Can we get to know you?
I am Şima Ulaş. I was born in Izmir in 1988. I spent my whole life in Izmir. After completing my high school education at Konak Anatolian High School, I continued my university education at Izmir University of Economics as an Industrial Systems Engineer. Simultaneously with my undergraduate education, I completed the Business Administration minor program in 2011.

I have been taking part voluntarily in Izmir Business Women's Association (IZIKAD) since 2016 regarding youth, entrepreneurship and projects, and I am on the Board of Directors in the 2020-2022 period. I am also a member of TOBB Torbalı Women Entrepreneurs Board.

Could you give some information about your company and its works?
The friendships of our company partners Faruk Ulaş and Osman Sipahioğlu, which started at Yıldız Technical University Mechanical Engineering, continued in Teba Group in the following period, and later on, with Faruk Bey leaving Teba and becoming a company partner, their working processes gained a different dimension. Our company was established in Izmir in 1997. It started its activities in the White Goods Industry with the manufacture of sheet metal and plastic parts. With our new blow molding factory, which we opened in June 2021, as Nas Plastik and Kamas Kalıp corporate group, we continue our activities in three main fields of activity in two separate campuses in Izmir and Manisa, with a total of 350 personnel, on an area of ​​approximately 11,700 square meters.

Our group has made maximum quality and customer satisfaction a principle with its corporate structure and qualified staff, and this has been registered with its quality certificates. Since 2010, in addition to ISO 9001, we have been certified with ISO/TS 16949 automotive quality management system by fulfilling the requirements. We have reflected this perspective to all our processes, regardless of the sector. From this point of view, our companies focus on customer specific requests and offer their customers a solution partnership in plastic injection – blow molding and sheet metal parts and assembled products, not only from production processes, but also from design to mass production, within the scope of what we can call turnkey. We want to catch the future on the basis of R&D-system-training priorities, by continuing to improve our processes and equipment following modern and up-to-date technology.

With the year 2021, we have entered into a strategic transformation. By reviewing our corporate structure and long-term strategy with a focus on people, systems and customers, we work as a team on our plans that will bring our companies and organization to continuous growth and success. In this respect, although we have entered a very busy period as the company management, we are very excited about the results.

We have adopted the WEPs Principles, which we have been mentored as a company, in the INCREASING WOMEN'S STATUS IN BUSINESS LIFE Project carried out by IZIKAD, and we continue to apply these basic principles to our corporate culture and organization.

When did your paths cross with your company?
My path with our company actually crossed organically through our company partner and also our father, Faruk Ulaş. Both our General Manager, Mr. Erdinay, and I have grown up in the white goods culture since our childhood. I think I was 6 years old when I first entered a factory environment. Production and assembly lines, enamel process, sheet metal parts constitute my first memories of the question "What is a work environment". As Mr. Faruk Ulaş was the Production Manager in the white goods group at that time, his responsibilities and sense of duty created a real advantage in the development of our working culture, ethical values, gender egalitarian behavior and the sense of merit at the starting point of our career at a young age.

Professionally, after my graduation, I quickly started my business life as the second generation in the Nas Plastik - Kamas Kalıp group of companies. I have been working as the Assistant General Manager since 2019, after taking part in the processes of Quality Assurance and Control, Method Development and Production Design, Cost Control, Offer and Business Development, so to speak, "on the field".

Could you give information about the organizational structure of your company?
As of 2019, our company's founding partners handed over the operational and managerial processes to us, the second generation managers, and together with our General Manager Erdinay Ulaş, who is also a Mechanical Engineer, we manage both our companies together. Under this structure, our operations are carried out under 3 headings: Plastic Injection and Blow Molding operations are carried out under the roof of Nas Plastik, and our sheet metal manufacturing and mold productions are carried out under the roof of Kamas Kalıp. While our Human Resources, Quality Assurance and Design units are centrally located for each of our 2 companies and 3 different operations, our other units share tasks according to their field of activity. Each of our units is coordinated by our professional managers, who are experts in their own fields, so that our rapidly growing organization can continue its operations without any loss in performance and keeping customer satisfaction at the maximum level. In line with the fundamental values ​​of our corporate group - “loyalty, honesty, accountability, value creation and respect” - we follow a human resources policy based on the win-win principle with our long-term colleagues. By seeing our employees as in-house customers, we continue our efforts to increase their talents and competencies and to recruit new talents who will be a means to move our company forward. 

Which sectors do you serve?
Mainly automotive, white goods, electrical-electronic systems, heating and cooling groups. We serve as an auxiliary industry in the design and manufacture of various plastic injection and blow molding, sheet metal parts and the molds and fixtures of these parts.

