PLASFEDMAGAZINE Issue 2

TURKISH PLASTICS INDUSTRIALISTS' FEDERATION MAGAZINE

J anuar y - Marc h 2 0 1 3 Issue: 2

PLASTICS: Their Constribution To Our Life THAN OUR PREJUDICE

Is Greater

PLASFEDDERGİ

Barbaros DEMİRCİ PLASFED/PAGDER Secretary General

FROM THE INDUSTRY

Turkish plastics sector has completed 2012 with growth.

Turkish plastics sector successfully completed the year 2012, a year of uncertainty in foreign demand due to global crisis, and policies intended for taking the growth rate of Turkish economy under control.

2012 faced the decisions of not allowing any place to plastics other than the zone 6 within the new incentive system, and implementation of new customs duty to raw materials imported from developing countries.

In the face of such adverse conditions, the sector completed 2012 with a production of 7,2 million tonnes, production value of 30 million dollars and an added-value of 12 billion dollars, proving that a more rapid growth would be reached when the urgent problems are solved.

PREAMBLE: The Turkish plastics industry is the third biggest industry amongst the EU countries following Germany and Italy and the 12th biggest industry in the world with a 2.5 % share. On the other hand, the 17.2 billion dollars foreign trade volume of the Turkish plastics industry has a share of 1.2 % within the world plastics foreign trade volume. It is observed that the industry has a share of 2.2 % in the world total imports and 0.8% in the exports. The Turkish plastics industry is displaying a performance that is below the countries which has a lower production rate than the Turkish industry. Hence, while Germany, France, Italy conducts exports of 4.05 $, 3.45 $ and 2.55 $ respectively against produced every kg of plastics products, Turkey conducts exports of only 0.64 $. Approximately 14,000 companies, most of which are small and medium sized enterprises, are active in the Turkish plastics industry and 99 % of these companies are at the SME level. The shares of SME companies seem to have risen in the past few years while the shares of major companies, which fall within the first 1000 companies in the Istanbul Chamber Of Industry ranking, in the terms of total production and exports. The Turkish plastics industry, with a production of 7.2 million tons and value of 30 billion dollars, provided 12 billion dollars value added to the economy and became the third biggest process capacity following Germany and Italy in the EU. The industry provides an employment of 250.000 individuals. The 207 of the companies within industry have foreign capital partnership. The number of companies which export and compete in the world market increases in parallel with the increase in the use of technology in the plastics industry. The plastics industry, which has a changing share of 25 % - 30 % in the total exports of Chemical Industry, executes direct exports of approximately 5 billion dollars with its 150 exporting markets while conducting indirect exports of approximately 5 billion dollars and provides an inflow of receipts over 10 billion dollars to the national economy.

Production in the plastics industry, for the year 2012, increased by 6.2 % on the basis of tons and 2.5 % on the basis of value, imports increased by 1.7 % on the basis of tons and decreased by 2.6 % on the basis of value, exports increased by 18.1 % on the basis of tons and by 15.9 % on the basis value, domestic consumption increased by 3.5 % on the basis of tons and 0.4 % on the basis of value including products sent to indirect exports, foreign trade surplus increased by 30 % on the basis of tons and 74 % on the basis of value, 19 % of the domestic production exported on the basis of tons and 14 % on the basis of value, 8 % of the total domestic consumption including the products sent to indirect exports was compensated with imports on the basis of tons and 9 % on the basis of value and the coverage ratio of exports-imports is 278 % on the basis of tons and 157 % on the basis of value.

The plastics industry, in parallel with its rapid growth, made an average of 750 million dollars of machinery & equipment investment in the last 5 years. The machine and equipment investment has been cruising over 800 million dollars for the last two years. The imports dependency of the Turkish plastics industry for the plastics raw material was 87 % in the year 2012.

In exchange for the industry providing this level of contribution to the economy and exporting industries, plastics industry investments cannot sufficiently take advantage of the incentives. As not making sufficient benefit of the incentives, the plastics industry is losing its chance to 92

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produce positive contribution to its foreign trade deficit with the contributions of the new incentive system and is being pushed into industries which create chronic foreign trade deficit.

2023 exports vision of the industry is to realize at least 17 billion dollars of the 50 billion dollars exports goal set for the chemical industry. In order to carry out exports at such a level, the investment incentives must be taken advantage of apart from solving the problems of the industry which are on the rise in parallel with its growth.

