Tire-producer to invest $300 mln for 2nd plant

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan (C), Sabancı Holding Chairwoman Güler Sabancı (3rd L) and Bridgestone COO Kazuhisa Nishigai (3rd R) poses at the press conference for Brisa’s 25th anniversary in Istanbul.

Leading tire manufacturer Brisa plans to expand its operations by investing $300 million in the construction of its second plant in the Central Anatolian province of Aksaray.

Brisa, a Turkish-Japanese joint venture between conglomerate Sabancı Holding and Bridgestone Corporation, announced that it planned to have its second factory in operation by 2018, with tire production at the new facility projected to be 4.2 million units annually. Brisa’s announcement came as it celebrated its 25th anniversary at a press conference yesterday attended by Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, Sabancı Holding Chairwoman Güler Sabancı, Bridgestone COO Kazuhisa Nishigai and Brisa CEO Hakan Bayman.

“Brisa was the biggest foreign investment in Turkey when it was launched in 1988. Bridgestone Corporation, one of the world’s leading tire manufacturers, is one of our strategic partners and, in this regard, we consider it to be of significant importance. The success we achieved by integrating the two different cultures over these last 25 years is the strongest evidence that the decision we made was the right one,” Sabancı said.

Also, Nishigai noted that Turkey was a vital market in their world business strategy, when factoring in its significant economic growth and close ties with neighboring countries like eurozone member states.

 “Today, in addition to our leadership in Turkey, we are the seventh biggest manufacturer in Europe.
We are planning to open our second manufacturing plant 2018 in Aksaray. In order to meet future tire demand, in addition to our Kocaeli plant, which has an annual production capacity of 10 million units tire, we have already approved the construction of a second plant within Aksaray Province’s Organized Industrial Zone, with approximately $300 million to be invested. We will produce tires for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the Aksaray plant, envisaging an annual production capacity of almost 4.2 million tires,” Bayman said, in reference to the company’s plans for growth, expanding operations from its 380,000-metre-squared plant that it had originally commenced with in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli.

30 pct rise in production

Brisa plans to raise its production capacity by 30 percent with the proposed new plant, to be built across a 1.1 million-meter squared area in Aksaray.

Economy Minister pointed out the advantages of Turkey’s incentive system. “We have created a model incentive system. As Ankara is in the fifth zone and Brisa’s investment is in within the Organized Industrial Zone, the company will benefit from the sixth zone, which attracts the most generous support,” he said.

Brisa became the seventh largest producer in Europe’s tire manufacturing sector and number 34 in the world, he said, noting that the new enterprise would create employment for 700 people.