An Enjoyable Interview with Mesut Akkaya, Board Member of Politeknik A.Ş.

We conducted a pleasant interview with Mesut Akkaya, General Manager and Board Member of Politeknik A.Ş. Akkaya provided information about Politeknik's founding process and the stages it has gone through to the present day.

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

I was born in Erzincan in 1958. After graduating from İTÜ Metalurgy Faculty in 1980, I went to the United States as a Fulbright scholar in 1981, where I earned a Master's degree in Materials Science from the University of Florida in 1982 and a Ph.D. in 1985, returning to Turkey in 1986. After working at Erdemir for nearly two years, I decided to continue my professional career as an executive and partner at Politeknik A.Ş. in 1988. After approximately 30 years of working together with Doç. Dr. Atila Yaman, the founder of Politeknik A.Ş. and my former professor, we transferred our 80% stake in Politeknik to the German company Coventya as of the end of January 2017. Atila retired from the company. I decided to continue working with Coventya as an executive at Politeknik for some time longer. I currently serve as General Manager and Board Member of Politeknik A.Ş.  

Politeknik began trading on Borsa Istanbul in 2014. How was this decision made, and what advantages did it bring to Politeknik?

One of the main reasons for our decision to sell a portion of the company's shares was to make our firm more corporate and create the opportunity to work with professional managers in the future. Unfortunately, the second generation in our families was not interested in the business we do, so we had to pursue a different approach. A large portion of the funds from the public offering of Politeknik shares was spent on investments made during our move to a new building in Tuzla Chemical Industrialists Site. In our new building, we established an extremely modern liquid tin sulfate manufacturing facility, a fully automatic chemical mixture preparation facility and an equipped laboratory/research unit.

At the beginning of 2017, 80% of Politeknik shares were acquired by Coventya. Could you explain how this process took place and what management changes it brought about?

Coventya's interest in Politeknik began in mid-2016. Coventya, which operates in the field of general metal surface treatment chemicals, made us an offer when it wanted both to expand its market in Turkey and to enter the field of aluminum surface treatment chemicals. Since we viewed this offer positively, the examination process began, and as of the end of January 2017, the closing procedures were completed and Coventya Beteiligungs GmbH became the majority shareholder by acquiring an 80% stake in Politeknik. The Board of Management was formed with four members total—myself and three from Coventya. I also assumed the role of General Manager of the company.

Could you provide information about the founding process of both Politeknik and Coventya and the stages they have gone through to the present day? Considering production facilities, machinery, number of employees, as well as figures such as turnover and production volume, what is your company's current structure?

Coventya's foundations were laid in 1927 with the establishment of "Société Continentale Parker - France". Following the company's acquisition by Metallgesellschaft Group-Germany in 1965, the company experienced significant growth in Europe between 1989 and 2000. In 2001, Metallgesellschaft Group separated the coatings division from Chemetall within its portfolio and sold it to some company managers and special funds. The company established under the name Coventya has since acquired various companies in Europe, America and Asia, and has reached its current position operating in 40 countries across 5 continents. Since its founding in 1985, Politeknik has achieved a market share of over 80% in Turkey in the field of aluminum surface treatment chemicals and has grown to export to more than 20 countries. As of the end of 2016, our automated Tuzla facilities produced approximately 5,500 tons of liquid and powder chemicals and reached total turnover of TRY 28 million. Politeknik, which has approximately 35 employees in total, also has a partnership called "Politeknik USA" based in Atlanta, in which it holds an 85% stake in the United States. Another area of activity for Politeknik is the design, engineering, consulting and turnkey construction of anodizing facilities. Politeknik has constructed and delivered many anodizing facilities in various countries both domestically and internationally.

What types of products do you primarily supply to which sectors? Could you discuss your domestic and international sales activities? What types of products do you primarily sell to which regions domestically and internationally?

Politeknik primarily provides surface treatment chemicals to aluminum profile manufacturers serving the construction and automotive sectors. Domestically and internationally, we sell our products directly and provide post-sales technical support, except through distributorships on the European side of Istanbul, Ankara and Konya.

What kind of work do you undertake in the fields of innovation and R&D? Do you have any projects developed under university-industry cooperation, and if so, what are they?

In our company, a total of 7 people work dedicating 40% of their time to solving our customers' problems and 60% to innovation and R&D. In our research department, work is being done on the development of existing chemicals and the discovery of new chemicals and production processes. In this context, we work in close cooperation with İTÜ Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. Politeknik has successfully completed two TEYDEP projects and one KOSGEB project to date.

How would you evaluate the availability of raw materials, financing and logistics in our country? In your view, what can be done to improve the current situation and develop our country's industry?

Our country unfortunately operates almost entirely dependent on foreign sources for chemical raw materials. Since many of the products we use in manufacturing, except for a few raw materials, are imported from abroad, we experience problems in pricing and logistics. Despite the incentives and various financing support provided by the government in recent times, the financing needs of companies continue to increase. To support the country's industry, these incentives should be increased further and support provided to industrialists.

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

From its founding day to the present as a Coventya Group company, Politeknik places environmental sensitivity at the forefront of all its operations. Our company pursues a sustainability commitment within the triangle of people, environment and profit. Our management has a mindset of thinking about ecology and economics together and conducting business with available resources. In every step we take, we consider how the work will affect the environment and future generations.

What criteria do you prioritize when formulating your company's investment plans? Do you have investment plans for the coming periods, and if so, what are they?

Research and development is of great importance in the sector in which we operate. Companies that do not conduct research will eventually fall behind in technology and are destined to shrink. Therefore, we place great emphasis on investing in R&D. Approximately 2% of our turnover and approximately 25% of our investment budget are allocated to R&D investments. In the coming period, we are working on establishing a Research Center at Politeknik.