Having graduated from Yıldız Technical University Chemistry Engineering Department, Ebru Kafesci founded her own company Kayakim after working as a sales engineering in her expertise field of textile auxiliary products and chemicals for long years.
Kayakim’s founder Ebru Kafesci, who adopted quality service as a main principle while at the same time made customer satisfaction a top priority answered our questions regarding her works.
Can you tell us about your company’s services towards textile sector?
“In order to share the knowledge and experience we gathered for more than 15 years, we established a new development. By focusing on the varying customer and market needs, we made our priority to provide the high quality and best service with reasonable prices to customers. Textile sector is one of the longest and complicated industrial chains. Textile industry is comprised of many sub-sectors that cover raw material production, half processed product production and whole production of end products. With our wide range of products, we give service in the field of Textile auxiliary products and chemicals.”
As a new company, what kind of novelty and difference you are planning on bringing to the sector? What are the reasons the users prefer you?
“Knowing the market well gives us a great advantage. I guess having our products at a level and quality that is sufficient to meet the expectations and desires of our customers makes us a little different. Because quality; is an abstract concept that cannot be analyzed but provides the opportunity to be differentiated through experience. “
Why collaboration of university and industry is important?
“The increase of production and welfare that increased as a result of the consumption frenzy that came out in the beginning of the twenty first century, caused the knowledge to be kept in the background. In every part, in every phase of education the talented brains were pushed aside. This brought along serious risks with it. New entrepreneurs came out. New business lines emerged. The public was misled. The knowledge was deported. Afterwards, the arguments in relation to the world’s future that are different but focused on common concerns started. Under these circumstances, the research departments of universities and the analyses of the acquired data gained importance. Especially the new innovations to be used in the industry increased. In terms of our sector, establishing the collaboration between Industry and University is significant in transferring the knowledge, experience and technology into industry and turning it into service. At the heart of knowledge, which is made up of the most basic input of technology, is scientific researches. In the new order, where knowledge is sovereign, it is not sufficient to merely produce and increase in order to be ranked high among the developed countries.”
What should be done for the environment and human health? What does sustainability mean for you?
“Man is a being that can live his life in harmony with its environment and with the help of a balance; however man can also destroy this balance in some situations. When the conditions that serves as a bridge between men and environment start to deteriorate, the obligation to take necessary measurements emerges. The main reason for environmental pollution is the deterioration of nature’s ability to get rid of the wastes, which exist as a result of the human activities. The wastes left to the air, water and soil ruin the chemical, biological and physical qualities of nature. Wastes that are caused by individual consumption pollute the environment. When these obligations are taken into consideration the behaviors in relation to both purchasing and usage have an important role in protecting and polluting the environment. Especially, precautions against soil, air and natural environment pollution must be taken and the existing precautions must be immediately applied. The wastes that come out of homes must be collected and destroyed in a way not to harm the soil. While founding industrial facilities, a plan with increased green areas must be drawn. Industrial wastes must not be dropped into soil without being refined and unfortunately the procedure to be followed in this matter is ignored. When it comes to air pollution, the biggest responsibility is on the industry. In terms of sustainability; sustainability depends on how people live in order to meet their needs. Whatever is sustainable protects the liveliness and quality of the ecosystem that the production is dependent on, as well as protecting the physical and mental health of the work force, and the social and structural environment that production belongs. There is a close relationship between the concept of sustainability and societal equality. Societal equality involves the idea that the methods used in creating sustainability to be in favor of the current and future generations.”
How do you see the sector in the upcoming period?
“With the decreasing importance of textile sector in Europe, the increase in direction changes towards Middle East and other eastern countries created a new door of opportunity for the textile chemicals sector in Turkey. The fast growth of textile industry in the countries such as Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, made Turkey a production and exportation base in the field of textile chemicals. In the sector, where all the chemical raw materials were imported in the past years, many products now became producible in Turkey. This situation is an important proof that sector has shown progress in terms of product development.
Considering the world chemical industry, where does Turkish chemical industry stand? What are the trends in textile chemicals?
The main sectors coming within the world chemical industry production consist of petroleum chemicals, chemicals that make up of the medicine content, yarns, chemicals used in detergent and soaps as well as chemicals used in paints. Chemical Industry provides raw material and byproducts to the sectors. It is not possible for a country to advance and progress without the development of chemical industry. Chemical Industry was established in Turkey after the proclamation of the Republic. In the Ottoman Empire years, there was production of soap, rose oil and gunpowder. While chemical industry provides service in the consumption area with soap, detergent, cosmetics and medicine, it supports the industry with chemical byproducts. Chemical sector must invest towards basic chemicals that will decrease the dependency on raw material. By using the raw material potential in the country, large-scaled investments with high technology and R&D content that will increase the competitive power must be encouraged. In order to pave the way of the investments, bureaucratic procedures must be decreased and accelerated. Logistically suitable areas must be determined and the sector must be directed towards these areas. Producing chemicals with high value added content, minimizing the dependence on foreign sources, increasing the studies carried on the field of innovation, giving importance to R&D works, determining new strategies, focusing on education, especially supporting SMEs and developing new programs within the frame of this support are of essence. Textile chemicals are used in the processes from the fiber stage of the textile process until the completed fabric. Among these products are synthetic fiber production oils, coning oils, sizing raw materials, sizing wax oils, desizing, pre-finishing, bleaching, mercerization agents, dye and printing agents, washing agents, sizing and brightening agents. “
