Şişecam plans to invest in a furnace with a 155,000-ton annual capacity at its Eskişehir glass packaging production facility.
The investment is in response to the growing potential of glass packaging from the rapidly expanding demand for hygienic solutions across the world.
The €84 million glass manufacturing furnace is planned to be commissioned at the beginning of 2023 and is in response to increased demand for glass packaging.
Aimed at boosting Şişecam's global glass packaging production capacity to 3.2 million tons per year, this major investment will provide input to numerous sectors.
Şişecam Chairman of the Board of Directors Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman said: “Şişecam has decided to invest in a new furnace in Eskişehir, where it currently has four glass packaging furnaces in operation.
"This new investment will allow us to meet growing glass packaging demand in Turkey resulting from heightened health awareness while also implementing our export strategies.
"Şişecam, currently running glass packaging production operations in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia, also announced in June that it would invest in a greenfield facility with a 330,000-ton annual capacity in Hungary.”
Prof. Ahmet Kırman stated that the size of the Turkish glass packaging market largely remained intact in 2020 despite the adverse effects of the pandemic.
The domestic glass packaging market went on to trend positively in the second half of 2021 with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, the opening of the HORECA channel to a great extent, and the positive effect of rebounding tourism.
He continued: "Rapid market growth is projected for 2021. The expectation that Chinese manufacturers will lose their stronghold in the US market, ongoing growth of the European market, and the fact that Şişecam is one of the highly-preferred suppliers in Europe are all indicators that our export potential is even higher."
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman added: "In addition to being a strategic glass packaging production base, Eskişehir stood out as the right location for our new investment due to its market access potential.
"The investment will enable Şişecam to quickly respond to domestic market demand, while also offering advantages in terms of evaluating additional sales demand that may arise outside of Turkey.
"We anticipate that the new furnace, which is planned to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2023, will provide input to many sectors, particularly beverage and food packaging."
