Italian tire brand Pirelli's licensed manufacturer Prometeon, the only company focused on industrial tires worldwide, has announced a $115 million investment in Turkey during the period of 2017 to 2020.

The investment project aims to increase Prometeon's production capacity and implement advanced technology in its factory located in the northern Marmara industrial province of İzmit, Turkey's first tire factory.

The company expects to double exports from the facility in İzmit and make an important contribution to the trade balance of the country.

The announcement was made by Prometeon Tyre Group Chief Operating Officer Gregorio Borgo and Alp Günvaran, CEO of Prometeon Turkey, Middle East and Asia, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

With the increase in production capacity as a result of the new investment, Prometeon will create 150 jobs directly and 750 jobs indirectly in addition to the current 2,000 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs.

Furthermore, the annual tire production capacity at the Turkish plant will increase by 75 percent by 2020 and export to foreign markets will almost double from current levels, making an important contribution to the country's trade balance.

"Turkey is the Premium factory for Europe - both as OE Premium and replacement. This new investment will increase the production capacity to follow the future growth trend of Europe and the Middle East," said Borgo.

He pointed out that Prometeon Tyre Group runs the first tire factory in Turkey and that it has great know-how developed by Pirelli in nearly 60 years of activity in the country. "Prometeon Turkey is an important production, management and skill center within the group. Turkey is the management base of 75 countries in the Middle East and Asia, Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States. Almost one-third of Prometeon Tyre Group's annual turnover is accumulated in the region managed by our Turkey office and more than 50 percent of the tires that we manufacture in Turkey are exported," he said.

Günvaran emphasized the great value of the investment, the important contribution to the trade balance of the country as a new foreign direct investment in Turkey. "Our İzmit factory has been conducting activities and breaking new ground since it was established in 1960," he said.

He added that the company will further strengthen Turkey's position as one of the largest suppliers of industrial tires in Europe. The İzmit facility is one of Prometeon's four production facilities in the world and continues to add value to the tire industry on a global scale. As the largest industrial commercial vehicle manufacturer for Europe, Turkey is also the leader in bus tire production for European markets. While nearly 70 percent of freight transport is done by road in Europe, this rate is at nearly 85 percent in Turkey. Today, Prometeon is one of the main suppliers of the companies engaged in the production of heavy commercial vehicles in Turkey. In fact, one out of every five heavy commercial vehicles made in Turkey runs on Pirelli-branded commercial tires produced at the İzmit plant.

The Prometeon Research and Development Center located in the İzmit plant has operated for more than 10 years and it is an important driver of the highest-technology tires in Prometeon, with nearly 7,000 prototype tires tested each year for the Turkish market and related countries.