Dear BEYSAD readers,
We are delighted to share with you another important interview made with an experienced professional. We have made an enjoyable interview with Cam Merkezi, one of the very successful BEYSAD members. Mr. Fabrizio Missich, Trade Chairman and CCO of Cam Merkezi, has given a frank interview to us and told about the key to success at their company. We thank them for sparing their time and wish Cam Merkezi a prospering business.

Mr. Fabrizio Missich, can you please briefly tell us about yourself and your professional career so far?

I was born in İzmir in 1970. After studying at İzmir Turkish College, I completed my undergraduate degree in the field of business administration at Boğaziçi University. I began my career in 1995 at Yorim Enterprise of Cam Merkezi as a Marketing Specialist. In 1997 I was appointed as the Marketing Manager in charge of Decorative Glasses. After working at this position for five years, I was promoted as the Vice-General Manager of Yorim Gebze Enterprise in 2002. I became the General Manager of Yorim Gebze Enterprise in 2003. I assumed the responsibility for switching from the production of decorative glasses to industrial glasses at Yorim Gebze Enterprise.

After being appointed as the Vice-General Manager in 2002, I concentrated the company's activities on export and we were able to grow our export volume at annual average rate of 30% within a decade under my leadership.

After assuming the General Manager role at our Bolu Enterprise that began its activities in 2012, I was appointed as the Trade Chairman of the fast-growing Cam Merkezi Group in 2014.

Can you please give us information about the corporate identity and organizational structure of Cam Merkezi?

We are one of the leading companies in its sector in terms of its activities aimed at providing our company with a corporate structure. Subject to a transparent governance principle, our company is managed in line with professional working standards. Thanks to its investments that began in 2012, its growth rate has increased rapidly and the company has achieved an annual average growth of 26% in the last five years. Since 2014 Cam Merkezi is being managed with a matrix organizational structure. As of 2014 we have completed the transformation into a new organization and I can say we have left behind a successful year as a result of the synergy created by this structure in our group.

The most important gain for our company in 2014 was that company shareholders delegated the tasks and responsibilities amidst the journey of Cam Merkezi to become a more established entity, thereby, providing the company with a management model that is sustainable over the years. This can be briefly defined as a management model identifying clear targets, renewing its route according emerging environmental changes, making necessary risk analyses continuously and instinctively and monitoring, auditing, questioning and improving its annual budget monthly.

Can you please give information about Cam Merkezi overall and its activities?

Cam Merkezi consists of two main lines of business. We call them as Trade and Process. The company has five enterprises in total in these two lines of business. We have two enterprises in İzmir, one in each of Gebze, Bolu and Eskişehir. The Eskişehir Enterprise is very new, as we have started manufacturing activities there in early 2015. Operating in five different locations, Cam Merkezi employs 550 people in total. The company maintains its growth in line with its five-year business plan which we have created in line with its strategies and targets.

Can you please tell us about your new investments?

We have made an investment of above TRY45,000,000 in the last two years. Following our Bolu Enterprise which we brought into operation within just six months, we have broken another record in terms of commencement of operations in an enterprise, when we opened our Eskişehir Enterprise within just five months in January 2015.

Lean management understanding governs our enterprises that we have designed in line with the customer needs and based on the information obtained from the market. With our Bolu and Eskişehir enterprises we have returned to the appliance sector on the basis of our strategy to become a sustainable and reliable business partner. We continue to seek opportunities for making investments in products focused on the customer needs and we will be willing to make these investments, if the market conditions are favorable for further investments.

What are your growth targets and objectives for the coming period?

Cam Merkezi has realized an average growth of 26% in the last five years thanks to its investments in the appliance sector and increasing market share in other business units. In line with our motto of sustainable profitable growth, we aim to increase our market share and serve new customers and markets relying on our strategies defined for all of our business units. Accompanied with the continuous development of our human resources, our business units will continue to grow in line with our vision of "fast, creative, solution-oriented and global glass center".

