“Our greatest strength is the combination of technological expertise and a customer-focused approach”

Interview with Yeşim Filiz Çırak in *LAMINArT* and *Ağaç Makineleri*, September 2026.

As Country Manager for the Middle East at KLEIBERIT, Yeşim Filiz Çırak is responsible not only for Turkey but also for the management and development of markets across the Near and Middle East. Below you can read her interview with the magazine:

LAMINArT: First of all, may we get to know you a little better?

Yeşim Filiz Çırak: My name is Yeşim Filiz Çırak. I have been with KLEIBERIT since 2013. As Country Manager for the Middle East, I am responsible for managing and developing our markets in the Near and Middle East, in addition to Turkey. In addition, I also work very closely with all our direct customers in Turkey. Thanks to my many years’ experience at KLEIBERIT and the close cooperation with our customers, I know the markets, their expectations and our respective contacts very well. We also have long-standing personal relationships with many of our customers. This enables trust-based, swift and direct communication. I do not see my role as merely maintaining existing business relationships. Identifying new projects and business opportunities, as well as the sustainable development of KLEIBERIT’s position in these markets, are also key aspects of my responsibilities.

L: Could you tell us a little about KLEIBERIT and the company’s areas of activity?

Y. F. Ç.: KLEIBERIT is an internationally active specialist company in the field of industrial adhesive systems. At our headquarters in Weingarten, Baden-Württemberg, we bring together research and development, application engineering and production. We employ around 700 people worldwide and produce approximately 60,000 tonnes of adhesive annually. Our product portfolio comprises more than 2,000 active products for a wide variety of industrial applications. We have long-standing and extensive expertise, particularly in the field of reactive PUR adhesive systems. Furthermore, our product range extends from reactive and thermoplastic hot-melt adhesives, through dispersion adhesives, 1K and 2K reactive adhesives and EPI systems, right through to PUR foam systems, sealants and assembly adhesives.

Innovative coating technologies such as KLEIBERIT HotCoating and UV-based TopCoating systems also form an important part of our product portfolio. In addition to the furniture and timber industries, our solutions are used in numerous other sectors, including timber construction, the automotive industry, textiles, filters, packaging, building components, electronics, domestic appliances, and ship and boat building. Thanks to our own companies and sites in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia, as well as our sales engineers operating worldwide, we are able to reach our customers directly in their respective markets.  
 

L: What is KLEIBERIT’s position in the global adhesives market?

Y. F. Ç.: KLEIBERIT has established itself internationally as one of the leading technology-driven and trend-setting companies, particularly in the field of reactive PUR adhesive systems. Our reactive PUR hot-melt adhesives, which are manufactured to German technological standards, hold a leading position on the global market and are used in a wide variety of industries, such as furniture, automotive, textiles, filters and paper. This position is underpinned by our decades of experience, our in-house research and development, and the close integration of application engineering and industrial practice. At our technology centre in Weingarten, customers from various regions of the world work directly with our research, development and application engineering teams to develop solutions for the challenges of the future. For us, technological leadership means more than just developing high-performance products. What is crucial is transforming these technologies, together with our customers, into reliable, efficient and cost-effective industrial processes. 

L: Turkey has developed into a major European production centre for furniture and wood-based materials. How does KLEIBERIT view this development?

Y. F. Ç.: We view this development extremely positively. The Turkish furniture and wood-based materials industry has made significant progress in terms of both its production capacity and its technological infrastructure, and is now internationally competitive. From KLEIBERIT’s perspective, it is particularly interesting that the industry’s requirements are also constantly changing. Today, manufacturers must simultaneously ensure high efficiency, automation, material savings, high surface quality, sustainability and process reliability. Modern adhesive technologies play a key role in this. With increasing production speeds, the use of new material combinations and increasingly sophisticated surfaces, it is becoming ever more important that the adhesive, substrate, machinery and application technology are optimally coordinated. That is why we regard Turkey not only as a sales market, but also as a significant industrial production hub, which we wish to support in the long term with our technological and application-related expertise. 

L: Can you tell us a bit about the new technologies you have developed for manufacturers of timber, wood-based materials and furniture?

Y. F. Ç.: The requirements in the timber and furniture industry are becoming increasingly diverse. These days, it is no longer enough to simply consider the performance of the adhesive. Rather, the material, surface, machinery and production process must be assessed as an integrated system. One key area is high-quality furniture surfaces. Super-matt and high-gloss finishes, or very thin decorative films, place particularly high demands on surface quality. KLEIBERIT offers adhesive systems developed specifically for these applications. Furthermore, we support our customers in selecting the right adhesive, determining process temperatures, applying the correct application techniques, and integrating surface and edge finishing. Another technologically challenging area is the 3D lamination of moulded or milled MDF components. In addition to PVC, PP and ABS films, real wood veneers are also used in these applications. Tight radii and sharp contours, in particular, require precise coordination of the adhesive and the process. We have extensive experience with PUR dispersions and the associated industrial processes for such applications.

Complex specialist applications also illustrate our development approach very well. In a recent application example in the moulded timber sector, we worked with our customer to evaluate various adhesive technologies and carry out numerous test series in order to develop a solution tailored to the entire production process. In doing so, we took into account not only the adhesive, but also the application method, nozzle technology, pressing conditions and other process parameters. KLEIBERIT HotCoating is another good example of how our expertise extends far beyond traditional adhesive technology. This PUR-based coating technology enables the production of surfaces that are both durable and of high quality. The technology has been in industrial use for many years and is continuously being further developed.

