“Denge Kimya will Soon Become A Company with Factories in Several Parts of the World”

Denge Kimya, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of textile auxiliary chemicals, maintains its position as the only Turkish company to apply the Six Sigma method in its production. Being a Bluesign® system partner, Denge Kimya has 7 dealerships abroad.

The company holds a 5-star EFQM excellence model and maintains its position as a manufacturer to provide textile chemicals all corners in Turkey.

For this month’s special file in Tekstil Teknoloji magazine, we held an interview with Denge Kimya’s Vice President Refik Gülbahar. Gülbahar said the following about the operation of EFQM excellence model in its facilities, “This model entails management of leadership, strategies, collaborations, employees, resources, processes and workflows. And it aims to create important results for employees and customers, to attain outcomes for the society, and, most importantly, to obtain valuable business results. This model, which we use in production, focuses on continuous improvement. And we are doing our job with this approach.”

Can you tell us about the development process of Denge Kimya from the date it was founded?

Denge Kimya was founded in 1993. Our company has gone through very important stages for 26 years. The most important one is the establishment of the production facility, where we are currently located. This place, which we founded 10 years ago with very few people, now continues to work with an ever-increasing number of employees. In addition, we have taken very important steps in terms of quality. In December 2016, our company has been announced to be an R&D center by the Ministry. In 2019, we joined the Turquality brand program in order to create more added value and market share, and we started to work to strenghten our brand recognition in the world. In short, Denge Kimya has become an important organization in the industry by simply following the path of science, trying to find the right solutions, offering high sustainability products to the market, solving more environment problems and providing solutions that bring more to our customers for 26 years in Turkey.

What goals is Denge Kimya pursuing?

We have been trying to make our sustainable success target permanent for 26 years. And we are using important models for this. Most importantly, we definitely attach improtance to customer’s profit in every service and product we offer. We believe that we have to provide benefits to the customer by filling this gap in the industry. We want to make an innovation and offer it to the industry so that our customers can win and we can grow together. We have made progress in this direction for 26 years and have become an important organization.

What methods do you apply in Denge Kimya’s production process and the overall operations in the facilities?

We apply the EFQM excellence model, a management system model. There are two or three generally acknowledged business models in the world. We have adopted EFQM’s excellence model, which is widely recognized in Europe. In the USA and Japan, a similar model is also applied. So, we manage our work by using this model. This model entails management of leadership, strategies, collaborations, employees, resources, processes and workflows. And it aims to create important results for employees and customers, to attain outcomes for the society, and, most importantly, to obtain valuable business results.

What kind of a working system does EFQM’s excellence model provide?

This model, which we use in production, focuses on continuous improvement. And we are doing our job with this approach. We focus on issues such as continuous improvement, production and process controls, continuous improvement for our employees, and research on how our work could be done all over the world. Our employees, R&D team and engineers in production are constantly researching the best global levels in terms of chemical technologies. As a company, we are making all kinds of investments related to production. And production is made with these results. What things require attention during production are determined by the employees. We carry out the control processes with precision after production and try to find opportunities for continuous improvement.

What kind of activities do you carry out in the field of R&D?

We have the philosophy that we should always do something new in the industry, and that no one in the world has ever done it before. When we applied to become an R&D center, more than 10 projects had already been in place. We had projects with TUBITAK. For these reasons, currently we have a very strong R&D center.

R&D has a specific method, culture and atmosphere. Without these, R&D cannoty be achieved. In today’s competitive conditions, R&D is not a mix and blend job. The worldwide used methods also need to be applied with competence and precision. We, as Denge Kimya, apply statistical experimental design in this field. Not only in R&D, but also in marketing and in the services we provide, we are trying to include many varieties to be innovative.

What are Denge Kimya’s future projects? Do you have a goal to do what has not been done yet in the world?

Currently, we have several very important projects. For example, we will work in the field of water-based polyurethane coating. So, we are making a serious investment. Denge Kimya will have a say especially in the coating of fabrics. Secondly, we have become the distributor of Thor in Turkey. At this point, we will work on non-combustibility. The properties that we will add to the fabrics make us stronger about fireproof materials. Because, Thor is one of the world’s most important organizations in this field. They sell a product that no other company is producing, and we will provide this service to our customers in Turkey. As Denge Kimya, we make significant investments in areas that add more features to textile and differentiate it from textile coating. In addition, we also continuously work on silicone chemistry. I can say that we are a leading company in silicone chemistry in Turkey. We also have for several patented process solutions and new patents to be obtained. I think we will focus more on coating and technical textile in the future.

What do you do in terms of sustainability and eco-friendly production?

Denge Kimya has been awarded a Bluesign® certificate, but it has also been categorized by Bluesign® as an above-the-average organization. This made us very happy. Because Bluesign® makes this categorization by comparing the chemical manufacturers in the field of textiles. The model assesses the culture of questioning the raw material from the phase of entering and storing, and other issues such as securing and employee health after storage. In addition, it evaluates how the barrels used for all the gases released to the nature will be destroyed, what effects the gases have on the nature and the risks to human health and environment during and after the production.

Denge Kimya has a system at the production stage that collects the gases released from the products. Therefore, there is no emission from our production facility. Denge Kimya is trying to make an eco-frienly production in line with the model it applies in terms of sustainability. We keep everything under control from the raw material to be used for the product to the safety conditions at the point of use. We are always on the watch during the process to be used and the chemical designs that will use less water and energy. With our products in the Denova series, we also offer solutions for sustainability that consume less water and energy.

How often does Bluesign® perform audits?

First, they make a company audit. There is one person responsible for each product. For example, one person from Europe works solely for our company. All our products, including raw materials, are continuously audited. They visit for audits every two years but they are entitled to check our facilities whenever they want. Because they see companies as their system partners.

What kind of activities do you carry out in terms of your company’s worldwide recognition? What are you doing to strengthen your position in the export market?

Denge Kimya has always been coonections abroad and significant accomplishments have been achieved. As a company, we try to have a presence in all textile countries. We are also recognized in many countries. We are even known in certain countries where we do not operate at all. Since we have participated in all the important tradeshows for many years, we have achieved a considerable recognition. We are holding an important position in exports, and we want to expand this position even further. Since last June, we have been developing strategies for exports. We are planning to open offices in Europe soon. We are also planning to establish production facilities in at least two of the three countries, namely, in Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh. Denge Kimya will soon become a company with factories in several parts of the world. We will continue to work with the Turquality brand support program to increase our market share and to produce innovative products.

Interview: Kübra Karaca