With the products it manufactures, Cam Merkezi is a supplier that has its say in the world markets and that has made international achievements. To which industries do you mainly offer your services?

The Gebze Enterprise that is active in the commercial refrigerator sector has both increased its market share and become a globally renowned player thanks to its investments in the last decade and marketing activities.

Carrying out its decorative glass manufacturing in İzmir, our enterprise is mostly focusing on exports with its Yorglas brand.

Our Yorsan Enterprise where we perform commercial activities is our first undertaking that began its activities in 1974 and it has celebrated its 40^th anniversary last year. It provides sales, marketing and distribution services across Turkey.

We have come back to the appliance sector as a result of our investments in the last two years. The Bolu Enterprise, which began its operations in early 2013, manufactures products for cooking devices in the appliance sector, and the Eskişehir Enterprise which we have opened in recent months manufactures products for the devices in the cooler category.

What makes you different from your competitors?

One of the main factors making us different is that we implement our competitive edge and strategies generating difference as a proactive team. Other major factors include our position as a global actor, our effective approach to different cultures, our corporate structure and, most importantly, trust of our customers towards us.

You also work with domestic and foreign firms that are prominent in the global markets. Can you please compare the way Turkish firms work with working methods of other companies, what are the differences?

Foreign firms are slower in their decision making process. However, thanks to their established system, they can monitor the accuracy of their decisions in the medium- and long-term. Turkish firms act faster, but from the perspective of strategy they take decisions focused more on short-term targets. Employees of Turkish firms are driven more with their emotions compared to their foreign counterparts while taking decisions and making communication within the company. These are just my findings and I agree there might be different opinions as to their accuracy.

What are your export targets and to which countries do you sell your products at most?

On the process-side we export 55% of our total production output. We sell our products to 42 countries in total. Although the European Union countries account for the largest portion in our export volume, their share in our export figures is going down with our products reaching new regions and countries in line with our strategy. Our export has been growing in a large geographical area extending from Brazil to Australia.

What are your opinions about the current position of the Turkish appliance sector? Where does Cam Merkezi stand in this development?

Today, Turkey is the country manufacturing the highest number of products in the European appliance sector. 75% of this production is exported. As a result of the investments made by the main industry firms in the framework of their globalization vision, they have made great contributions to the Turkish manufacturers by reinforcing their positions in the global markets. And, this surely is a source of pride. As Cam Merkezi, we will also continue to make investments that will strengthen our global player position in the appliance sector and enable us to fulfill our customers' needs.

In addition to hard work and financial resources, I believe these improvements depend more on qualified human resources. Can you please give us some information about your human resources strategy?

Human is certainly the most important resource and our priority is to find the right people and develop and train them. We are aware that future success of Cam Merkezi rests with our young staff currently employed at the company. We approach everyone without prejudice and we value every work, effort and idea. We believe titles are just means to share work among equal people. We create an open and honest communication environment with all our colleagues, customers and suppliers.

During the course of past two years, we have taken some decisions and made organizational changes in order to improve our human resources process. We are now more accurately measuring the company targets and capabilities and perform activities to develop capabilities in a more systematic and increasingly comprehensive manner. We have regularly improved our performance evaluation system in the last four years. Being aware of the key role of the human resources for the company's future, we have announced 2015 as the year of Human Resources Development. 

Can you please tell us about your R&D activities? Do you perform your R&D works together with the main industry firms? How do you carry out your projects?

We carry out our R&D activities together with our customers and suppliers. We do not handle the R&D process merely on the basis of products and we perform activities being aware that innovation must exist in other business processes, as well.

What are your expectations from BEYSAD? Are you satisfied about its activities? What can we do for you?

Actions need to be taken swiftly and systematically in order to fulfill the objectives specified in the BEYSAD’s strategy paper. As an association assuming an important mission, I think it is crucial for BEYSAD to develop collaborations in different fields and focus on activities that support its members' R&D works and enhance their skills in this area. Thanks to such activities, the supply industry will achieve further development with technological products of higher added value.