Kerry Pianoforte, Editor12.07.23
Coatings World recently interviewed Ersin Kayalar, Chairman of the Board of Kayalar Kimya. Istanbul-based Kayalar Kimya is a major player in the Turkish paint and coatings industry.
Ersin Kayalar, Chairman of the Board of Kayalar Kimya
CW: Please tell me a little bit about your company: when was it founded, number of facilities, number of employees etc.?
Kayalar: The foundations of Kayalar Kimya were laid in 1976 by Yılmaz Kayalar. Today, exporting to 55 countries, we are one of the largest furniture paint and varnish manufacturers in Europe. With our Genç, Düfa, Wo-odsol, GençNoroo brands, we serve the furniture, construction and metal sectors in a wide range of areas from solvent- and water-based exterior wood varnishes and paints to industrial paints.
We make a difference in our sector with our strong R&D center and our application and simulation center, which was renewed this year. We give high importance to export and increase our Genç brand image all around the world. Today more than half of our total revenue comes from export. With our Genç brand, we were accepted into Turquality, the world's first state-sponsored branding program, in 2016. Genç was the first brand to be included in this program in its field.
We have two production facilities in Tuzla (32500m2) and Gebze (40000m2). We recently invested in our second factory in Gebze to produce industrial adhesives. We stepped into the industrial adhesives sector with KayaColl, KayaTherm, KayaPur, KayaPren, KayaSit, KayaSil, KayaFlex brands. Our goal is to grow in the adhesives and binders sector as well. We make a difference with our quality, innovative products and customer-centric approach in all areas we operate in, and we strive to maintain this understanding in the new areas we enter.
In 2024, we budgeted to invest €3 million to a new warehouse in our Tuzla factory. The expansion of our automatic packaging unit and our capacity increase investment will begin. In addition, we will have quality control laboratory and R&D investments. As a technology focused company we are committed to advancing our factories with new equipments. Furthermore, the renewal of the technological ERP opera-ting system will be completed by early 2024.
We have grown 20% percent in 2023 and we budgeted 20% growth in 2024 as well. Our employment will naturally increase with our growth, and while we were a team of 350 people at the beginning of 2023and now reached 450 people. We anticipate that we will reach 500 people by the end of 2024.
CW: What types of paint and coatings does Kayalar Kimya make?
Kayalar: We have a wide range of products including furniture paints and varnishes, exterior wood paints and varnishes, construction paints and industrial paints. In addition, as I mentioned before, adhesives and binders are our new investment area. Our goal is to achieve sustainable growth in the field of adhesives and binders and to demonstrate our success in paint and varnish in this field as well.
CW: What regions of the world do you sell in?
Kayalar: As Kayalar Kimya, we export to nearly 55 countries in three continents in North Africa, Europe and Asia. In some of these countries, we are the leader in furniture varnishes and paints sales as we are in Turkey. We also have offices, warehouses and a laboratory in various regions. We established our organization in Poland in order to provide better service to Central and Western Europe and we see the positive reflec-tions of this decision. In the upcoming period, we aim to gain more market share in Western Europe, the USA, Southeast Asia and Central South Africa.
CW: What areas of the paint and coatings market offer the most opportunities for growth?
Kayalar: I think there are limitless new opportunities in the paint industry, especially for companies with a focus on quality and innovation. Carbon footprint and sustainability are becoming more and more important for our industry, as in all sectors. The demand for water-based products, low VOC and biobased products is increasing. We see opportunities here and we focus on them in terms of our R&D and production technologies.
Additionally, the continued expansion of the automotive and metal industries is driving demand for both aesthetics and durability. High-performance functional protective products also continue to gain impor-tance.
In addition to these opportunities, we see that the construction sector is always open to growth. When we evaluate the matter from the perspective of our company, opportunities in emerging markets are also important for us since we are export orientated. While the European market has not grown for the last three years, the Middle East market, where we have been investing for 25 years, is constantly growing and increasing its potential. This accelerates the expansion of our brand. Being close to these markets and speaking the same language in many of them gives us an advantage. With these advantages, we con-tinue to grow with double digit figures every year.
CW: What is your business strategy for 2024 and beyond?
Kayalar: In the upcoming period, we are aligning our strategy on achieving sustainable growth. Our most important goal is to continue representing our country in the global arena with the same success. We aim to double the number of countries we export to, enrich our product range in furniture, construction and industrial paints, and continue to create value by delivering our quality and reliable products to all cor-ners of the world. With a history spanning almost five decades, we have worked hard to reach this point, and our values of innovation, customer focus, leadership and continuous improvement have always been at the centre of our business. We will persist in operating based on these values.
Moreover, we have fully automated production facilities equipped with state-of- the art technology, yet there is always room for improvement. In this era where technology gains increasing importance every day, we aim to continue investing in new technologies. We plan to elevate our factories even further with the integration of new equipment. Through continued investment in research and development, we will persist in bringing innovative products to the industry. Our commitment to innovation led us to invest in our second factory in Gebze, dedicated to the production of industrial wood adhesives.
CW; What areas of the paint and coatings market are you focusing R&D on?
Kayalar: As Kayalar Kimya, we carry out R&D studies in three fields of activity; Furniture (Genç), architectural (Düfa & Woodsol) and Industrial coatings (Genç Noroo). We are focusing on low VOC furniture functional coatings in terms of water based, UV, water based and 100 %UV Curable systems. Besides, Artificial Intelligence is emerging in sustainability, promises to support chemistry and engineering through improved predic-tion leading to improved quality and performance.
