Anadolu Kimya Breaks Ground with Its Products

Founded thirty years ago, Anadolu Kimya continues to offer products for the textile printing dyes industry. The company continuously improves its service and quality standards and offers its products to its customers under the internationally registered “Antex” brand.

Textile chemicals have a very important place in the textile industry. Durmuş Tuncer, Chairman of Anadolu Kimya, serving in many areas in the textile industry, says that “Since all kinds of chemical properties can be applied on textile products, the emergence of new products in technical textiles can be achieved by focusing on R&D. Therefore currently we need to attach more importance to the various branches of textiles such as functional and technical textiles.”

Anadolu Kimya meets the needs in many sectors with its chemicals since 1989. And with its quality-oriented work approach, it has been among the leaders of the industry for years. Can you tell us about the development of your company?

Anadolu Kimya was founded in 1989 on an area of six square meters. At that time there was no production of chemicals in Turkey. So we were importing products and selling them here. In 1991, we decided to produce them ourselves. Firstly, we produced organic pigments and then PVC-based plasticizer products. The main turning point for our company to become a brand was in 2000 by producing water-based ecological products for the first time in the world. We have worked so hard to this day. We cooperated with TÜBİTAK and various universities. We participated in the leading tradeshows both in Turkey and abroad. We organized seminars in the target countries. When Anadolu Kimya started to grow globally, we registered our Antex brand in the international arena. Now we have the registered Antex brand in every field in the world. In 2010, we bought the land where we have our facilities now. In 2012, we built and moved into our company building. We constantly renew our infrastructure with our investments in innovation and technology by adopting the corporate management approach as a principle.

How many countries do you currently export to and in which countries?

Currently, we export 55% of our production and sell 45% in the domestic market. If we include the time to this date, we have made exports to 55 countries, especially to Asian and African countries. Our export growth strategies vary according to the market potential of the countries, their progress, product groups and customer expectations. As the international technical textile industry is growing rapidly with the technology investments, the USA is also a very important market for us.

To what reasons do you attribute the success of your company? What are your goals?

We continuously produce quality products in our own field and never compromise this approach. At the present and for the coming years, we are working to reach different fields from the chemicals industry. We continue our research by following certain programs. Our indispensable goal has always been, and will always remain this: ‘We will continue to keep the corporate identity at the forefront.’

The corporate must be in a sustainable development and give confidence to the customer. We take into consideration these values and implement efficient business processes by giving importance to product development and providing customer-oriented solutions to ensure continuous growth. Also, we always get our strength from R&D.

What are the reasons that give you a privilege in the textile industry and what makes your customers prefer you?

If you don’t respect the other one, you won’t be respected either. Whether in relationships or in the product you sell, you have to put yourself in the position of a customer. At the essence of the business, at that point there, a moral point emerges. We, as a company, have never deviated from this line. The fact that the principles are complied with strenghtens the other party’s confidence. It is the corporatethat will remain; people are temporary. The more value an organization acquires as long as it operates, the more it has a chance to become a brand, improved and to increase its added value. Time works in favor of or against you. If the correct steps are taken, there will be a reward.

What is your company’s approach to sustainability and environmentally friendly products? What kind of activities do you have in this regard?

These concepts are indispensable for us. We will have a new product line to launch before the year 2020. This product group will include products that dissolve completely when it comes into contact with the soil. This water-based product will be degradable in the soil from pigments to all other features. We will break a new ground with this biodegradable project.

What kind of policies do you think the chemical companies should follow in our country?

As I always say, we have just newly set off. Because the fact that the chemicals industry is always open to innovation and is in touch with every sector gives us this opportunity. Chemistry is still an unchartered area in the world and the importance of chemistry in human life continues to increase with each passing day. As for the exports, textiles and chemistry have recently been at the top of the list.

For Turkey, now we need to raise the bar and pay more attention to chemistry. In order to prevent imports, we should focus more on R&D. The ideas of development, value-added production and prioritizing R&D have failed to go beyond a discourse for years. In my opinion, the Turkish companies do not use incentives properly.

How would you assess this issue for the field of textile chemicals?

Fiber, cotton, wool and polyester make the textile business. All of these entail the use of chemical materials. Chemicals can be applied on textile products for any feature. Therefore currently we need to attach more importance to the various branches of textiles such as functional and technical textiles. We should see the whole thing instead of focusing on one part of it. I think that R&D should be redefined. In our country, incentives should be provided for those who deserve them so that the human resources can be trained accordingly. Information is either produced or purchased. We need to constantly think about and work towards creating information. Therefore, we have to do our job well and bring in external resources. The domestic resources do not suffice for us. In the field of textile chemicals, we have to raise the bar by increasing our trained human resources, improving our infrastructure, international efforts and endeavours.

Do you have anything you want to add?

I would like to congratulate you for persistently making publications on the textile industry. The fact that you have been doing your job so well for years, I’m sure, will take you to even better places both at home and abroad. Those, who do their job well, attracts attention in the international arena definitely. I especially want you to write about my gratitude to you on this issue.

Interview: Kübra Karaca