Total Serbia d.o.o. is directly responsible for Total, both in Serbia and Kosovo, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Total Serbia d.o.o. and its authorized distributors are the only authorized importers of TOTAL and ELF oils and lubricants for our country, and as such, it is currently the only company among renowned oil companies in Serbia. Direct presence of a French oil company in Serbia guarantees product quality and makes it possible for you to see why we are among the best oil companies.

Automotive business activities of Total are characterized by partnerships with the most prominent car companies, a wide range of sophisticated products suitable for all manufacturers, as well as the support and communication with customers through subsidiary of the company.

In Industry business, Total is present in the Cement, Paper, Textile, Food, Wood, Pharmaceutical, Metalworking and other industries with its high-quality products. We offer high-quality oils and lubricants, that is, a whole range of products, for all engines.

Ms.Almila Acan Kahvecioglu, Managing Director of the Total Serbia subsidiary speaks for Profit magazine.

1. Ms Kahvecioglu, where were you born? Where did you grow up and go to school?

I was born in Istanbul, Turkey where I grew up and also graduated. I specialized in Finance and the Economy, which led me to work in several international companies and finally in an international auditing firm before I joined Total Group in 2000.

2. How did your career develop before you became the Managing Director of Total Serbia? How long have you held that position?

I joined the Marketing & Services branch of Total Groupin 2000, I moved to France in 2003 and I held several responsibilities within the Group as Financial Director and General Secretary. I’ve had the chance to enhance my business skills by experiencing different areas of downstream, such as network /service station management, heavy fuel oil, specialties and finally lubricants,which is Total Serbia’s core business. I have had the opportunity to work in different countries where I have gained important international experience. Actually I have been Managing Director of the Balkans Hub since 2014, where we have 3 affiliates in the zone, and in which Total Serbia is our main affiliate.

3. Total is among the 4 most successful oil companies in the world, operating in more than 130 countries. Total has been in Serbia since 2010, when the company chose to make its investment intended for the Balkan region in Serbia. Tell us more about the future plans and strategy of the group for the Balkan region?

Total believes in being close to its customers. Our Marketing&Services branch has a direct presence via affiliates in 110 countries. By having a direct presence in Serbia we can even better understand our Serbian customers’ needs and better serve them. If we add to that the market potential and the increasing trend in which we are all seeking quality products, it was the natural outcome for Total to open a Company in Serbia. Total, among the major oil brands, is the only one present in Serbia directly and we ensure that our customers get the service, the quality and the reliability of our wide range of products with the right support in this fast moving technological and economic environment. The Serbian economy and industry recognize the quality of our products and services as well as their affordability, whichenable us to cooperate with many factories and manufacturers in Serbia. Of course, our goal is to grow, to spread high quality products and to improve cooperation with the local economy to our mutual satisfaction in Serbia and also in other countries in the Balkan region.

4. Total Serbia d.o.o. is directly responsible for Total, both in Serbia and in the region. Total Serbia d.o.o. is the only authorized importer of TOTAL and ELF oils and lubricants for our country. Tell us – how does the company guarantee the quality of its products?

Being the only one of the major international oil companies that has a direct presence in Serbia, Total is able to provide direct support to the consumers and an immediate answer to the questions, issues or doubts they might have regarding Total’s products. Registering our trademarks TOTAL and ELF with the Serbian Customs and the Ministry of Internal Trade helps us to fight againstcounterfeiting together. If a customer is uncertain about whether the product bought is original, Total is at their disposal to verify this quickly by analyzing the batch number marked on the bottle. As part of our services, we can also provide a full check-up to our customers if they suspect that the oil they are using is in some way harming their engine or if they want to learn the right product to use in order to prolong the engine life or optimize fuel consumption. Total sends a sample to the world-renowned ANAC independent laboratory, which then produces a report within 7 to 10 days with a detailed and precise answer. Please bear in mind that the declaration stuck on every TOTAL product saying ‘TOTAL Serbia d.o.o. is the only authorized importer of Total and Elf lubricants on the market’ is the proof of the originality of our products.

