Turkish glassmaker Şişecam, a global player in the glass and chemicals industry, is adding a new factory to its investments that creates value in the country.
Şişecam, which provides input to both architectural frosted glass and energy glass fields as the only facility producing frosted glass in Turkey, will establish a second frosted glass furnace and processing line on the same land with the new flat glass line it is making in southern Mersin province, according to a statement by the company.
Operating with eight flat glass and one frosted glass lines in four different locations in Turkey, Şişecam’s new frosted glass furnace will operate with a capacity of 600 tons per day and along with an energy glass processing line with a capacity of 20 million square meters per year in Tarsus Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ). The total investment worth will be approximately TL 3.4 billion ($193 million), including working capital.
With its new investment, Şişecam aims to close the supply gap that may arise in the energy glass sector and to contribute to the country's economy by utilizing export opportunities. In addition, Şişecam aims to consolidate its leadership position in the rapidly growing Turkish energy glass market, to seize export opportunities and to further strengthen its competitive position.
Şişecam Chairperson and Managing Director Ahmet Kırman stated that Şişecam, the founder of the Turkish glass industry, will continue its investments that create sustainable value for all its stakeholders and support the growth and exports of the sectors it provides inputs.
Kırman stated that Şişecam, which operates in 45 facilities in 14 countries on four continents, and delivers its value-added products to more than 150 countries with its approximately 24,000 employees, continues to create value for Turkey despite the extraordinary conditions of the period.
"We are walking toward our strong global goals with new investment moves in line with our focus on sustainable growth in different fields of activity. While doing this, we follow the trends in the world and follow new investment opportunities closely."
He said despite the increasing energy costs, the cost of electricity generation from solar energy has decreased and the sustainability sensitivity of the global arena has increased which offers new opportunities to glass industry.
"Within the scope of our priority to meet the glass demand of our country in the most efficient way and to create value for our economy, Kırman said, they are making this investment.
"We believe that this investment will contribute to Şişecam's strategy of producing value-added products focused on sustainability and the country's economy. When the investment reaches full capacity, it will reach 120 million euros ($122 million) in annual sales revenue, it will direct approximately 30% of its sales volume to export markets and it will create more than 1,000 jobs," he said.
Stressing that the awareness of carbon emissions in consumers and country administrations, with the impact of the climate crisis, has made the transformation to renewable resources a top priority in the energy sector, which is one of the sectors that cause the most carbon emissions to nature.
"The rapidly increasing natural gas, electricity and fuel prices, along with the deterioration of the supply/demand balance in energy, has increased the demand for renewable energy sources with lower costs compared to fossil fuels," he said.
Kırman noted that these developments highlight solar energy as the most applicable solution for electricity generation.
In Turkey, the market demand for energy glasses, which was 8 million square meters in 2018, is expected to increase approximately three times and reach 23 million square meters in 2022, he said.
"We wanted to turn this opportunity that has emerged in the sector into a value for Turkey. Currently, 64% of the demand in the market is met by imports."
"As the only local producer in Turkey, Şişecam covers 36%. Thanks to our new furnace and processing line investment, we aim to reduce the import rate in the sector and seize export opportunities, as well as responding to the increasing demand."