“Our Culture is What has Driven Our Success”: Semavi Yorgancılar

Take a good look around your home and you’re bound to come across plenty of small parts that you might never have really considered but, on further inspection, are the work of specialists dedicated to their craft, without whom our houses wouldn’t function as seamlessly as they do.

One of the best examples of this is in the laundry; specifically the thick rounded glass in the door of your front-loading washing machine. Its design is as distinctive as it is deliberate: to keep clothes from becoming stuck – and therefore damaged – in the door gasket.

So committed is Turkish glass manufacturer Yorglass to this particular component that it has recently made a US$32.8 million investment in its facilities to produce it.

"This is a very sensitive product," Yorglass Chairman Semavi Yorgancılar explains. "It should be fully transparent and have a special shape. It needs to be durable, to not break and be long lasting."

With the investment, Yorglass will be able to double its current washing machine glass production capacity to approximately 25 million pieces a year. This is particularly critical in Türkiye, one of the world’s biggest white goods manufacturers.

"Our new facility aims to reduce dependency on imports, which currently stands at 80 percent for washing machine glass doors," he says. "We also plan to increase our employment by 20 percent with this investment."

"I prefer dynamism over stagnation, exploring beyond the horizon and pursuing innovation."

For Yorgancılar, it was a case of being in the right place at the right time when Yorglass entered the home appliance market in 1989. Türkiye is an important crossroads for the industry and a foray into this segment seemed like a logical addition to the family glass business founded in 1974.

By the early 2000s, the home appliance unit was so successful that it was sold to German glass company Schott. But even before the three-year non-compete was up, customers were asking Yorglass to return to the sector. So it did.

Today, home appliance glass, across the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, is one of Yorglass’ key business units, along with food displays, flat glass trading and decorative satin glass. Its manufacturing and commercial activities are carried out in seven facilities across five different cities in Türkiye.

Firmly established as the one-stop business partner and trusted global supplier in the glass space, the company has a strong network that spans raw material selection to production, supply and post-sales services.

"Currently, we export to over 60 countries across six continents," Yorgancılar reveals. "We serve a broad area with more than 150 different types of glass. By increasing our market share to 50 percent domestically and 25 percent in Europe, we continue to grow and produce."

This year, the company has the United States in its sights.

Passing the Baton

When Yorgancılar is introduced to this new market, however, the paint on his Chairman title will still be fresh. This is because at the beginning of 2024 he handed over the CEO role to Barış Murat Karaadak. It was a decision he did not take lightly; it was 12 months in the planning and took an additional six months to find the right candidate.

"This is the first CEO to come from outside of the family in our history, so it’s an important step for Yorglass," he says.

"This is the first CEO to come from outside of the family in our history, so it’s an important step for Yorglass."

In a year when the company celebrates its 50th anniversary, the timing made sense, Yorgancılar acknowledges. "For us, company sustainability is very important and applies not only to our processes but also to our management. We want our company to be sustainable for years."

The ambition, he adds, is to establish a much more formal organization to maintain the level of health the business enjoys today so it can reach his next target: the Yorglass centenary.

In his new role as Chairman, his main focus will be to "keep the company culture as is" during this transition period. "This is very important for us and I am very sensitive about this issue," he says. "Because our culture is what has driven Yorglass’ success."

A Sustainable Force

Yorgancılar has a lot to be proud of as he looks back on his time as CEO, including a full trophy cabinet of awards reflecting achievements in market share, financial ranking and ESG initiatives, including an entrance onto the Fortune 500 Türkiye list of the country’s largest 500 companies.

"We also participated in the Fortune Türkiye and CRIF Türkiye Sustainability Survey, which includes Türkiye’s largest 500 companies, and successfully achieved an A score in the overall sustainability and ESG performance," he says.

"We aim to demonstrate to the world that glass, one of the oldest, healthiest and most sustainable materials, will play a decisive role in the world of tomorrow."

Sustainability has long been a priority for the company: as a signatory of the UN Global Compact, it is working toward a target of net zero by 2050, as well as a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2032.

"We aim to demonstrate to the world that glass, one of the oldest, healthiest and most sustainable materials, will play a decisive role in the world of tomorrow," he explains.

The company aims to integrate the new targets and roadmaps around gender equality, climate action, living wages, water resilience, finance and investment determined at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit held in New York, which the company attended.

A Fresh Outlook

As much as sustainability has been a fundamental part of the company’s corporate culture, so has innovation, Yorgancılar adds.

"We pursue smart and next-generation technological ideas that add value to life, and conduct our operations in our seven facilities guided by this mindset," he says.

This includes the digitalization of its production line. "At our food display and satin facilities in Manisa, and our home appliances facility in Çerkezköy, we manufacture using the newest and latest technology machinery compatible with Industry 4.0 infrastructure," he explains.

The importance of digitalization in competition and in the new world order is "clear", he says – so it is essential, looking forward, that the company continues its investments without slowing down.

"This year, our strategy is to focus on our R&D laboratory works to quickly address the needs and demands of our customers and diversify our products," he confirms.

"We pursue smart and next-generation technological ideas that add value to life, and conduct our operations in our seven facilities guided by this mindset."

Among them, its Safesky product, which is designed to prevent birds from colliding with windows on buildings, as well as 5G Board smart glass and energy-saving commercial glass, which is as innovative as it is sustainable.

While it remains to be seen if Yorgancılar’s new position will allow him more time to pursue two of his passions: building models and watching his beloved Fenerbahçe SK football team, what is sure is that, with everything bubbling away on the horizon at Yorglass, he will remain as motivated as ever.

"I prefer dynamism over stagnation, exploring beyond the horizon and pursuing innovation," he says. "Being a pioneer in the industry and integrating the power of technology into business models are among the aspects that drive me. But, the fundamental element that motivates me the most is the fact that my initial enthusiasm remains fresh."