Interview with Selman Tarmur, General Manager of Mapei Türkiye

Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei today operates in 57 countries, including Turkey. In the interview we conducted, Sayın Selman Tarmur, General Manager of Mapei Turkey, answered our questions. Tarmur emphasized that Mapei places great importance on R&D and explained the technologies developed by Mapei. [caption id="attachment_126235" align="aligncenter"] Selman Tarmur[/caption]

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

I completed my studies in Mechanical Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and obtained an MBA from Marmara University. I worked for many years within Bosch Thermotechnics. Between 2009 and 2013, I held positions as General Manager of Bosch Thermotechnics and Regional Director for Middle East and Caucasia. Between 2013 and 2015, I served as Vice President Global in the Central Heating Systems business line at Bosch Thermotechnology GmbH (Germany). Between 2015 and 2017, I worked as Vice President at Kaleseramik A.Ş., and between 2017 and 2018, I served as General Manager at Belenco Quartz Systems. As of June 2018, I took office as General Manager of Mapei Turkey.

Could you provide information about Mapei's founding process and the stages it has gone through to the present day? How long has Mapei been operating in Turkey?

Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei today operates with 90 subsidiaries in 57 countries and 83 production facilities in 36 countries, employing more than 10,000 workers within the group. As Mapei Group, we produce and sell more than 5,000 products across 20 different product groups: adhesives and complementary products for the application of all types of flooring, wall and coating materials; waterproofing products, thermal insulation products, flooring products, specialty mortars, cement and concrete additives, products for underground construction, products for sports facilities, products for concrete and historic building restoration, and products for the maritime sector. Since entering the Turkish market in 2013, Mapei has continuously invested in personnel, facilities and training. The past years have been devoted to investments in production and supply chain; we increased the closed-area capacity of our production facility built on an area of 23,000 square meters to 8,977 square meters, increased our powder production line capacity and renewed our storage systems. Our cement additive line, which we established in our Ankara Polatlı plant in 2018 and which operates entirely on the basis of automation with stainless steel tanks and mixers, and the cement line we expanded in 2019 with specially climate-controlled warehouse capacity, now provides us with production capacity to meet the needs of all cement factories in Turkey. Our wide range of products that meet every need of the construction industry from foundation to roof, along with the technical support we provide and our continuous investments, enable major projects to be realized around the world. Our innovative products and systems are preferred in thousands of construction sites worldwide and in many prestigious and iconic projects.

What products, brands and services does Mapei offer, particularly in the Adhesives and Sealants fields? What sectors does Mapei primarily serve in these areas and what types of products does it provide?

Mapei has a very wide range of products in this regard. Our ceramic group products, in which we are market leaders in many countries, consist of high-technology products and system solutions that cover all requirements according to need. The ceramic group is one of Mapei's main business lines and has continuously renewed and developing features. In the Turkish market, ceramic group products are sold in leading ceramic stores in Turkey and are increasing their market share day by day. As Mapei, we propose system solutions to our customers. As construction quality continues to increase, demand for technological products also increases. When supplying materials to our customers, we aim to ensure quality and continuous comfort by providing sustainable, environmentally conscious system components. The increase in ceramic dimensions, the prominence of rectified products, and the increasing preference for technical granite, natural stone and porcelain ceramics has guided us to develop a product range for different needs in this regard. The effect of increasing dimensions on ceramic adhesive consumption has increased consumption, and qualitatively requires the use of more advanced adhesives and grouts. Moreover, Mapei being a global Italian company allows us to closely monitor the ceramic sector and enables us to respond very quickly to emerging market needs.

Could you discuss your domestic and foreign sales activities? What types of products do you sell in which regions domestically and abroad?