1. WORLD PLASTICS INDUSTRY: China, USA and Germany manufacture the 28 %, 16 % and 6 % of the total world plastics, respectively. These 3 countries manufacture the 50 % of the total world plastics. The plastics product manufacture of the Turkish plastics industry is ranked 3rd amongst EU countries following Germany and Italy and 12th in the world with a share of 2.5 %. The world plastics foreign trade volume in 2011 was 1.4 trillion dollars and Turkey had a share of 1.2 % within that volume with a foreign trade volume of 17.2 billion dollars.

The total world plastics imports for 2011 was 185 million tons and 567 billion dollars and was comprised of raw material with 84 % on the basis of amount and 54 % on the basis of value and of plastics products with 16 % on the basis of amount and 46 % on the basis of value.

While the 27 % of the total world plastics imports is conducted by China, USA and Germany, the 10 major countries have a share of 51 % in the total imports. Turkey, with its share of 2.2 % in the total world plastics imports, takes the 13th rank. In 2011, 10 countries received a share of 62 % of the 562 billion dollars of total world plastics exports. While Germany preserved its biggest exporting country title by receiving a share of 11% from the total exports with its 62 billion dollars of exports, USA and China followed Germany with 10% and 8%, respectively. Turkey holds a share of 0.8% in the total plastics exports. Despite the fact that Turkey is ranked 3rd amongst EU countries following Germany and Italy with a plastics production of 7.2 million tons, it is far below countries which have lower production rate than Turkey in exporting. As a matter of fact, while Germany exports 62 billion dollars of plastics with a production of 15.3 million tons and Italy, 21 billion dollars of plastics with a production of 8.3 million tons, Turkey can only conduct direct export of 5 billion dollars with a production of 7.2 million tons. On the other hand, Belgium, France and Netherlands can export between the amount of 22 and 34 billion dollars even though their production is far lower than Turkey. While Germany, France, Italy conducts exports of 4.05$, 3.45$ and 2.55$ respectively for every kg plastics product produced, Turkey can conduct exports of only 64 cent. This circumstance shows that the Turkish plastics industry is concentrated on the production and exports of products which do not provide sufficient added value.

2. TURKISH PLASTICS INDUSTRY: 2.1.1. PLASTICS PRODUCT MANUFACTURE : The total product manufacture in 2012 rose up to 7.2 million tons and increased by 6.4 % when compared to 2011. While the capacity usage rate within the plastics product manufacture was 1 point higher than the general manufacturing industry capacity usage in 2011, this rate was 2 points lower than the general manufacturing industry capacity usage and was at the rate of 72.1 % in 2012. When the capacity usage rate of 72.1 % and 7.16 million tons of production are taken into consideration, it is estimated that there is an installed capacity of approximately 9.3 million tons.

It can be observed that the plastics packaging materials leaded the way with a production of 2.85 million tons and that the plastics construction products followed packaging with a production of 1.57 million tons. The share of the first 10 provinces where manufacturing by the plastics industry is at a high level within the total plastics product manufacture is 87 % and a total of 6.2 million tons of plastics product was manufactured at the aforementioned 10 provinces in 2012. The total plastics manufacture of the provinces ( İstanbul, İzmir, Ankara, Bursa and Kayseri ) where the founding associations of PLASFED are located was 5.13 million tons which received a share of 72 % in the total production. As of 2012, there are 207 companies which have foreign partnerships within PLASTİCS industry, 19 % of which are Germany-origin, 12 % Italy-origin, 10 % Netherlands-origin and 9 % are France-origin.

The plastics industry makes investments in machine and equipment with an increasing trend every year in parallel with the increase in the processing capacity. The machine equipment investment of the industry which was 288 million dollars in 2003, reached its peak with 885 million

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FROM THE INDUSTRY

dollars in 2011. Total machine equipment investment regressed to 785 million dollars, decreasing by 11 % in 2011.

Internal sales of all machines apart from the extrusion machines, presses and shearing, splitting and forming machines considerably regressed in 2012. The machinery investment of the plastics industry in 2012 was comprised by injection machines with 23 %, extrusion machines with 19 %, other machines with 47 % and accessories and parts with 11 %. The plastics industry made an investment of 5.7 billion dollars in machine and equipment between the years 2003 – 2012 and the average annual amount of the investment made in the past 3 years is 750 million dollars.

