Turkish glass manufacturer and raw material supplier Ciner Group is to invest $100 million to increase its soda ash capacity.

Gürsel Usta, Ciner Group CEO, stated that the group will increase soda ash capacity by 600 thousand tonnes due to increased demand after the pandemic.

During a live interview with Bloomberg HT, Mr. Usta the investment was to be completed by the end of next year.

He said in the past five years the group had invested $4 billion

“Our current capacity there is 2.7 million tonnes. When this additional capacity comes, our total capacity will be 3.3 million tonnes.

"This will give us additional $200-250 million worth of export opportunity. I am honoured to say that this is a 100% value-added export. We already export 85% of our total production.

“We have two furnaces in Bozüyük for glass packaging, and now we are building the third one. This is also an investment that was already given green light.

"This new furnace will be operational after the first half of next year. We have all the necessary permits for two furnaces of 650 tonnes/day in Ankara Kazan.

"We also applied for incentives, and they are about to begin. This also means an investment that is nearly €260 million.

“We are the most eco-friendly company in the soda ash business. We produce based on solution mining.

"To put it in an easy comparison context, the water amount we use and our waste amount is between one-fifth and one-tenth of what the other best companies consume, whereas our energy consumption is three times less than the others.

“We are the only firm which has the certificate for green products. This certificate is given to companies that are able to produce the most optimum products using the minimum resources, and we have that certificate.

“Our carbon emission is half of the best firms in Europe.

“Our primary objective is to fill the gap in the market. Turkey produces very qualified glass packaging.

"The support coming from the currency side is crucial, thanks to that support we have more and more exporting opportunities. Within this framework, when we plan our investment within this framework, we will have additional €150 million worth of export.”