Tezcanlar Decides on Bio Ethyl Acetate Investment

Tezcanlar Yatırım, which operates more than 10 companies in the food, agriculture, chemical and healthcare sectors, is continuing its growth drive through commissioned and newly decided investments. Focused on areas where Turkey is import-dependent, the company will cut off imports by starting production of high-purity ethanol this year and bio ethyl acetate in 2022, as it did with citric acid. Board Chairman Ahmet Tezcan stated that citric acid, which they began producing last year, is a strategic raw material used in virtually every industry, particularly food, and noted that they are the first and only producer of this essential input in Turkey. Tezcan noted that the Tezkim Citric Acid facility, built with state-of-the-art technology, reached full capacity operation within a few months, saying, "We encountered significant demand both domestically and internationally. To meet rising demand, we started capacity expansion investments. Despite being new, we have begun exporting 40 percent of production. In a product where we were import-dependent, we are both meeting domestic market needs and exporting."

"We will produce ethyl acetate from plants instead of from petroleum"

Tezcanlar Yatırım's new move, operating on the principle of investing in areas where Turkey is import-dependent, will be bio ethyl acetate production. Turkey's annual requirement for this intermediate used in the food and cosmetics sectors is approximately 50,000 tons. Tezcan, noting that this investment will end import dependency in yet another area, described the bio ethyl acetate facility as follows: "We will start investing in our bio ethyl acetate facility, which will be part of our Tezkim Bioethanol facility. With our investment of EUR 40 million, we initially target production of 50,000 tons, matching Turkey's current needs. We will likely begin production toward the end of 2022." Ahmet Tezcan noted that ethyl acetate is produced globally at around 2-2.5 million tons and is derived from petroleum, stating, "We will produce this product from plant-based sources. In this respect, we will achieve the world's first bio ethyl acetate production."

High-purity ethanol production starts in August

Ahmet Tezcan stated that with responsible producer awareness, they directed products from Tezkim Bioethanol facilities toward disinfectant production in the context of COVID-19 mitigation, saying, "The events we experienced in 2020 enabled us to rapidly increase capacity and, beyond the need for fuel and disinfection ethanol we produce, to identify different needs in our country. For this reason, we started investing in high-purity ethanol production. Our investment will be completed by the end of August." Ahmet Tezcan also commented on investments carried out at Tat Nişasta, one of the locomotive companies within the group, stating, "The reduction of starch-based sugar quotas to 2 percent triggered the investment decision at Tat Nişasta. With our investment, we increased both natural and modified starch capacities by 100 percent. Additionally, with higher value-added and specialized uses such as pregelatinized starch, we aim to differentiate ourselves in the market with special starch types in our facilities." Source