24 % of the said amount was comprised of injection machines, 18 % of extrusion machines and 28 % of shearing, splitting and forming machines.

The plastics product imports, which was 483 thousand tons in 2011, was 492 thousand tons in 2012 and imports increased by 2 % on the basis of amount. The plastics product imports, which was 2.65 billion dollars in 2011, was 2.58 billion dollars in 2012 and regressed by 3 %. In the last 2 years, plastics product imports was provided from over 100 countries. The imports made from 10 countries in 2012 formed the 72 % of the total imports on the basis of amount and 76 %, on the basis of value. Germany, China and Italy have been the leading 3 countries from which we have imported plastics product in the last 2 years. China, when evaluated on the basis of amount, is the country from which we import the most number of products.

Product exports constitutes the large part of Turkey’s total plastics product exports bot on the basis of amount and value. The plastics product exports, which was 1.16 million tons in 2011, rose up to 1.37 million tons in 2012, increasing by 18 %. The plastics product exports, which was 3.49 billion dollars in 2011, rose up to 4.04 billion dollars in 2012, increasing by 6 %. According to the data of Istanbul Minerals and Metals Exporters’ Associations (İMMİB), Plastics and product ( including raw material ) exports records increased by 9 % in 2012, when compared to 2011 and reached to 4.7 billion dollars. The share of the plastics industry within the total chemical industry increased to 35 % in 2009 but regressed in the following years. According to the plastics exports records of İMMİB, plastics industry took the second ranking with a share of 27 % within the total chemical industry exports records in 2012.

Turkey exports plastics products to approximately 200 countries. In 2012, 10 countries received a share of 54 % on the basis of amount and 53 % on the basis of value. This circumstance shows that plastics exporters are moving towards more different markets. In the last two years, Iraq, Russian Fed. and Germany have been the leading 3 export markets to which plastics products have been exported.

Plastics product average import unit price of 2012 was 5.242 US $ / ton, decreasing by 4 % when compared to the unit price in 2011. Average export unit price, on the other hand, decreased by 2 %, when compared to 2011, and regressed to 2.951 US $ / ton. The average export unit price was at the level of 56 % of the average import unit price in 2012.

Plastics product internal market consumption, which was 5 million tons in 2007, went up to 6.3 million tons in 2012. However, 1.300 tons of the 6.3 million tons of plastics product was indirectly exported through the exporter industries channel such as automotive, packaging, construction and electronics. The remaining 5 million tons of product was used directly by the consumer. Plastics product consumption per person, used directly by the consumer in Turkey, was 58 Kg in 2007; however this figure regressed to 51 and 50 Kg in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The consumption per person, which has been on the rise since 2009, went up to 67 Kg at the end of 2012. This level of consumption per person is around 60 % of the consumption recorded in the developed western societies. This circumstance shows that the internal market is far below the saturation point and that there is a huge potential demand towards the plastics consumption in Turkey.

In 2012 for the plastics products; Production increased by 6.2 % on the basis of ton and 2.5 % on the basis of value, Imports increased by 1.7 % on the basis, however decreased by 2.6 % on the basis of value, Exports increased by 18.1 % on the basis of ton and 15.9 % on the basis of value, Domestic consumption increased by 3.5 % on the basis of ton and 0.4 % on the basis of value including the products indirectly exported, Foreign trade surplus increased by 30 % on the basis of ton and 74 % on the basis value, 19 % of the domestic production was exported on the basis of ton and 14 % on the basis of value, 8 % of the total domestic consumption was covered with imports on the basis of ton and 9 % on the basis of value including the products indirectly exported, The export coverage of imports was 278 % on the basis of ton and 157 % on the basis of value.