5. What is characteristic for Total Serbia d.o.o.’s business activities?

Total Serbia d.o.o.’s core business is distributing lubricantsand related services,and we offer high quality products that are dedicated and specialized per segment.We are diversifying the products we offer to the market, not only in the automotive industry but also in agriculture, heavy duty vehicles, and for different industrial segments.

Our operations in this country started in 2010 when we opened an office in Belgrade. This decision came as a logical outcome following careful market research that reflects Total’s overall business approach - meaning that we are not here merely to have a local office, but to grow together and contribute to the development of this market. With its geographical location and highly skilled workforce, the competitiveness of Serbia favors an advantageous climate for the business environment. We can proudly say that our turnover has doubled in the last five years, as has our number of employees. This growth has been achieved thanks to attentively listening to the needs of our customers, our constant works on the development of new products enabling fuel economy,and improvementsin our existing product lines that meet the highest European and world standards of quality.

6. Within which industries can Total’s high-quality products be found? Tell us more about your new product range.

Total’s high-quality products are the answer to whole segments and industries in which lubricants are involved.

In the automotive business, we see the future in the new line of Total Fuel Economy products which are based on a special formula that helps save fuel, compared with conventional oils offering the same level of performance.

As a global leader in lubricants that’s committed to putting drivers at the heart of what we do, Total understands that our customers require engine oil that maintains and enhances engine fitness. This is why we formulated the innovative Age Resistance Technology to boost the premium TOTAL QUARTZ engine oil range, used by close to 200 million cars in 150 countries. Age Resistance Technology - takes engine protection and performance to the next level by keeping engines younger for longer - defying not only aging acceleration factors but also harsh and extreme weather conditions.

In Industry, we are committed to supporting our customers to get the best out of their equipment, to prolong their machine life and to propose solutions that will optimize the profitability of their industrial process.

Total Industrial Lubricants with over 1,000 employees worldwide is present in over 150 countries and undertakes to provide tailored andinnovative products, accompanied by permanent service with high added value provided by its accessible and responsive teams.

We offer lubricants, greases, solvents and specialty products perfectly tailored to the specific features of your industry. Our teams in our six research centers formulate and test tomorrow's products for your industry. Total Industrial Lubricants is ISO 9001:2000 and ISO/TS 16949:2009 certified. Safety, hygiene and the environment are at the heart of our Research &Development and sales concerns.

We are present in several segments of Industry, namely Energy, Aviation, Chemical, Food, Textile, Steel, Paper, Metalworking, Wood and others, where we provide our customers with tailor-made and suitable products.

7. There is a section titled “ADVICE & PROPOSALS” on your company’s website. What was the aim of introducing this section? http://www.total-serbia.rs/sr/saveti-i-preporuke.html

We have introduced the "Advice & Proposals" section with the aim to get even closer to our customers and encourage them to get in touch with us. We wish to be perceived not as an impersonal corporate giant but as a team of professionals who offer support and care for their needs, doubts and questions. The pieces of advice we offer are not limited only to our core business and our product lines, but rather explore common situations in traffic and troubleshoot issues that might happen to any of us who drives every day. The section “Advice & Proposals” is only one part of our support system. Our customers can contact us directly through email, phone or social channels like Facebook and YouTube, whichever they feel most comfortable with. We are happy to be at their disposal and address any issues which might help them.

8.Total Serbia d.o.o. stands out due to its socially responsible business conduct as well. Tell us more about the projects you have already completed. Which future activities are you planning on?

We are part of this communityin which we all live, and it is our duty to engage our best efforts in order to make it a better place to live, in safety, for us and also for our children, our future.In this regard, last year we sponsored the Association "Svitac", helping and dealing with a very complicated condition: autism, and the inclusion of autistic children into society. Recently this year, we completed a campaign called “On the road to children’s safety in traffic” in 17 primary schools in Palilula, aiming to raise awareness of the importance of behaving safely in traffic. We saw an opportunity to address this issue in a way quite different from everything that has been done until now. With the help of an expertteam from the field of education and traffic safety, we developed an “edutainment” program tailored youngerschool children.The program included a digital component - a tablet game “On the road to safety” specially developed for the purpose of this campaign. And as a special form of entertainment, we introduced our Robot Quartz mascot to the classroom who soon became the children’s superhero. Serbia is the first among the European countries to implement this project, which is part of Total’s “Road to safety” global initiative. We do hope other municipalities and cities in Serbia will contact us because we are willing to support this project nationwide.