Ersin Kayalar, Chairman of the Board of Kayalar Kimya
CW: Please tell me a little bit about your company: when was it founded, number of facilities, number of employees etc.?
Kayalar: The foundations of Kayalar Kimya were laid in 1976 by Yılmaz Kayalar. Today, exporting to 55 countries, we are one of the largest furniture paint and varnish manufacturers in Europe. With our Genç, Düfa, Wo-odsol, GençNoroo brands, we serve the furniture, construction and metal sectors in a wide range of areas from solvent- and water-based exterior wood varnishes and paints to industrial paints.
We make a difference in our sector with our strong R&D center and our application and simulation center, which was renewed this year. We give high importance to export and increase our Genç brand image all around the world. Today more than half of our total revenue comes from export. With our Genç brand, we were accepted into Turquality, the world's first state-sponsored branding program, in 2016. Genç was the first brand to be included in this program in its field.
We have two production facilities in Tuzla (32500m2) and Gebze (40000m2). We recently invested in our second factory in Gebze to produce industrial adhesives. We stepped into the industrial adhesives sector with KayaColl, KayaTherm, KayaPur, KayaPren, KayaSit, KayaSil, KayaFlex brands. Our goal is to grow in the adhesives and binders sector as well. We make a difference with our quality, innovative products and customer-centric approach in all areas we operate in, and we strive to maintain this understanding in the new areas we enter.
In 2024, we budgeted to invest €3 million to a new warehouse in our Tuzla factory. The expansion of our automatic packaging unit and our capacity increase investment will begin. In addition, we will have quality control laboratory and R&D investments. As a technology focused company we are committed to advancing our factories with new equipments. Furthermore, the renewal of the technological ERP opera-ting system will be completed by early 2024.
We have grown 20% percent in 2023 and we budgeted 20% growth in 2024 as well. Our employment will naturally increase with our growth, and while we were a team of 350 people at the beginning of 2023and now reached 450 people. We anticipate that we will reach 500 people by the end of 2024.
CW: What types of paint and coatings does Kayalar Kimya make?
Kayalar: We have a wide range of products including furniture paints and varnishes, exterior wood paints and varnishes, construction paints and industrial paints. In addition, as I mentioned before, adhesives and binders are our new investment area. Our goal is to achieve sustainable growth in the field of adhesives and binders and to demonstrate our success in paint and varnish in this field as well.
CW: What regions of the world do you sell in?
Kayalar: As Kayalar Kimya, we export to nearly 55 countries in three continents in North Africa, Europe and Asia. In some of these countries, we are the leader in furniture varnishes and paints sales as we are in Turkey. We also have offices, warehouses and a laboratory in various regions. We established our organization in Poland in order to provide better service to Central and Western Europe and we see the positive reflec-tions of this decision. In the upcoming period, we aim to gain more market share in Western Europe, the USA, Southeast Asia and Central South Africa.
CW: What areas of the paint and coatings market offer the most opportunities for growth?
Kayalar: I think there are limitless new opportunities in the paint industry, especially for companies with a focus on quality and innovation. Carbon footprint and sustainability are becoming more and more important for our industry, as in all sectors. The demand for water-based products, low VOC and biobased products is increasing. We see opportunities here and we focus on them in terms of our R&D and production technologies.
Additionally, the continued expansion of the automotive and metal industries is driving demand for both aesthetics and durability. High-performance functional protective products also continue to gain impor-tance.
In addition to these opportunities, we see that the construction sector is always open to growth. When we evaluate the matter from the perspective of our company, opportunities in emerging markets are also important for us since we are export orientated. While the European market has not grown for the last three years, the Middle East market, where we have been investing for 25 years, is constantly growing and increasing its potential. This accelerates the expansion of our brand. Being close to these markets and speaking the same language in many of them gives us an advantage. With these advantages, we con-tinue to grow with double digit figures every year.
CW: What is your business strategy for 2024 and beyond?
Kayalar: In the upcoming period, we are aligning our strategy on achieving sustainable growth. Our most important goal is to continue representing our country in the global arena with the same success. We aim to double the number of countries we export to, enrich our product range in furniture, construction and industrial paints, and continue to create value by delivering our quality and reliable products to all cor-ners of the world. With a history spanning almost five decades, we have worked hard to reach this point, and our values of innovation, customer focus, leadership and continuous improvement have always been at the centre of our business. We will persist in operating based on these values.
Moreover, we have fully automated production facilities equipped with state-of- the art technology, yet there is always room for improvement. In this era where technology gains increasing importance every day, we aim to continue investing in new technologies. We plan to elevate our factories even further with the integration of new equipment. Through continued investment in research and development, we will persist in bringing innovative products to the industry. Our commitment to innovation led us to invest in our second factory in Gebze, dedicated to the production of industrial wood adhesives.
CW; What areas of the paint and coatings market are you focusing R&D on?
Kayalar: As Kayalar Kimya, we carry out R&D studies in three fields of activity; Furniture (Genç), architectural (Düfa & Woodsol) and Industrial coatings (Genç Noroo). We are focusing on low VOC furniture functional coatings in terms of water based, UV, water based and 100 %UV Curable systems. Besides, Artificial Intelligence is emerging in sustainability, promises to support chemistry and engineering through improved predic-tion leading to improved quality and performance.