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FROM THE INDUSTRY

PLASFEDDERGÄ°

Supply and Demand Equilibrium in Plastics Products 1000 TONS

Million US $

2011

2012

% Increase

2011

2012

% Increase

6.746

7.161

6,2

28.615

29.335

2,5

Imports

483

492

1,7

2.646

2.576

-2,6

Exports

1.158

1.368

18,1

3.485

4.038

15,9

Domestic Consumption

6.070

6.284

3,5

27.776

27.874

0,4

675

877

838

1.461

Exports / Production ( % )

17

19

12

14

Imports / Domestic Consumption ( % )

8

8

10

9

240

278

132

157

Production

Foreign Trade Surplus

Exports / Imports ( % )

2.1. PLASTICS RAW MATERIAL: A total of 842.3 thousand tons of plastics raw material was produced in 2012 which is lower by 1.2 % when compared with the production in 2011. Plastics raw material total imports which was 5.22 million tons in 2011, increased by 7 % and went up to 5.6 million tons in 2012. Plastics raw material imports was around 9.93 billion dollars in 2011 and 2012. The dependency of Turkish plastics industry to imports for the supply of plastics raw material is still continuing and the said dependency was around 87 % in 2012.

Turkey imported plastics raw material from over 100 countries in 2012 and the 63 % of the total imports on the basis of amount and 65 % on the basis of value was made from 10 countries. The leading 3 countries in total plastics raw material imports are Saudi Arabia, Germany and Belgium. These 3 countries comprise the 32 % of our total plastics raw material imports. 579 thousand tons of plastics raw materials were exported in 2012 and when compared to the export in 2011, the figure has increased by 18 % on the basis of amount. 978 million dollars of exports was made in 2012 and when compared to 2011, this figure has increased by 9 % on the basis of value.

In the last 2 years, plastics raw material has been exported to over 100 countries however the leading 10 countries received a share of 52 % on the basis of amount and 57% on the basis of value from the total exports. ermany, Italy and Russian Federation were the leading 3 countries in Turkey’s plastics raw material exports in 2012. The average import unit price for 2012 was 1772$ / ton and it can be observed that the said figure regressed by 7 % when compared to the average unit price of 2011.

In that same year, plastics raw material average export unit price was 1689 $ / ton and it can also be seen that the said figure regressed by 7 % when compared to the average unit price of 2011. Plastics raw material import prices of Turkey are about 5 % higher than export prices. In other words, Turkey is exporting raw materials with lower added values while importing plastics raw materials with higher added values.

While the 69 % of the domestically produced plastics raw material was exported in 2012, the 96 % of the inland plastics raw material consumption was met with imports. With the increase in exports in 2012, the export coverageof imports rose up to 10%.

It has been observed that in 2012 concerning the plastics raw material; Production decreased by 1.3 % to 842 thousand tons, Imports increased by 7.4 % to 5.6 million tons, Exports increased by % % 18 to 579 thousand tons, Domestic consumption increased by 5 % to 5.9 million tons, Foreign trade deficit increased to 5.02 million tons, The share of exports within production is 69 %, The share of imports within domestic consumption is 96 %, Export coverage of imports increased to 10 %.

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FROM THE INDUSTRY

Supply and Demand Equilibrium in Plastics Raw Material (1.000 Tons) 2011

2012

% Increase 2011/2012

853

842

-1,3

Imports

5.218

5.603

7,4

Exports

492

579

17,6 5,1

Production

Domestic Consumption

5.579

5.866

Foreign Trade Surplus

-4.726

-5.024

Exports / Production ( % )

58

69

Imports / Domestic Consumption ( % )

94

96

9

10

Exports / Imports ( % )

3. RESULT: Approximately 14,000 companies, most of which are small and medium sized companies are active in the Turkish plastics industry and 99 % of these companies are at the SME level. In recent years, while the share of companies which are within the first 1000 companies in Istanbul Chamber of Industry ranking in total production and exports decreased, the share of SME companies have risen. The Turkish plastics industry provided 12 billion dollars of added value to the economy with its production of 7.2 million tons and 30 billion dollars of production value in 2012 and became the third biggest process capacity in EU, following Germany and Italy. The industry provides employment for 250,000 people. The number of companies which carry out exports and compete in world markets in parallel with the increase usage of technology within the plastics industry is also rising. While the plastics industry, which has a share of 25-30 % within the total exports of Chemical Industry, direct exports of about 5 billion dollars with its approximately 150 exporting markets, it also carries out indirect exports of about 5 billion dollars with its exporter industries channel and provides an inflow of receipts of over 10 billion dollars to the national economy.

The plastics industry, in parallel with its rapid growth in the last 5 years, made an average of machine equipment investment of 750 million dollars.