9. Your company is well-known for manufacturing lubricants of the highest quality available on the market. Are all your lubricants tested, and if so, how are they tested?

Through its expertise, Total provides a full range of lube oil analysis adapted for any automotive and industrial application. From a simple oil sampling, TOTAL ANAC establishes a thorough diagnosis of all the mechanical parts (engine, transmissions, hydraulics) of your equipment without any disassembly constraint.

ANAC (abbreviation for ANAlysis Compared) is Total’s corporate lube oil analysis and diagnosis system. ANAC is a range of dedicated fluid analysis routines, adapted for any automotive and industrial application.

ANAC today combines the expertise of 3 companies which merged in 2000 into the new Total group: the former Total, Fina and Elf. The technical knowledge on engine wear behaviour and oil/ cooling liquid residual quality was combined in one central database, now used by the central European oil analysis laboratory in Ertvelde (Belgium) as well as by the worldwide network of overseas Anac “Weblink” oil analysis labs.

Today ANAC is an important tool for Total customers worldwide, helping them to make considerable savings on the exploitation of their vehicle and/or machine park. Due to the enormous amount of data stored in the database, ANAC has become a partner of the Research & Development departments of many manufacturers.

Link ANAC: http://www.lubricants.total.com/what-is-anac.html

10. Total’s lubricants do not only enable fuel savings and better engine performance, they also protect the environment. Tell us more about Total’s environmentally friendly solutions program.

The ecological issues related to global warming, and more generally the efforts to control pollution have caused an unprecedented revolution in the automotive industry. The control of exhaust gases has become essential to meet the regulatory changes designed to safeguard the environment. TOTAL Lubricants teamed up very early with other stakeholders in dedicating large-scale Research and Development resources to the initiative, resulting, for example, in the widest range of Low SAPS lubricants on the market today.

Total is a front-ranking player in the field of Fuel Economy lubricants. In fact we’ve already been developing and marketing this type of lubricant for more than 15 years. Our customers, drivers using Fuel Economy lubricants, are our main partners in environment protection and decreasing pollution. Backed by that strategy, Total Lubricants Activity is now positioned as one of the world leaders in Fuel Economy with the widest range on the market and performance characteristics validated by manufacturers and by the Total EcoSolution label.

Using TOTAL Fuel Economy lubricants also means making a gesture for the environment. By improving the performance of your engine, FE lubricants also appreciably reduce your fuel consumption. And ecology rhymes with economy. This is also our commitment to Fuel Economy products.

11. What do you consider to be your company’s greatest success?

In my opinion, the greatest success of our company is the close relationship we can establish with people, with our customers, by having as our goal to be perceived as “the A brand lubricant manufacturer at their service & accessible to everyone”. Every day, our employees around the world live out our commitment to better energy while relying on cutting-edge expertise that spans the entire energy chain. For people to be motivated when going to work every day, they need a goal that gives meaning to their actions. Total’s ambition is to produce the energy that the world needs, energy that is affordable, reliable and clean. This global vision and interdisciplinary expertise allows us to work towards a responsible energy future and to achieve great success.

12. Your job is dynamic, but tiring. How do you manage to overcome everyday stress?

I am not only a working woman, but I am also a wife and a mother of 9-year-old twins. Like everybody else would say, my family is my joy and life’s greatest blessing, even if it can be tiring. So I get up every day, I try to do my best; it is not a stress but a beautiful challenge.

I see my job in the same way. Total and my team are part of my family. We bring out the best in each other; we work hard together with the same aims described before. Embracing our services in Serbia, the positive approach of our customers and the growing trend of our business in this beautiful country demonstrate to us that we are on the right path and this feedback is our greatest achievement and our motivation to go further.