Speakers
Haluk Yildiz
CEO
Kastamonu Entegre
Altunizade Mh. Kısıklı Cd.No:13
34662 Üsküdar, İstanbul
Türkiye
Phone: +90 216 554 30 00
Born in Samsun in 1959, Haluk Yıldız graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1981.
Haluk Yıldız began his professional career at Karadeniz Copper Enterprises, and then assumed management roles in engineering and investment at Aksa Acrylic Chemical Industry for 7 years.
Haluk Yıldız, who has been working at Kastamonu Entegre Ağaç A.Ş. since 1992, has held management positions as Investment Manager, Factory Manager, and Deputy General Manager, respectively.
Haluk Yıldız has been serving as Kastamonu Entegre Ağaç Industry CEO and Hayat Holding Ağaç Group President since 2000.
During Haluk Yıldız’s term as General Manager, Kastamonu Entegre launched an investment offensive at home and abroad, grew nearly 20-fold in 20 years, and reached a turnover of 1.9 billion dollars.
Haluk Yıldız leads Kastamonu Entegre’s operations in Turkey as well as its subsidiaries in Italy, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He also serves as the President of the MDF and Particleboard Industrialists’ Association and the President of the TOBB Forest Products Assembly.
President
Federation of Turkish Furniture Manufacturers Associations (MOSFED)
Yeşilköy Mahallesi
Atatürk Caddesi İDTM
A1 blok Kat:6 No:10/1 Ofis No:250
Yeşilköy – İstanbul
Türkiye
Phone: +90 (212) 465 03 00
Ahmet Güleç was born in Mardin/Türkiye in 1970, he graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Public Administration in 1990.
Known for his work on the development of the Turkish Furniture Industry, Mr.Güleç served in prominent positions in many non-governmental organizations. Güleç, who was the President of Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association’s (MUSIAD) İnegöl Branch between 2007 and 2012, was also a member of the MUSIAD High Advisory Board until 2023.
Güleç carried out many studies to strengthen the unity of the sector in İnegöl, one of the furniture production centers of Turkey, and pioneered the establishment of İMOS with the İnegöl Furniture Promotion Group, which he was chairman of for two years. Güleç, who joined the board of directors of the Turkish Furniture Manufacturers Association (MOSDER) in 2010, was elected as the president of the association in 2012. Güleç, who is also the founding president of the Federation of Furniture Associations (MOSFED), which collects furniture associations of Turkıye under one roof, continues his duty as the president of MOSFED. Güleç is a board member of European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC).
Güleç, who is a member of the Board of Directors of Istanbul World Trade Center , served as president of the Istanbul Exporters’ Association, Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters’ Association for two terms in 2014 and 2018. Güleç has been serving as the Deputy Chairman of the Turkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM) since 2022.
Güleç, who is married and a father of four children, speaks English.
Naci Güngör
Marketing Director
Alim Group
Ömerli Mah. Arefe Sok. NO:21/23
Arnavutköy / Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 670 05 18
Mr. Naci Güngör holds a mechanical engineering degree from Middle East Technical University and an M.B.A. degree from Bilkent University. He has an experience of over 30 years in the wood based panel industry and worked for 12 years as marketing and corporate communications manager at Kastamonu Entegre, which is among the top 5 producers globally. He then joined in 2018 Boyut Edgeband company, a member of Alim Group, as director of marketing and corporate communications.
He acted between 2015-2021 as a member of the Forestry Products Consultative Committee in FAO of United Nations, between 2012-2014 as Board Member of Wood Products Exporters Association in Istanbul and still a member of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Business Council Executive Committee.
HÜLYA KALAYCIOGLU
Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi
Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi
61080, Trabzon
Türkiye
Phone: +90 462 377 3000
Prof. Dr. Hülya Kalaycıoğlu holds a Forest Industry Engineering degree in (1983), master ( 1987) and Doctorate degree ( 1991) from Karadeniz Technical University.
She has been working as a Professor in the Department of Forest Industrial Engineering at Karadeniz Technical University since 2004, and is the first academician trained in particle board in our country.
She served as a visiting professor at Oklahoma State University in the 2003-4 academic year, visited many institutes and research institutions around the world and used his experiences in his professional development.
She has been working as the Department Erasmus+ Coordinator since 2006. And served in different commissions of the Department throughout her academics life, like as the chairman of the Department Accreditation Commission between 2011-2021.
She served as department vice president between 1994 – 2000, vice dean between 2004-2008, as a member of the TÜBİTAK TOVAG Executive Board between 2008 -2013 and Between 2011 and 2015, she served as a board member of the forestry group of the Interuniversity Council of the Republic of Turkey.
She has been working as the Director of the Career Development Application and Research Center since 2021.