This figure has been over 800 million dollars for the last two years. Despite this level of support provided by the industry to the economy and exporting industries the plastics industry cannot sufficiently take advantage of the industry investments due to the fact that factors such as its importance, structural feature and exports vision are not adequately taken into consideration as stated in the “Decision on Government Grants for Investments� published in the 19.06.2012 dated and 2012/3305 numbered Official Gazette.

This situation creates an unfair competition, as it does for the other many industries. The plastics industry, which cannot sufficiently benefit from the incentive, is losing its chance to provide positive contribution to the foreign trade deficit with the support of the new incentive system and is pushed towards the industries which create chronic foreign trade deficits. As of 19 June 2013 , since the issue of Government Grants Law, 11 % of the investment incentives and only 20 % of the fixed investment amount provided to the plastics industry has been transferred to the 6th region which receives the most incentives. This circumstance is due to the structural characteristic of the plastics industry. Thus, it is found to be more rational by the companies to be active on a local basis in plastics product manufacturing. The 2023 exports vision of the industry is to at least carry out the 17 billion dollars of exports from the aimed 50 Billion dollars for the chemical industry. In order for this kind of exports to be executed, the investment incentives must be taken advantage of in maximum apart from solving the problems of the industry increasing in parallel with its growth. For that purpose;

I.

Incentive opportunities must be increased as the plastics industry is in need of technological and R&D investments.

II.

Strategic investments must be incorporated into the industry regardless of its foreign trade data and the minimum investment amo-

unt must be set as 5 million US dollars.

III.

Plastics industry must be supported at least by one province in every region as it is more rational to operate locally in plastics product

manufacturing.

IV.

As one of the basic aims of incentive application is to reduce the developmental differentials between regions, the transfer of current

investments to sub-regions must also be supported.

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BREAKING NEWS

AGENDA (COVER)

easily as waste. Plastics do not require cutting down trees.

Plastics are lighter and provide advantages that almost rule out any comparison with its alternatives in transportation activities that cause carbon emission. Plastics can be recycled tens of more times than their alternatives, and be converted to fuel for the purpose of generating energy and even to diesel through recently-developed technologies.

Plastics: Leaving them is not possible whereas not leaving them in nature is!

Unfortunately, the materials that are most commonly used on television, Internet sites, magazines, newspapers, and movies to draw attention to environmental issues is plastics. The information that plastics remains in nature from one hundred to a thousand years based on an anonymous study is one of the most recurring themes in social media. Nevertheless, plastics start deteriorating under the sun within 40 days and it takes not more than 10 years for most plastics to dissolve.

Plastics contribute to our lives much more than we think. It prolongs the life of foods more than two times, and European Union has started a campaign in support of plastic-based packages in an effort to reduce waste of food. When we use alternatives of plastics, it would not be possible for Earth’s resources to satisfy the needs of 7.4 billion people. If it were not for plastics, we would have to reduce by more than half the facilities of transportation, devices, gadgets, and nourishment, which are referred to as welfare today.

Plastics: Their contribution to our life is greater than our prejudice.

Plastics are heavy polluters: Plastics are incomparably lighter wastes than other waste metal and toxic chemicals, particularly batteries.

Many plastics in common use, such as polyethylene in particular, can dissolve with very little toxic residue. The assumptions that plastics remain in nature for hundreds of years are not based on scientific results. Most plastics dissolve in 10 years under the sun and leave limited impact on nature.

Furthermore, plastics are recycled more easily and can be removed from the environment.

Therefore, plastics are not “litter” but waste, and they can be re-used after being recycled several times until the last step of incineration for generation of energy.

Plastics are left in nature in an uncontrolled way: According to our laws, collection and recycling of solid wastes including plastics are under the responsibility of Municipalities. However, individual responsibility is just as important as this legal requirement. Even a ban on disposal of solid wastes in trash cans is possible, as is the case in Germany. Plastic bags are manufactured by spending less energy and managed much more

The reason for the significance of plastics in terms of environmental issues is that plastic products are present in every aspect of life and that such materials are left in the environment often. They are seen everywhere from recreational areas to bus stops.

