Friedrichshafen, Germany — Turkish plastics processor and mold maker MTN Kalip Sanayi Ltd. Sirketi is building a second factory to expand its injection molding business, targeting exports to Europe.
The Istanbul-based firm will open the second facility in Turkey early next year with 16 injection molding machines, serving its existing end markets in automotive and appliance manufacturing, said Kadir Yavuz, sales and marketing supervisor.
“MTN has decided to grow strategically in plastic parts manufacturing,” he said. “We're very well known for molds. We are working with all well known automotive and white goods brands. That is why we would like to grow in plastic parts production.”
Yavuz was interviewed at the Fakuma 2015 fair, held Oct. 13-17 in Friedrichshafen.
The small company builds molds and manufactures plastic parts as a Tier 1 and Tier 2 supplier for global car brands, and in the appliance sector for Whirlpool, BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, Turkey's Arçelik A.Ş. and others.
MTN started as a mold manufacturing company 20 years ago and in 2011 launched its injection molding business, and sees good possibilities for growth there, Yavuz said.
In a corporate sales presentation provided to Plastics News, MTN said the new factory would eventually grow to 45 injection molding machines in its second phase. No time frame was specified.
Its plastics parts business — which has 12 injection molding machines — currently is focused on Turkey's domestic market. But it would like to grow exports to a level closer to that of its mold making unit, which exports 60 percent of molds it produces, Yavuz said.
“The investment reason [for the new factory] is to grow also in exports, to reach figures like the mold division,” he said.
The company also wants to pursue what it calls “localization projects,” or more generally replacing imported injection molded parts that currently are not manufactured in Turkey.
“We will have a lot of localization projects so it's not only focusing on exports but trying to get the production into Turkey,” he said.
While the country's economy has been hurt by the wars in neighboring Iraq and Syria and ensuing refugee crisis, Yavuz said Turkey's plastics sector continues to grow.
“Turkey has a lot of advantages and many European companies are coming to Turkey,” he said. “As we look to our own business, we see a stable growth. That's also the case for Turkey in general, for the plastics industry in general. Sometimes it's affected by some issues, but in the long run it will be growing.”