Kalaycıoğlu has around 130 articles, around 100 papers and one patent in his academic life of more than 40 years. Kalaycıoğlu took part in around 30 projects and his publications have received over 2000 citations.
Kalaycıoğlu, which also provides consultancy services to some companies in the Turkish Forest Products industry, carries out its mission of placing hundreds of graduates to work with the excitement of the first day, by establishing strong connections between students graduating from the Forest Industrial Engineering Department and companies seeking employees in the sector.
Hüseyin Güler
Global R&D and Innovation Director
Kastamonu Entegre
Altunizade Mh. Kısıklı Cd.No:13
34662 Üsküdar / İstanbul
Türkiye
Phone:+90 216 554 30 00
Dr. Hüseyin Güler is a prominent innovation leader with over 25 years of professional experience across various industries, including telecommunications, automotive, public sector, and wood-based panel. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Marmara University (2001) and an MBA from Uludağ University. In 2013, he earned his PhD from Middle East Technical University (METU) with a focus on innovation networks.
Throughout his career, Dr. Güler has held significant roles in organizations such as TURKCELL (as a marketing specialist), TOFAŞ (as a product development specialist), and TÜBİTAK (as the National Coordinator of the 7th Framework Program and Head of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies Department). Additionally, he served as the General Secretary of the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Since joining Kastamonu Entegre in 2015, he has been leading R&D and innovation transformation as Global R&D and Innovation Director. Under his leadership, the company has implemented an intrapreneurship program that has led to the creation of new business models and new products experiencing exponential growth. His efforts have also contributed to the company being named one of Türkiye’s most innovative companies by Fast Company Türkiye in 2021 and 2023.
Dr. Güler is actively involved in international innovation policy-making and is recognized for his work in sustainability focused innovation management. He also served as a Climate Technologies Ambassador for the Turkish Technology Development Foundation (TTGV), advocating for the development of technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Hüseyin Metin
Strategy and Competition Analytics Manager
Kastamonu Entegre
Altunizade Mh. Kısıklı Cd.No:13
34662 Üsküdar / İstanbul
Türkiye
Phone:+90 216 554 30 00
Hüseyin Metin completed his bachelor’s (2006) and master’s (2010) degrees in Industrial Engineering at Middle East Technical University and a short MBA program at Koç University (2016). He began his professional career in 2006 at TÜBİTAK’s Directorate of International Relations, managing projects and programs related to international R&D funds. In 2013, he worked in production at ASELSAN, contributing to high-tech defense industry projects.
In 2015, he joined Kastamonu Entegre, where he played a key role in establishing the company’s award-winning Corporate Innovation System as the Business Planning and Innovation Manager. As one of the company’s early internal entrepreneurs, he secured the first EU-funded innovation project and brought the company’s first patented innovative product to market. In 2023, he was appointed to the role of Strategy and Competitive Analytics, where he contributes to strategic decision-making processes by providing data-driven insights.
As a member of YOMSAD, Hüseyin Metin monitors the essential sectoral indicators for the success of the Turkish wood-based panel industry, contributes to public relations at the national level, and undertakes initiatives to strengthen the sector’s position in international commercial processes.
Kai K.O. Bär
Managing Director
adphos Innovative Technologies GmbH
Bruckmühler Str. 27
83052 Bruckmühl
Germany
Phone: + 49 8061 395 0
Dr. Kai Bär graduated and completed his PhD in 1989 from the University of Aachen.
From 1989 – 1994 he was involved in the European space shuttle program and served as the leader responsible for the HERMES heat structure tests within the business segment “High Temperature Technology and Installations” at IABG GmbH, Ottobrunn.
Since 1994 he is the co-founder and Managing Director of IndustrieSerVis GmbH in Bruckmühl, which later evolved into adphos.
In 1998 Dr. Bär was honored with the title of “Entrepreneur of the Year”.
Since 2009 Dr. Bär is Managing Director/President of the adphos group, which includes adphos Innovative Technologies GmbH, adphos Digital Printing GmbH, adphos Thermal Processng GmbH.
Massimo Colombo
Sales Manager
Metis Systems S.r.l.
Via del Fontanile Arenato, 295
00163 ROMA ITALY
Phone: +39 06 6615 0066
Frank De jonge
Commercial Director
Neos SpA
Via Giardini 32
41042 Fiorano Modenese (MO)
Phone: +491624173252
My career started at Olympia, where I started as junior product manager for one of the first laser Printer launched to the European market. I had the opportunity to sell inks and toner from global leaders like Mitsubishi Chemicals, Toshiba, Hitachi and Sensient to a broad number of challenging and exiting digital printing applications from desktop to industrial scale.