As plastics industrialists, we have completed 2012, a difficult year successfully. Let us briefly summarize: Our sector reached a production of 7,2 million tonnes, production value of 30 billion Dollars, and an added value of 12 billion Dollars. We increased our export to 4 billion and 38 million Dollars. Our sector kept its pride of having foreign trade surplus in plastic products. However, a large scale of import due Selçuk Aksoy to lack of sufficient doChairman / Turkish Plastics mestic production of raw Industrialists’ Federation materials and foreign Greetings from PLASFED trade deficit in sector data including raw material continued in 2012.

Plastics industrialists imported raw material of 9 billion and 928 million dollars last year, almost equaling the previous year in value.

Non-governmental organizations have the same power as the media in terms of democracy.

Developed democracies such as European Union require all decision processes to be run with nongovernmental organizations.

Please take a look at PLASFED and our Associations from this perspective. These organizations are established to protect YOUR interests and participating in such organizations is a MUST, an integral part of functioning of democracy, which is the highest level of co-habitation model of mankind.

Plastics industrialists must be present in every field. We must unite our force to have a higher voice Turkish plastics sector has reached an enviable level in many respects. We have esHüseyin SEMERCİ Chairman /Turkish Plastics tablished the third maIndustrialists’ Assocation jor capacity of Europe.

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We have completed 2012 with a sector size of 30 billion Dollars and an added value of 12 billion Dollars. Few sectors in Turkey have foreign trade surplus. Plastics sector ended 2012 with a 157 per cent import coverage ratio of export and 1.4 billion Dollar foreign trade surplus. If the raw material problem - which requires a strategically handled solution for Turkey; not a burden to be shouldered by our sector alone - is resolved, we will both be able to prevent total sector foreign trade deficit and reach a very advantageous position in global competition.

We, as PAGDER, we have lately been working ceaselessly. With PLASFED, the umbrella organization of our sector, we have always produced reports related to the plastics industry and made attempts before decision makers. We have shared them with you. We do not only give advices for revocation of decisions that we consider wrong, but we also develop proactive recommendations to improve our sector. We constantly submit new reports to and get in touch with the Ministries of Economy, Customs and Trade, and Finance.

All our efforts are aimed to grow and provide growth with our respect for our country and profession.

Plastics sector must grow with innovations and organized investments Stunning new technological developments have a direct effect on plastics sector with diverse of engineering plastics replace metal in many fields. As the Association of Ankara Plastics Industrialists, we take rapid steps toNecmi ATALAY wards assuming a status Chairman / Association of Ankara Plastics Industrial- of R&D association from a showroom site manists (APSD) agement association.

One of the issues that the Association of Ankara Plastics Industrialists places great importance on is employee training. To this end, we will have brought qualified vocational school graduates in our industry as technical employees by 2013 through launching new departments on the branches of plastics and rubber in affiliation with the Faculty of Technical Education of Gazi University in 2012.

Considering that those who are and are not educated would not be equal, considerable effort has been put into placement of students nationwide in these departments through their ÖSYM examination grades and recognition of such departments as attractive departments, which I believe would yield successful results in employing the properly trained young individuals. I hope the practices of our sector brings happiness to our country and our nation.

BREAKING NEWS

Plastics are an indispensable part of our life People are constantly in contact with plastic products and somewhat live with plastics throughout their life. From medical products to transportation vehicles, milk packages and plastic bags, plastics are an indispensable part of our life.

İlker BİLİKTÜ Chairman/Association of Bursa Plastics and Plastics also play a Packaging Industrialists critical role for growth in (BURPAS)

all important segments (packaging, construction, agriculture, medical products, textile and consumer’s products, etc.).

Share of plastics, for instance, is 40 per cent in packaging, 20 per cent in construction materials, 7 per cent in automotive, and 6 per cent in electronics.

Our VAT ratio is higher than many plasticexporting countries. Customs duty is also high.

We have to provide raw material for plastics without much difference between most of plastic products in comparison with many countries.

Intensive solution are worked out towards these issues through the efforts of PLASFED and TOBB Plastics Sector Council in national scale, as well as the efforts of BTSO Committee 21 and Association of Bursa Plastics and Packaging Industrialists (BURPAS) in Bursa. We believe that these efforts will yield expected results.

