İrfan GÜNDOĞDU
İrfan Gündoğdu, the founder of Piteks, was born in Rize in 1951. After completing his primary and secondary education in Rize Fındıklı, he moved to Istanbul after passing the Istanbul Haydarpaşa High School exam in 1964. During the years 1968-1969, he studied at Istanbul University Faculty of Science. Then, in 1970, he entered Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Faculty of Chemical Engineering and successfully completed his 4-year undergraduate education.
During his high school years, he briefly played football in the youth team of the 2nd League. While studying at ITU, he continued his sports career by competing in boxing competitions between universities and higher schools, winning the championship three times in the 67-kilogram category in 1972, 1973, and 1974.
In 1975, he completed his military service as a reserve officer with the rank of second lieutenant in 18 months. In November 1976, he started working as an engineer at the İpraş refinery, which is now known as Tüpraş, in İzmit.
He worked in various units of the Tüpraş operations department as an engineer, chief, expert chief, chief engineer, and assistant manager for 17 years. In 1993, he resigned from his position as assistant manager and left Tüpraş. In 1985, he laid the foundations of his industrial journey by establishing a mineral oil workshop in Derince, where he continued his industrial adventure with a factory investment in Tuzla in 1994.
While working at Tüpraş, he received training in Petroleum Additives in the USA. He completed five separate seminars on management, recruitment, leadership, and related topics. In the 1990s, he produced the world's first private scented and hygienic textile blend oil, contributing to a Turkish company specializing in blanket production receiving the World Quality First Prize in Paris.
Additionally, through his scientific research, he produced the first textile dye antioxidant in Turkey. Piteks' mineral oil production was licensed by EPDK (Energy Market Regulatory Authority) in 2005, and production was carried out for a period. By conducting specialized studies for the production of chemicals used in petroleum refineries, he elevated his company to a prominent position in Turkey in its field.
At various times, he exported textiles and food to Canada. In 2000, he began research on investing in environmentally friendly green energy.
He entirely financed his current biodiesel investment with his own resources, engineering knowledge, and experience. His mission throughout this investment has always been to solve the problem of unemployment, contribute to energy production without polluting the environment, and reduce dependency on imports.
After the official declaration stating that Biodiesel is exempt from Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) issued by the Ministry of Finance, Piteks began its biodiesel investment. However, due to the influence of certain petroleum groups in the parliament, a law was passed to block biodiesel production, leading to the cessation of biodiesel production and the closure of nearly 120 investment firms (except for 3-5 firms).
Piteks, designed with a universal structure, is maintaining its existence by conducting various chemical production experiments. One of İrfan Gündoğdu's recent works is a fuel additive that reduces CO2 emissions by 7 times and provides a 10% fuel saving.
In recent times, İrfan Gündoğdu has participated in studies conducted under the title of global warming and its causes worldwide. He has visited countries with technological advancements to discuss ALGAE production and integrations, examining their applicability to Turkey.
In this context, discussions were held with a group led by Dave Thompson at the Diversified Energy Company in Phoenix, Arizona, focusing on the CENTIA project and the production of third-generation biofuels from Algae or vegetable oil sources. Subsequently, efforts were made under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Bill Roberts of NCSU (North Carolina State University) for the actual implementation of the project.