Hayat Kimya Continues Investments in Turkey

Hayat Kimya raises Turkish investment to TRY 2 billion over 5 years with TRY 450 million tissue facility

Hayat Kimya, Turkey's largest tissue manufacturer, is increasing its total investment in Turkey to TRY 2 billion over five years through a decision to invest TRY 450 million in a new tissue facility. With leading brands that expand the market, we are continuing to make steady progress on sustainable growth by investing in another facility in the paper sector. Turkey General Manager Enes Çizmeci stated: "With leading brands that expand the market, we are continuing to make steady progress on sustainable growth by investing in another facility in the paper sector. We currently operate a tissue facility with 65,000 m² of enclosed area on our 200,000 m² plot of land in Mersin. As Hayat Kimya, we have begun work on a TRY 450 million investment to build an additional tissue production facility in this area. With this new facility operating at an annual capacity of 70,000 tonnes, we will increase our Mersin capacity to 140,000 tonnes and our Turkish capacity to 280,000 tonnes, maintaining our leadership as Turkey's largest tissue manufacturer. With this next-generation facility coming online in mid-2021, we will create employment for an additional 200 people. Thus, we will increase total employment at our Mersin campus to 550 people. This facility will produce parent rolls, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins and facial tissues. 60 percent of produced goods will be exported to 50 different countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Our newly established smart factory will also feature smart production and management processes for the future." He continued.

Our Hayat-branded products reach 8 out of 10 homes in Turkey

Enes Çizmeci continued his remarks: "In Turkey, we can see that we invest not only in permanent investments but also in research and development, technology and infrastructure development. In 2019, we became leaders with Bingo in powder detergent, fabric softener and hard surface cleaners, with Molped in daily pads, with Molfix in branded baby diapers, and with Familia in branded toilet paper. Fortunately, in the tissue category where we entered in 2006, we have climbed to leadership. Harder than reaching the top is staying at the top, and we have achieved that as well. Our Hayat-branded products reach 8 out of 10 homes in Turkey. As Hayat, we lead with 42 percent market share in branded tissue rolled products. Our leadership is not only in market share of our brands, but we also continue our leadership as Turkey's largest tissue manufacturer."

We contribute to Turkey's economy through production, employment and exports

Enes Çizmeci, noting that they work with the belief that everyone has the right to access quality products, continued: "As Hayat Kimya, we differentiate ourselves in the sector by offering value-added, innovative products with accessible pricing policies. In 2018 we achieved USD 375 million in exports. We are proud to have been among the top 50 in the Turkish Exporters Council (TİM) Turkey's Largest Exporters ranking for three consecutive years. In this sense, we contribute to Turkey's economy in the areas of production, employment and exports, and we also work with the commitment to add value to the globalization of Turkish brands and quality perception."

We are Turkey's lowest and Europe's third-lowest water-consuming tissue manufacturer

Enes Çizmeci, noting that they have taken important steps in efficient and effective use of energy sources, continued: "Water is one of the most important inputs in paper production. On average, 12-15 tonnes of water are used to produce 1 tonne of tissue. Through our own engineering work, we have managed to reduce this ratio from 12 to 3.2 tonnes. That is, we produce tissue using 4 times less water than world standards. We rank as Turkey's lowest and Europe's third-lowest water-consuming tissue manufacturer. We are proud to be one of the companies that uses water most efficiently, one of the world's most important scarce resources."

We increased energy efficiency levels from the 30 percent range to 80 percent

Hayat Kimya, which emphasizes efficient use of the world's scarce resources, uses technology called "cogeneration" to convert natural gas into electricity, heat and steam for use in production processes. Enes Çizmeci stated: "This is a known technology in the sector but is rarely preferred because efficiency levels remained in the 25-30 percent range. We took this technology, adapted it to our production systems and managed to increase efficiency levels from the 30 percent range to 80 percent. Thus, with a single energy input, we meet all the energy needed in the production processes and administrative operations of our smart factories. In fact, at our tissue production facility in Mersin, we even brought this energy efficiency ratio to 88 percent, setting a record. We were cited as an example of 'Best Practice in the Sector' by the Turkish Cogeneration and Clean Energy Technologies Association," he stated.

With investments in innovation in Turkey, we are developing projects that will make a global impact in the tissue sector

Enes Çizmeci, speaking of an Industry 4.0 project that will differentiate Hayat Kimya on a global scale in the tissue sector: "In giant machinery producing tissue, the biggest productivity loss stems from 40-45 minutes of production and time loss caused by paper breaks. As Hayat Kimya, in the 1.2 billion data points we have obtained from paper production, we analyze changes in approximately 964 different parameters. When our artificial intelligence project is completed, anomalies occurring while machines operate within upper and lower limits will be detected. In other words, paper breakage can be prevented, the machine does not need to stop, the problem can be identified and resolved, and production can continue. This is an application not seen elsewhere in the world. In short, thanks to our investments in innovation in Turkey, it will be a project that resonates globally in the tissue sector," he said.

Turkey's first and most comprehensive R&D Center in its sector

Hayat Kimya has realized the investment in Turkey's first and most comprehensive R&D Center in its sector at its Kocaeli campus, working with 90 researchers on alternative raw material development, product development and packaging work, including reverse engineering. It collaborates with Koç, Sabancı, İTÜ, Yıldız Technical, Istanbul University, Kocaeli and Gebze Technical Universities. As a growing Turkish company, it emphasizes and supports industry-academia collaboration. By participating in the TÜBİTAK 2244 Industrial Doctorate Program, it provides 18 doctoral students the opportunity to work on their thesis projects at the Hayat R&D Center.

By transferring innovative products developed in Turkey abroad, we contribute to the quality and innovative perception of Turkish brands

Enes Çizmeci summarizes their approach to R&D: "Our R&D philosophy is not to keep work in laboratories, but to bring it to consumers. We use our industrial strength and R&D capability to find the best product. Turkey is at the center of all these efforts. By subsequently transferring the innovative products we develop in Turkey to foreign markets, we strive to contribute to the quality and innovative perception of Turkish brands. With this commitment, we continue our investments in Turkey."