Aegean Region Secures its Place in Plastics Sector Our region has an important place in plastics sector, one of the most rapidly developing sectors of Turkey. Presence of Petkim, the top domestic manufacturer, enhances this status of the region. Of sector’s 6.000 companies, 1.300 operate in Aegean ReErol PAKSU Chairman/EGEPLASDER gion, and 954 are locatAegean Plastic Industrialists Solidarity Association ed in İzmir. Total export of companies operating in Aegean Region in 2011 was 500.000 tonnes.

Approximately 25% of our 4.5-billion-Dollar plastic raw material and finished product export is made from İzmir.

Aegean Region is one of the hubs for our plastics sector for reaching domestic target markets. We are in a period that we must rapidly implement with decision makers the improvements for all processes including investment and raw material primarily in order to retain the competition advantage we have achieved for some product groups.

Having observed this positive state of affairs, EGEPLASDER has started the “PLASTECH” Plastics and Packaging Technologies Fair” in İzmir

in cooperation with İZFAŞ. Contribution of the region to our economy is aimed through the projects intended for the sector such as “Plastech” fair to be organized for the second time in April 2013 and the first specialized organized industrial zone of our sector in Menemen.

We have to cooperate with social stakeholders I anticipate that the negative developments will continue for our sector in the new year. On the other hand, it was a year which saw a better public awareness of our problems compared to previous years. We might need to show more effort for this purYusuf ÖZKAN C h a i r m a n / A s s o c i a - pose in coming years. tion of Kayseri Plastics Business Owners (KAYPİDER)

Of course, we will have to make great effort to break negative conceptions regarding our sector. I think it would be useful to share our experiences as KAYPİDER: As you know, we made a great effort to establish close relationship with our social stakeholders in Kayseri along with plastic bottle cap collecting campaign, contributed to educational activities, and implemented social responsibility projects. Spread of such efforts nationwide requires not only cooperation with direct social stakeholders of plastics industry but also with manufacturing industry and stakeholders. We have to generate new ideas in this respect and start executing our plans already.

It is said that every journey starts with the first step. PLASFED, which we established as the umbrella organization of our sector, has completed its first year. This first year was completed with a working period with intensive efforts to enhance our sector. As the plastics sector, we stand more firm and get our feet on the ground more safely with our colleagues. We see clearly once more that collaboration brings union of our forces. I hope everyone has seen this as clearly.

PLASFED responded restriction tendencies towards the sector with reports and demands PLASFED has focused its attempts on responding legislative regulations against use and manufacturing activities of plastics. Attempts have been started before the Ministries of Agriculture, Finance, and Customs and Commerce. Efforts against restrictive legislative regulations towards plastics sector have been intensified. Regulations for continuing restrictions on the sector including packaging and restrictions on the use of plastic products as well

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as existing restrictions and increase of raw material customs duty loads continued.

PLASFED has started a series of initiatives to reverse this process with leading actors of the sector. Beside applications to the ministries related to the regulations, the justifications for regulation requests have been presented in the reports prepared.

Fast and timely contribution to education from PAGDER: A department of plastics will open in Kırklareli Vize Vocational School It is resolved that a department of plastics be opened within Vize Vocational School of Kırklareli University.

An important step has been taken in favour of the cooperation between industry and university in Vize, which is in the course of becoming a “city of plastics” by attracting industrial investments with PAGDER & ASLAN Organized Industrial Zone.

Having been gathered in the President’s office of Kırklareli University, the parties have decided on opening a Department of Plastics in Vize Vocational School which is planned to be open for education in the academic year 2013-2014.

European Association of Plastic Manufacturers has taken action to protect food with plastics European countries have put into practice new actions to resolve the nutrition problem that keeps drifting to a critical result. Following the target of European Parliament to reduce wasted food by half until 2025 and declaration of 2014 as “Year of Action against Waste of Food in Europe”, European Plastics Coverters - EuPC started the campaign “Protect Your Food”. Yavuz Eroğlu, the Vice-President of PAGDER and the Member of EUPC Board of Execution, was appointed the director of the campaign on behalf of EUPC. Informing us about the project, Yavuz Eroğlu said “Unfortunately, the picture in our country is not any different from Europe in terms of waste of food. In a country like Turkey, where 12 million people live belong the poverty line according to the latest estimates, the packaging sector may help 1,5 million tons of fresh fruit and vegetable get to dining tables instead of garbage.

