Manisa to become wheel rim center

İZMİR - Anatolia News Agency

Manisa will become a global center for the production of aluminum wheel rims like the ones seen here at the opening ceremony for the new plant.

Turkey’s İnci Holding and Brazilian Maxion Wheels have partnered to produce wheel rims at a facility in the Aegean city of Manisa. The facility will be Europe’s largest capacity production site and 90 percent of the wheel rims will be slated for the export market.

İnci Mustafa Zaim, who spoke at the opening ceremony, said the facility had been built in ten months with a 45 million Euro investment. The plant is expected to produce 2 million wheel rims per year, so together with the existing four factories they will produce 11 million wheel rims each year.

Zaim said this investment would make Manisa a global wheel rim production center. The new facility is also expected to provide employment for 200 new personnel.

Zaim added that they planned to have a total turnover volume of $400 million and exports totaling $300 million by 2014.

“90 percent of the aluminum wheel rims produced in our facility will be exported. We are pleased that we will be able to help our country with its large current account deficit problem. Our success in the global arena and the value we bring to the automotive industry are Turkey’s pride,” said Zaim. He also said that despite the global economic crisis, they would increase their wheel rim sales by 50 percent in 2013.

“We will play a larger role in Turkey and will add to our investments. Turkey will play a very important role in our global strategy,” said Maxion’s Manager Dan Iochpe.

Maxion Group has 22 facilities in 12 different countries.

İnci Holding began producing wheel rims in 1968 under the name Jantaş. Zaim said that their facilities have solved the unemployment problem in Manisa and that it is in fact difficult to find new employees to work at their facilities. They have even turned to their members of parliament for help.