you undertake in terms of environmental protection and occupational safety?

We have a specialist in occupational safety and an agreed-upon environmental engineer. We handle incoming products, outgoing products and waste according to regulations and these are reported to the Ministry of Environment. Additionally, our waste storage area has been built in accordance with regulations and has been approved. We have passed inspection by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and completed all our deficiencies and obtained approval. Our employees have received the necessary training and health checks have been completed. Responsible parties have been identified. Measurements of noise, temperature, light and ventilation in the production hall have been conducted and approved.

What are your sustainability activities?

In order for the existing sectors to survive, regular meetings and trainings are conducted. At the same time, we identify new application areas and identify products that can meet their needs and provide solutions by putting them into active use.

What are the main problems of the composites sector and what kind of solutions do you propose?

The composites sector appears to be quite active in our country, though not underestimated. However, in my assessment, it seems to be operating behind closed doors—everyone wants to hide something from everyone else. However, very large-scale users are quite open about this. For example, a medium-sized user calls us to try to find a product for a project. Naturally we have to ask them several questions so we can propose the right solution. We get answers with incredible difficulty or they directly request that we recommend a material. In composite applications, each sector has its own specific problems. For example, automotive or bus manufacturers pressure their suppliers to reduce costs, so suppliers instead of seeking innovation are thinking about how to make the current arrangement more economical. Even today, while there are many practical applications, people are still trying to do composites work using MDF boards.

Could you provide information about your goals and projects?

Our goal is of course to become a world brand. Even though it seems difficult, since we have gotten our products accepted in 4 countries within 3-4 years, I think we can increase this further in the coming years. We always have new projects. I believe that every day we can move one step further by generating projects. Our manually applied modeling paste was very well-received. Now we are trying to adapt it for machine application. In the meantime, we have developed a new two-component adhesive product used in gluing geothermal pipe fittings and the product is in the testing phase in Belgium.

Finally, do you have a message you would like to convey to the industry?

Although the sector seems very old, it is actually not fully established in our country, but we are on the right path and the world's eyes are on our composite manufacturers. With infinite respect and affection to all composites enthusiasts.