Our guiding principle is this:
we do not start with the product, but with the customer’s needs. 

L: What are the principles underpinning KLEIBERIT’s approach to developing sustainable and environmentally friendly products?

Y. F. Ç.: For KLEIBERIT, sustainability is not just a single product characteristic, but a fundamental part of our product development. In this context, we are working on various technological approaches: reducing the use of fossil-based raw materials, utilising recycled and bio-based raw materials, developing emission-optimised systems, and ensuring the most efficient possible use of materials and energy. One key area of development is the use of PET recyclates in PUR adhesive systems. KLEIBERIT has developed solutions in which a significant proportion of the raw materials used consists of recycled PET. For us, it is crucial that more sustainable raw material concepts do not compromise industrial performance. These systems are already being used in production applications today. In some applications, they can even offer additional benefits in terms of initial strength and process speed. Furthermore, we work with bio-based raw materials. In doing so, we take particular care to ensure that these raw materials do not compete directly with food production. Depending on the technology used and the specific application, different raw material concepts may be employed.

Our HotCoating technology is also an important example of how we combine sustainability with technical performance. Through the further development of our PUR-based surface technology, we have succeeded in increasing the proportion of bio-based raw materials to over 50 per cent, thereby replacing a portion of the fossil-based raw materials. Another key area is our micro-emission PUR hot-melt adhesives, which contain less than 0.1 per cent monomeric diisocyanate. In addition to sustainability, health and safety at work play a particularly important role here. For us, therefore, it is not simply a matter of offering a single ‘sustainable adhesive’. Instead, we are continuously developing our product portfolio and our technologies. Our aim is to combine resource efficiency, more responsible raw material concepts and high industrial performance.

L: What growth targets do you envisage for Turkey and the Middle East in the near future?

Y. F. Ç.: We do not publish specific growth figures. However, both Turkey and the Middle East remain regions of strategic importance for KLEIBERIT. Our focus is on sustainable, quality-driven growth. This means expanding existing customer relationships, tapping into new industrial application areas and, in particular, strengthening our technical presence in these markets. Turkey is of particular importance due to its strong industrial infrastructure and strategic geographical location. In particular, we would like to contribute our expertise in the timber and furniture industries even more strongly in Turkey in future. Our aim is not simply to sell more products. We want to be closer to our customers, be involved in their projects at the earliest possible stage, and jointly develop technical solutions that create real added value for their production processes. 

L: What growth targets do you envisage for Turkey and the Middle East in the near future?

Y. F. Ç.: One of our key priorities at present is to strengthen our direct presence in the Turkish market. Our new sales structure is a key part of this. At the same time, we want to expand the opportunities for personal and technical exchange with our customers. That is why KLEIBERIT will have a stronger presence at major industry trade fairs in Turkey in 2026:

INTERMOB: 17–20 September 2026, Istanbul – Hall 3, Stand 322/B
WOODTECH: 22–25 October 2026 – Hall 6, Stand 608A
EURASIA WINDOW & DOOR: 21–24 November 2026 – Hall 8, Stand 822C

For us, trade fairs are not merely events for traditional product presentations. They are important platforms for meeting our Turkish colleagues and customers face-to-face and discussing specific applications and projects. Furthermore, we continuously invest in our research and development activities, modern production technologies and our technical customer service. Our technology centre in Weingarten forms the heart of these activities. There, our customers can work alongside our engineers and technicians to develop and test product and process solutions under real-world conditions. 

L: In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic that sets KLEIBERIT apart from its competitors?

Y. F. Ç.: Our greatest strength is the combination of technological expertise and a customer-focused approach. We see ourselves not just as a supplier of adhesives, but as a technology partner. Our experienced sales and application engineers work closely with customers on their projects. In doing so, we look not just at the adhesive, but at the entire production process – from the materials used and the application method right through to the requirements for the end product. Our aim is to work with the customer to develop a solution that functions reliably and consistently within their production process. It is precisely this focus on the application and our close collaboration with our customers that sets KLEIBERIT apart. 

L: Finally, what message would you like to convey to the timber and furniture industry in Turkey?

Y. F. Ç.: The Turkish timber and furniture industry has made significant technological strides and has become a major international production centre. We are convinced that its importance will continue to grow in the coming years. At the same time, the demands within the industry are becoming increasingly complex. Efficiency, automation, surface quality, new materials, resource efficiency and sustainability will be even more closely interlinked in the future. At KLEIBERIT, we would like to shape this development even more closely in collaboration with Turkish industry in the future. To this end, we are making our long-standing expertise in adhesive technology, our research and development in accordance with German quality standards, and, in particular, the capabilities of our technology centre in Weingarten available to our customers in Turkey. Thanks to our local KLEIBERIT teams in Turkey and our Turkish-speaking customer support team in Weingarten, we ensure short, direct and rapid lines of communication with KLEIBERIT. Our message is actually quite simple: come to us with your requirements and projects.
Let us work together with our experienced technicians to develop solutions that not only work in the laboratory but also create measurable added value in the actual production process. We would like to further expand this strong combination of local customer focus, personalised support and technological expertise in Turkey in the future.

Thank you very much for the information and the conversation.