Can you talk about your export rates and which country you export to the most?
Although the implementation of our export-oriented business development and marketing unit continues rapidly, the increase in our domestic sales together with the production capacity increases in our domestic customers in the sectors we serve continues to keep our export rate at a limited level. For this reason, we can say that we have contributed to exports rather indirectly in the recent period. With the impact of supply chains evolving with the effects of the pandemic, developments in the domestic economy and trends in international trade, we have set aggressive targets for 2022 in order to increase our exports. Successfully utilizing the increasing export opportunities with the supply demands returning to Turkey, which is shown as the new China of Europe, will be among our top priorities.

What are the features that set you apart from your competitors?
Our distinguishing feature is to be a permanent solution partner of our customers in plastic and metal-based engineering products, unrivaled in the field, by closely following and applying advanced technology. We can achieve competitive advantage by carrying out all the design and mold processes of our products, maintaining our focus on quality and cost from the beginning to the end of the process. At this point, our experienced and agile design team and our mold production center with state-of-the-art equipment make us different. In addition, we have a long-term and trust-based business model with our customers. We have very long-term cooperation with almost all of our customers, and it is one of our main principles to be selective in this regard and to keep our focus firmly by offering high customer satisfaction to our business partners, rather than short-term and large number of customers. We are in a win-win relationship with our suppliers and customers, and we strive to establish and maintain a sustainable supply chain structure based on mutual satisfaction.

Can we get information about your new investment and R&D efforts?
Our machinery, line and robotic system investments continue in line with changing customer demands and product groups. At this point, the new design and technological requirements required by niche products obviously keep both our investments and excitement as a company alive. In addition, we closely follow our customers' expectations in terms of logistics, just-in-time production and supply, and sectoral growth and investments. In this context, our feasibility studies and researches continue within the scope of our growth projection as a campus in the Manisa region, which is on our agenda.

How was your business during the pandemic and how was the year 2021?
One of the strongest aspects of our company is its solution-oriented perspective and keeping up with change. After the pandemic process started, we created a preventive action plan for the possible contamination risks of the period by keeping our cool and consulting health centers. I think that the rapid actions and measures taken were effective in our successful management of the process and not experiencing a mass contagion, even in the period when the pandemic slowed down. We continue to check the continuity of the measures taken with the establishment of our Covid 19 board and hourly field inspections. At this point, I think the most difficult point was the social dimension of the pandemic. We have taken great care not to allow the measures and actions taken in the interaction of our employees to deteriorate the cooperation and synergy. In the process work, the timely strategic decisions we took in terms of supply enabled us to reach high production numbers without any problems in supply and delivery. Even though 2021 has been full of global and national challenges, we can see from the feedback we receive from our customers that we have successfully managed the process.

What are your projections and risk factors for 2022?
We continue to work on a detailed risk analysis and management, focusing on Black Swan forecasts, not only for 2022, but also for the possibility of experiencing different pandemics in general, although it is unpredictable. In our own group, we see that the increase in turnover in terms of foreign currency despite the increasing exchange rate values ​​is compatible with our growth rate. However, we are working on aligning our risk analysis with our strategic plan in order to minimize the global logistics shortage and supply risks in the raw material and auxiliary materials sector, and the supply problems experienced by our main industry, especially in the procurement of Far East-origin materials.

How do you see the development of Industry 4.0 in Turkey? Do you have any projects or precautions regarding digitalization?
I think that we have the will, determination and ability for Industry 4.0, but in general, we are stuck in cost items, especially in the suppliers’ industry and small businesses. Our company has an active ERP and Field Data Collection (MES) infrastructure and management for many years. Frankly, this makes us excited about 4.0. We actively manage our operations with these systems in all processes and provide machine communications. In addition, our EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and BPM (Business Process Management) integration efforts continue.

What are your views on BEYSAD and what are your expectations of BEYSAD?
First of all, on behalf of our company's management, I would like to express our satisfaction for being a part of this family. As the White Goods Industry, it is very valuable to come together, to propose solutions and to carry out works that can create public opinion. It is among our expectations to be involved in sectoral projects to increase the sustainability of the network, interaction and market share, and to be able to follow the sector for global solutions that will contribute to the growth and transition of us as a domestic suppliers’ industry. What I have stated is not just an expectation, but at the end of the day, not only to create added value for our country with our workforce, but also to be able to provide more benefits by creating a sectoral unity power under a common roof with our sense of responsibility. For this reason, we hope to continue to be under the umbrella of BEYSAD and to make the maximum contribution we can offer on our behalf.