In 1976, Kayalar Kimya opened its doors in Istanbul, Türkiye, and half a century later, the Turkish paint and coatings specialist celebrates its 50th anniversary. Ersin Kayalar, chairman of the board and CEO of Kayalar Kimya, and board member Tolga Kayalar, look back on Kayalar Kimya’s successes, particulary in the furniture paints and varnishes segment, as well as the company’s plans for the future.

Coatings World: What is the history behind Kayalar Kimya?

Ersin Kenan Kayalar: Kayalar Kimya was founded in 1976. Starting our journey with varnish production, today we have become one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of furniture paints and varnishes. We position ourselves as a solution partner that develops industrial wood coating solutions, particularly for the furniture industry, and ensures the highest level of production line efficiency.

With our leading brand Genç in the field of furniture paints and varnishes, our brand Düfa in decorative paints, our brand Genç Noroo in industrial paints, and our brand Woodsol in exterior wood paints and varnishes, we provide services across a very wide range. With our strong R&D center and our application and simulation center, we make a difference in our sector. We provide fast and innovative solutions tailored to our customers’ needs, empowering their continuous growth and operational excellence.

From the very beginning of our story to the point we have reached today, we have progressed by growing and developing, taking solid steps through global brand collaborations, partnerships, and know-how sharing.

Tolga Kayalar: In addition to our production at our Tuzla factory, we are also present in industrial adhesive production at our second factory in Gebze with our brands KayaColl, KayaTherm, KayaPur, KayaPren, KayaSit, KayaSil, and KayaFlex. Complementing our expertise in paints and varnishes, we have invested in the production of industrial adhesives and binders. This has enabled us to become a solution partner delivering integrated coating, adhesive and binder systems while adopting a holistic approach to production processes.

Coatings World: What was Kayalar Kimya’s original focus, and how has the company evolved over the years?

Tolga Kayalar: During our founding period, our focus was on varnish systems. Later, we entered solvent-based paint technologies. By foreseeing the industry’s transformation at an early stage, we strategically guided the shift from solvent-based systems to water-based, high-solid, and low-VOC technologies.

Today, our portfolio includes solvent-based, water-based, UV-curable, and hybrid coating systems; we particularly develop formulations that optimize the balance of speed, durability, and environmental compliance in furniture production lines. In short, over the years we have expanded our product range, continuously improved our production capacity and technological infrastructure with a focus on sustainable growth.

By developing formulation capabilities compliant with the regulations of export markets (REACH, indoor air quality standards, EN-71.3 EN 71-3: Safety of Toys – Part 3: Migration of Certain Elements, etc.), we have become a reliable supplier at international standards.

Ersin Kenan Kayalar: Energy efficiency, carbon footprint reduction, and low-emission product development strategies are at the core of our R&D activities. In line with our sustainability goals, we are taking significant steps in renewable energy and are establishing a solar power plant. Once commissioned, the plant will meet the entire energy needs of our two production facilities.

Through full automation and data-driven process control in our production processes, we also enhance quality, stability and operational efficiency. With our solvent recovery facility and our investments that enable the conversion of energy and flue heat from our heating boilers back into energy, we ensure energy efficiency and continuously strive to increase our contribution to the environment. In short, we focus on products and solutions that meet the needs of the time.

Coatings World: What are the key markets that Kayalar Kimya serves? Is Kayalar Kimya enjoying good growth in its markets?

Tolga Kayalar: As Kayalar Kimya, more than half of our turnover comes from exports, and we sell to 55 countries across three continents. In some of these countries, we are market leaders in furniture paints and varnishes, just as we are in Türkiye. In addition, we have offices, warehouses, and a laboratory in various regions. We established our organization in Poland to better serve Europe, and we are seeing the positive outcomes of this decision. Our Poland operation strengthens our regional supply capabilities by providing technical service, laboratory support, and faster logistics access to manufacturers in Central and Eastern Europe. In the upcoming period, we aim to gain greater market share in Western Europe, the USA, Asia, and Central and Southern Africa.

To address the second part of your question, our growth is not only volume-driven but is based on a segment-focused deepening strategy. By increasing our market share with high value-added industrial products and solutions, we prioritize sustainable and profitable growth.

Coatings World: What have been some of the major highlights for Kayalar Kimya over the years?

Ersin Kenan Kayalar: Over the course of our company’s 50-year development, there have been many significant milestones. Among the most important are our transition from being solely a varnish manufacturer to entering the field of furniture paints and varnishes and achieving leadership in this segment, as well as strengthening our technical capabilities and global compliance capacity through international partnerships.

Our continuous drive for technological advancement—reflected in the importance we give to R&D, as well as our focus on production automation and product quality stability—has brought us to this point and enabled us to take the first steps toward becoming a global company at a rapid pace.

In addition, we restructured our production infrastructure with a focus on full automation and process optimization, transitioning to a supply model capable of serving multiple markets. I believe that our technology-centered approach has truly differentiated us.

From a portfolio expansion perspective, some of the key milestones in our development include starting the production of decorative paints under the German Düfa brand in 2006; acquiring the sales rights of Düfa in Türkiye and 18 other countries in 2009; launching industrial paint production under the Genç Noroo brand in collaboration with Noroo Paint in 2012; and introducing exterior wood protection systems under the Woodsol brand in 2017. These were all crucial steps in our growth journey.

Tolga Kayalar: More recently, our global strategic partnerships and distribution agreements with Mirka, one of the leading brands in surface finishing, and Duplicolor, a well-established brand in automotive and spray paints, have enabled us to further expand our product portfolio. These steps represent key milestones that have transformed our company into a strong global solution partner offering integrated solutions.

Coatings World: What differentiates Kayalar Kimya from its competitors?

Ersin Kenan Kayalar: We believe that our key differentiators lie in our success in R&D and application/simulation capabilities. We are the first company in Türkiye to be granted the official R&D Center status in the field of furniture paints and varnishes. We create value through our experience and technical expertise. We are able to respond quickly and accurately to the demands and expectations of both our customers and potential customers.

Through continuous training, we keep our customers technically up to date, encouraging and supporting them in using more advanced products. In addition, with our new automation investments in our factories, we continuously advance product standardization in our production processes. We place key operational factors such as line speed, waste rates, energy consumption, and process stability at the center of our approach.

Our R&D activities focus on performance criteria such as low VOC, fast curing, high surface durability, and long service life, and our products stand out through their results.

Thanks to our fully automated production infrastructure, we ensure quality, stability and offer a reliable and measurable supply model for global customers.

Coatings World: Is there anything that you would like to add?

Ersin Kenan Kayalar: This year marks the 50th anniversary of our company. It is a source of great pride to see our company continue to grow and evolve over the years. In the coming period, our focus will be on continuing to expand our global customer network as a sustainable, regulation-compliant, and high-performance company. We would like to sincerely thank all our stakeholders, dealers, customers, employees, and everyone who has been part of our journey.

Tolga Kayalar: In the period ahead, we aim to increase our exports and expand our presence into new countries. Together with the brands we collaborate with, we also seek to further strengthen our position as an integrated solution partner.