Founder

Lütfi Abay was born in 1939 in Tutmaç village, which is located in the central district of Sivas, Turkey. Due to the delayed construction of the village's primary school, he started school at the age of 10 in 1949. Since he quickly grasped reading and writing, his teacher Şakir Vancı allowed him to start from the second grade. In 1953, he successfully completed his primary education and enrolled in a secondary school in Sivas. Like every student from rural areas, he faced certain difficulties while continuing his education. During this period, he lived with his other siblings in the house his father Nasip Abay had purchased. In the basement of their house, there was a wool carding machine that was bought along with the house. Lütfi Abay operated the machine outside of school hours to meet the household needs and earn his own pocket money. This was his first step towards entrepreneurship.

In 1956, he enrolled in Sivas 4 Eylül High School and graduated in 1959. Throughout his secondary education, he excelled in sports, particularly wrestling, discus throwing, and shot put, winning regional championships in Sivas. He also participated in choir, theater, and folklore activities. After graduating in 1959, Abay took the university entrance exams. Although he was accepted to the Chemistry Engineering Department at Ankara University Faculty of Science, ranking second on the waiting list, he missed the registration period due to misinformation and was unable to enroll. He briefly attended the Mathematics Department at Istanbul University but his desire was to become an engineer. He prepared again and retook the exams in 1960, ranking 28th and gaining admission to the Chemistry Engineering Department at Ankara University Faculty of Science. He graduated from university in 1965.

The one-year setback he experienced also brought him another opportunity. By winning an exam held by Petkim Petrochemical Corporation, he had the opportunity to pursue a master's degree in the United States. After completing his master's program at the University of Southern California (USC) in 1969, despite having the opportunity to work there, he returned to his country and started working as a project engineer at Petkim. While pursuing his master's degree in the United States and receiving a scholarship from the government, he demonstrated his entrepreneurial skills by working as a color engineer at Ferro Corp., a company manufacturing plastic concentrate paint, for two and a half years. At the same time, he made plans on how to establish a similar business in Turkey. Throughout his career at Petkim, where he held various positions, Mr. Abay made a research discovery that Petkim could utilize a waste product called "low polymer" that the company was discarding by paying for its disposal. This discovery gave him great courage to start his own business. After establishing his own company, he would purchase the product through tenders, use it in the production of concentrate paint, and achieve cost reduction and process simplification.

In addition to his technical service experience at Petkim, Mr. Abay specialized in Rubber, Carbon Black, and Plastic Technology during a six-month internship at the technical service laboratory of Philips International in Brussels, and a two-month scholarship program at Vienna University in Austria. In 1983, after leaving his position as assistant sales manager at Petkim, Abay established his own business by taking over Kimpaş AŞ. Initially, production took place in a small area in Kartal, then they moved to Dolayoba, Pendik. Currently, they have shifted production to GEPOSB. Kimpaş AŞ produces powdered plastic for concentrate paint, rotational molding, metal plating, and fabric production for the plastic industry. Our company is also among the leading firms in Turkey in terms of buying and selling plastic raw materials. Lütfi Abay, who pioneered the production of concentrate paint and liquid paint in Turkey, has also provided technical support to many companies. Among Lütfi Abay's initiatives are Kimpaş, the leading organization in the raw material sector, as well as Karboline, a company involved in dry cargo maritime transportation, and BVA, which operates in the construction and automotive sectors. Furthermore, he acquired Naksan Plastik AŞ (Kimpack), one of the world's largest packaging manufacturers, which is 85% export-oriented, as well as the Royal BCF (Kim BCF) yarn factory, through an auction by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), and incorporated them into Abay Holding.

Taking inspiration from the saying of Prophet Muhammad, "The best among you are those who are most beneficial to others," Lütfi Abay established the Lütfi Abay Cultural and Education Foundation (LAKEV) in 2013, providing scholarships to dozens of students. Additionally, every year at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, he evaluates scientific research and publications in the fields of medicine, engineering, and literature through a committee consisting of deans and the rector, awarding prizes. In Sivas, there are two primary schools, one middle school, and a student dormitory named after Mr. Abay. Furthermore, Abay also built a teachers' house in memory of the teachers who lost their lives in the Van earthquake. Among the mentioned companies and as one of Turkey's leading entrepreneurs, Lütfi Abay has consolidated all of his companies under Abay Holding, entrusting their management to his second-generation children, Berkan, Volkan, and Atakan, while he closely monitors the operations as the honorary chairman of Abay Holding. We wish him good health, peace, and a long life on behalf of the entire Abay Holding community.