İşbir Sentetik Attracts Europe's Attention

As the energy crisis shows its harsh face globally, companies that have invested in solar energy systems (SES) have gained a significant advantage. İşbir Sentetik, which meets 26% of its energy needs from SES, has attracted Europe's attention.

Turned global pandemic crisis into advantage

Major disruptions in supply chains during the pandemic brought Turkey back into focus for Europe. As seamless supply flows came to the fore, Turkey began replacing Far Eastern countries that relied solely on price advantages. İşbir Sentetik, through production support provided to European and American companies that suffered from inability to source from the Far East during the pandemic, secured a permanent place in these companies' portfolios.

Exports to 40 countries

İşbir Sentetik aims to differentiate itself in the market by increasing production capacity through new investments and, with a 'environment-friendly production' motto, reducing carbon footprint. Big Bags are large sacks woven from polypropylene twine that enable transportation of between 200 kilograms and 2,000 kilograms for packaging, transporting and storing bulk and granular products; they are used in food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agriculture, mining, construction, shipbuilding and recycling sectors. Having pioneered many firsts in its field, İşbir Sentetik has become one of the world's largest Big Bag producers.

Metin Gültepe, General Manager of İşbir Sentetik Dokuma Sanayi Anonim Şirketi, emphasizing that İşbir Sentetik, the largest subsidiary of İşbir Holding, has the most comprehensive facility in terms of installed capacity and enclosed area for Big Bag production both in Turkey and Europe, made the following comments:

"İşbir Sentetik, the largest subsidiary of İşbir Holding, is based in Balıkesir. It is a facility established around 1968. As we have come to the present day, in addition to specializing in Big Bags, we produce carpet backing and we also have a massive facility with polypropylene production. In terms of installed capacity and enclosed area for Big Bags, we are one of the most ambitious facilities in both Turkey and Europe. We obtain approximately 65% of our production through exports. Approximately 80% of Big Bag production goes to export. We export to 40 countries across 4 continents. Our sales, as mentioned before, are obtained 65% from export revenues. At İşbir Sentetik, we strive to work with the highest possible automation because Big Bag production is labor-intensive. We are working on increasing both quality, efficiency and capacity. We design and manufacture the machinery that our sector and our business requires." In addition to annual production capacity of 60,000 tonnes in Turkey, the company also added an FIBC Big Bag factory opened in India in 2017. The company continues its efforts in line with global growth objectives. Aiming to increase Big Bag sales by 20%, İşbir Sentetik made corresponding investment plans. İşbir Sentetik, working to increase the capacity of its Big Bag production facility in India, aims to double the current production capacity by considering customer demands.

Gültepe, conveying that work is underway to relocate the facility in India to a different location with a larger enclosed building, continued as follows:

"İşbir Sentetik carries out production in Balıkesir over an area of 150,000 square meters. With additional investments we decided at the beginning of this year and which we will put into operation towards the end of the year, we will increase our Big Bag capacity by 20 percent. We will enter the coming year with 20 percent more capacity compared to this year. In addition to the SES investments mentioned, we are continuing our capacity expansion investments on the other hand. In 2017, İşbir Sentetik established a Big Bag facility in Udaipur, India. In the first phase, it was a 50-50 investment with our Indian partners. It was a Big Bag production facility with monthly capacity of 350 tonnes. Our company İşbir Mewar in India, immediately after the pandemic, acquired the 50 percent stake belonging to our partners and is now a 100 percent İşbir Sentetik subsidiary. We are currently searching for additional space in India and our work to double the capacity there is continuing, with a target towards the end of 2023."