T.S.Y. Technologic Ceramic Investments is the first pigment manufacturer that is founded in Bursa with national capital and doing business under the roof of Goktas Group. The Group's Chairman of the Board Adnan Ciftci told us about the journey they have started off to end the foreign dependency of ceramic factories in pigment supply and their new goals.
FATMA BATUKAN BELGE
Goktas Group; is doing business in various areas from energy to construction, food to dye-chemicals. And ceramic industry knows you with the products you manufacture as T.S.Y. Technologic Ceramic Investments. You're the first and only ceramic-porcelain-glass dye manufacturer of Turkey. How did you decide to get into this area governed by exported products?
Even though the foundations of Goktas Group has been laid with construction area in the 80s, we founded our group's company in ceramic industry, T.S.Y. Technologic Ceramic Investments Ind.Trade.Co.Ltd Company at the end of 90s. Observing that the pigment supply in the rapid-growing ceramic industry in our country is totally dependent to foreign trade, has strongly pushed us to make this move. In order to fill the gap in this area, we began manufacturing inorganic pigment and colored glaze for ceramic industry in our manufacturing area in Bursa which's founded totally with national capital.
Starting industrially, we wanted to bring our pigment and glaze manufacturing experience to a different aspect. In order to offer ready-to-use, quality, liquid products that can be safely used by producers and consumers of every level interested in ceramics outside the factory, we have sped up our R&D studies. We created our "Seramiksir" brand and in 2018 put our online sales portal www.seramiksir.com website at the industry's service.
In this journey we have started off to end the foreign dependency of Turkey's ceramic, porcelain and glass factories in pigment supply, we now proceed to make Seramiksir a global brand with the increasing number of overseas points of sale.
Will you stay only in dyes and pigments in ceramic area; are you planning to manufacture tableware or tiles and sanitary ware? Which areas you'll be tending to if you will have new investments?
Within 2022, we will be going into operation in our new production facility founded on an area of 20.000 meter squares with a planned 12.000-meter square closed area located in Bilecik Pazaryeri Organized Industrial Zone. We are establishing a more modern and technological production substructure. With this investment, we will begin primarily the digital dye production for ceramic industry and also the acrylic dye production for hobby industry. And we are also carrying out our project works for the highly-durable alumina ceramic production for the defense industry.
In addition, I'm in charge of the Chairman of the Executive Council of the Ceramic Specific OIZ that will be founded soon within the borders of the Bilecik province which's deemed as the heart of ceramics. We are planning to produce stoneware kitchenware products in the 50.000 m2 area in the OIZ that will be founded here. We are aiming to develop effective projects together with the industrialist friends doing business in similar line of work by means of meeting the common requirements of the industry for its' progress.
Personally speaking, it's nice to be able to reach different raw material product options as a ceramic artist. There are also artists and ceramic workshops among the target groups of the Seramiksir brand, aren't there? How are the feedbacks?
Currently, the areas of use of ceramic glazes have actually expanded; so we serve to a quite extensive target group from industrial factories to small ceramic workshops, hobby industry to educational fields. As you might know from the industry, ceramic have become one of the most preferred hobby sections in recent years. There's a such a quite increase in demand to our glazes and dyes from ceramic artists, Fine Arts Faculty students and beginner ceramic hobby group users due to the increase in the number of ceramic workshops. I have told you in brief about the story of our Seramiksir brand at the start of our conversation. Our Seramiksir branded glazes are formulated ready-to-use in liquid form, intended for easy and practical use by the consumer.
Especially the positive feedbacks from our teachers from the academic area to our artistic glazes and the satisfaction of the end users for our glaze variety, are motivating us to develop new products. With the new recipes and glaze variety which we continuously develop, we believe that we have a dominant role in price-quality balance in the market and we aim to keep this position perpetual.
Let's get into more personal questions and get to know you better. What's your field of education?
I was born in 1966 in Rize. I attended elementary and secondary school in Rize and high school in Trabzon. I finished my college education in Economy. I made my military service as a reserved officer. Returning from military, after working in the management of a private company in Istanbul for a while, I continued my business life in our family company.
So you began working in your family company after serving as a manager in a private company. What did you get from your experience outside?
Every good and bad experience I got outside was guiding for me in our own family company. Even though the definition of success changes from person to person, eventually one of the common goals of all of us in business life is to be able to be successful. During my managership outside, I have observed that taking risks when required, doing your job good and ethical and maybe most importantly doing your job willingly, are the main elements that lead a business to success. And when I got into our own family company, I have continued to work in line with these values for the success of our company.
You are serving in various NGOs like foundations, associations and commercial organizations. Are these activities contributing to your business life?
As you know, non-governmental organizations are non-profit establishments independent from public enterprises which carry out activities in line with their own founding purposes and focusing on their target group benefits. What's more in the foreground in this kind of organizational structures, is service production intended for social benefits, in line with the values they have, for the areas they consider problematic. In these organizations which I serve in a voluntary basis, the experiences I got and the values they added to me, have let me have a versatile perspective in my professional business life. Instead of being an industrialist who only seeks profit, I try to act by further prioritizing our users' expectations and do my best to ensure all of our fellow workers reflect this attitude to their working culture. In addition, we also continue to develop social responsibility projects within the structure of our company to provide social benefit and social progress.
And let me ask on the other hand, how do you think business people serving in NGOs contribute to these kind of organizations?
Business people hold networks which they get organically and consequently develop continuously within the process. A regular resource needs to be created for NGOs to enable them act in line with their foundational purposes. In this sense, I believe that the experiences of business people in financial risk management, their sectoral connections and even their bilateral relations, provide a benefit in resource development projects planned within NGOs. Regarding your previous question, in short, I actually believe that both sides are feeding mutually and have an interaction, we can even say that they have a complementary feature in some way.
I think you work intensively; are there any hobbies you can spend time on?
I'm naturally a person who likes to work actively. Even though being active in different industrial areas brings intensity from time to time, I absolutely spare time for my hobbies while passing between jobs to unwind this tiredness. I'm actively doing sports since my student years. I'm interested in many branches of sports with soccer, basketball and kick box coming at the first place. In fact, my past sport life helps me to use my body more effectively in my daily business life and manage my energy more easily. That's why sports have always been a part of my life. We love playing tennis and skiing together with my wife and children. And I minimize my mental exhaustion by reading books.
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