At Neos, where as the Commercial Director I have the unique opportunity to combine all my more than 30 years professional experience and sell the most sophisticated single-pass-inkjet-printers to a global audience.
Goran Schmidt
Manager
AFRY Deutschland GmbH Borsteler Chaussee 51
22453 Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 40 692000
Goran joined AFRY in 2021 after completing his PhD in Bioresource Engineering (University of Hamburg) and is an experienced project manager in the Bioindustry team. At AFRY, Goran focuses on market and product assessments, including route-to-market, strategy and due diligence projects. He leads projects in the bioenergy and waste sectors as well as in the forest industry. Goran is based in AFRY’s Hamburg office.
Bernd Dinkelborg
Sales Manager
KNEHO-LACKE GmbH
Wilberger Str. 98 -100
32805 Horn-Bad Meinberg
Germany
Phone: +49 52 34 84 02 0
Bernd started his journey at KNEHO-LACKE in 2011 and he is now responsible for marketing and sales. As a wood engineer with a solid background of production technologies he became specialized in the UV-coating sector, focusing primarily on product development and the application of industrial coating processes.
Bernd Bungert
Consultant
Classen Group
Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 18-20
56759 Kaisersesch
Germany
Phone: +49 176 5532 6667
Bernd Bungert studied chemical engineering at the University of Dortmund, the University of California at Berkeley and at Technical University of Berlin. From 1998 to 2008 he worked in chemical industry at Hoechst AG in Frankfurt in process development, in global engineering and as a plant manager.
He joined the faculty of the the Berlin University of Applied Science and Technology, Berlin in 2008. There he is working on energy- and resource efficiency. He is also serving as a consultant in the process industries. A focus has been in the wood-panel industry. For over 12 years he has been working as process-engineering manager for Fiberboard GmbH within the Classen group in Baruth, Germany.
Christian Zaha
Head of Decor Management
Schattdecor SE
Walter-Schatt-Allee 1-3
83101 Thansau
Germany
Phone: +49 8031 275 0
Karsten Klöpperpieper
Head of Sales and Project Management
Jagenberg Converting Solutions GmbH
Konrad-Zuse-Straße 16
46397 Bocholt
Germany
Phone: +49 2871 2412 500
An Hechermans
Sales Manager
Chiyoda Europa nv
Henry Fordlaan 37
3600 Genk
Belgium
Phone: +32 89 61 07 55
An Hechtermans has a background in Chemistry and joined Chiyoda in 2007, initially working in the R&D department. She transitioned into a Technical Customer Service role before taking on a Sales Management position. Working in the decorative surface industry for over 15 years, she has a comprehensive understanding of both technical aspects and customer relations within the industry.
Nurten Ergün
President
BTC Bilgi Teknolojileri ve Danışmanlık Hizmetleri Ltd.Şti.
Oruç Reis Mahallesi Tekstilkent Cad.
Tekstilkent Sitesi A5 Blok No: 55
Esenler, Istanbul
Türkiye
Phone: +90 212 4386506
She graduated from Hacettepe University, Department of Economics in 1987. Between 1988 and 1992, she worked in the sales and marketing of high-tech products in international corporate companies. She founded her first company in 1993. With the belief that innovative and new technologies will gain great value, she received training in design and digital technologies in Italy and Germany. She represented many European companies in the textile sector from design to production and color management in digital printing. Nurten Ergün, who is the founding partner of 5 different companies, has gathered all her activities under the roof of BTC Information Technologies, which represents a total of 11 European companies in Turkey. She closely follows the developments in the world by participating in over 200 fairs, both national and international.
She acts as a locomotive in introducing new technologies to the Turkish industry and bringing them into the sector with the Seminars, Workshops and Conferences she organizes regularly. In 2019, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization organized the “1st Water Intelligence” Conference with the support of İTKİB, İHKİB, TTTSD and invited very valuable European companies that are running for leadership in their fields to this conference where the smart management of WATER was discussed and provided information on sustainable production technologies to over 150 Turkish manufacturers and brands.
Thinking that its long-standing knowledge and experience would also benefit the decorative surfaces, paper and packaging sectors, it made new initiatives and added the distributorship of 5 different European companies to its service area.
In 2024, it will organize the “Surfaces Eurasia” conference in cooperation with TCM Conference in order to lead the industry to get to know new techniques and technologies closely in the field of decorative surfaces. An event that will be organized for the first time in Turkey is celebrating its 25th anniversary in the world.
In this conference, the use of new techniques and technologies in decorative surfaces, the benefits of artificial intelligence will be discussed. As well as energy saving, efficient production, reducing stock costs, responding to customer requests faster and providing unlimited service in colors and quantities with flexible production provided by digital technologies will be also the topics. This event, which will feature very valuable speakers, will be the first event organized in the decorative surfaces sector.