We have adopted as company philosophy to understand local market needs and think like a local company, while acting with a global vision. For this reason, through cooperation between the R&D center in Milan and our Polatlı production facility, we adapt current formulations to local needs and standards, developing specialized products that can meet the needs of the Turkish market. As Mapei Turkey, we present 16 different product groups to the market in 4 main groups. Currently, we operate with our head office in Ankara, our offices in Istanbul and Izmir, and our production facility in Polatlı OSB, one of Ankara's most important industrial zones, covering all of Turkey through our 8 regional directorates and approximately 300 distributors consisting of companies specialized in ceramics, construction, stone building restoration, historic monument restoration, and thermal insulation and paint groups. We primarily market the ceramic adhesives and grouts in which we are market leaders globally through our distributor network composed of Turkey's most select ceramic stores. As Mapei Turkey, we know the importance of the geography in which we are located and structure our medium and long-term plans by including other neighboring countries in this important geography. With our highly competent team spanning from marketing to finance, logistics to other commercial departments, we continue our expansion efforts within Mapei's global policy, expanding the commercial activities we have already begun with Caucasian countries, Qatar and Ukraine to the Near East and even the Middle East.

What kind of work do you do as Mapei in the fields of technology, innovation and R&D? Do you have projects developed within the scope of university-industry cooperation, and if so, what are they?

R&D is at the heart of our work. Every Mapei product released to the market is supported by intensive research and development efforts. Every project using Mapei products is like reaching the end of a long research and analysis journey that begins with sustainability and ends with complete customer satisfaction and structural durability, involving many variables. Twelve percent of our group employees work on research and we allocate 5% of our annual revenue to R&D. Mapei researchers work within a global network consisting of 31 main centers. Our Corporate Research Center in Milan functions as the central analytical laboratory while coordinating 30 other laboratories. Our R&D laboratories, equipped with advanced technology equipment, work in close contact with each other and collaborate with prestigious universities and scientific and industrial research institutes. In addition, our R&D laboratories provide support to our Technical Service Department to meet the most complex demands of our customers and are supported by quality control laboratories present in all 83 production facilities of the group. Every year we create thousands of new formulations that enable environmentally sustainable design and construction. Our product range consisting of more than 5,000 products is produced locally in entirely environmentally respectful production facilities, developed to reduce energy consumption and to be safe for both workers and end users, and approved in accordance with the strictest official standards.

Could you provide information about Mapei's environmental policy and sustainability approach? What can you say about your work related to worker health and safety?

Mapei is a company committed to protecting the environment through eco-sustainable certified solutions worldwide. For us, sustainability that combines environmental protection with quality architecture is important. For Mapei, the reliability of our products over many years is very important. We offer products and solutions with higher durability that help achieve material and energy savings; because such structures mean that buildings and infrastructure will not require intervention in subsequent years. We make a significant contribution to the "green" building concept with innovative, recycled, ultra-light raw material-containing formulations that reduce energy consumption and emit very low levels of harmful organic compounds. Through our developed products with high mechanical performance characteristics and durability, we extend the service life of building elements and structures; we reduce waste materials and achieve less material use and therefore lower energy consumption. To come even closer to the eco-sustainability concept, we have developed solvent-free products that emit very low levels of harmful organic compounds. Through these products, we guarantee high quality to applicators and end users in enclosed spaces (within buildings).

All Mapei products meet all quality environmental health and safety management system standards established by authorized certification institutions such as GEV (Gemeinschaft Emissionskontrollierte Verlegewerkstoffe Klebstoffe und Bauprodukte e.V.), a German organization that controls the emission levels of products used in flooring applications, adhesives and other materials used in the construction industry.

What criteria do you prioritize when developing Mapei investment plans? Does Mapei have investment plans for the coming periods, and if so, what are they? As Mapei, we view the world as a large construction site full of opportunities and develop leading products and system solutions that define standards in the construction sector and provide maximum quality and durability that defies years, responding to the needs of structures and end users. Our 2021 target will be to continue growing by providing professional technical support with innovative products that have proven their quality in global projects and markets. A trend we observed during the pandemic showed us the importance of providing fast service without compromising quality. During this period, we saw that our customers' expectations regarding service speed increased. Based on this, we will continue to make improvements in 2021 to meet changing customer expectations in our logistics, delivery and technical support service processes. We believe that reaching customers through digital channels in 2021 will be more important than ever. We think that raising awareness through these channels and sharing user experience will become even more important. In 2021, our activities and investments in these channels will continue to increase.