PLASFEDDERGİ

BREAKING NEWS

PLASFEDMAGAZINE analyzes the incentives of plastics sector: Investment on plastics focuses on the first region The data that has come out of the first application term of new sectorial, regional, strategic investment incentive system, it is seen that investments concentrate on the regions with sufficient access to raw materials and domestic/foreign markets. Collecting for PLASFEDMAGAZINE the data of investment incentive documents accepted by the Ministry of Economy, Barbaros Demirci, the Secretary General of PLASFED-PAGDER, states that, of the investments made within the scope of the new incentive system, 51,9 per cent in terms of amount and 36,4 per cent in terms of value was taken for the Region 1.

PLASFED members met Sadettin Korkut, the new General Manager of PLASFED Sadettin Korkut is appointed to General Manager position of Petkim, one of the few industrial enterprises of its kind globally.

Having met PLASFED members, Sadettin Korkut has stated that they know the sector well and that they would pursue a customer-oriented approach in the next term. Petkim is one of the top raw material manufacturers of plastics sector.

Sadettin Korkut is appointed to General Manager position of Petkim, which is the largest company of petro-chemistry sector and renowned in global scale with an investment package of 5 billion dollars. Soon after his appointment, Korkut met PLASFED members and signalled the new strategies to be followed by Petkim in the upcoming term.

Move of PAGDER Organized Industrial Zone: Stage 3 is on sale in PAGDER ASLAN OSB, 3.2 million square meters are booked in Osmaneli OSB. PAGDER accelerates its organized industrial zone (OIZ) investments. First foundations are planned to be laid in 2012 for PAGDER-ASLAN Private OIZ, where stage 3 plots are on sale. An agreement is reached for assignment of Bilecik Osmaneli Organized Industrial Zone expansion area as Specialized Plastics Organized Industrial Zone. In the OIZ which will operate as the

first “Private Specialized Plastics Organized Industrial Zone”, it is aimed that plot owners will be able to lay foundations by 2013. The first plants are stated to start operation in 2016.

PAGDER materializes its second largest OIZ enterprise with the Entrepreneurs Committee and Board of Directors of Bilecik Osmaneli Organized Industrial Zone. The book-building work started with authorization of PAGDER by OIZ managing bodies has been a great success.

PAGDER has stated that 3 million 252 thousand square meters have been booked.

Excitement of Commencing production in Menemen OIZ: Wheels will start turning in the end of 2013 Wo r k s keep going at full speed in Menemen Specialized Plastics Organized Industrial Zone. With excavation and infrastructure works speeded up, the production is planned to take commence by the end of 2013. Salih Esen, the Chairman of the OIZ Board of Directors, has stated that some enterprises prepare for foundation works and that these enterprises are planning to start manufacturing until the end of this year.

Reminding that the zone is established on a 850 thousand-square-meter area, Salih Esen stated that 37 of 45 plots have been assigned and it would turn into an industrial zone where about 40 companies would operate. Esen said “3 or 4 companies are preparing for laying foundation as far as we know. We will see the buildings rise near summer. We also think that there would be companies starting production within this year”.

PLASFED: It is time to open TOBB Plastics Sector Council PLASFED and its Founding Associations have concentrated their attempts to establish a separate council for plastics sector which is affiliated with TOBB Council of Chemistry Sector, with an official letter to TOBB.

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It is stated that a new sector council should be formed as a separate council in affiliation with TOBB for the purpose of improving plastics industry, which is one of the largest industrial sectors in Turkey. Selçuk Aksoy, the Chairman of PLASFED stated that they have applied to TOBB as PLASFED and its founding associations and they follow the process closely.

Plastics Sector to appear in Global fairs with PAGDER Turkish plastics sector still operates in Global sectorial fairs in 2013.

Fairs in China and Brazil will be organized in May, and world’s largest plastics fair K Germany in October. PAGDER Association of Plastics Industrialists carries on its promotional activities towards target markets.

Making organizations to fairs at a level of national participation, PAGDER keeps contributing to the sector.

CHINAPLAS 2013, which is the second largest fair in Global scale, will be held in Guangzhou between May 20 and 23, 2013. The Turkish pavilion in FEIPLASTIC 2013 INTERNATIONAL PLASTICS FAIR, which will be held on May 20 to 24 in Sao Paolo after its previous name, BrasilPlast is changed. K 2013 INTERNATIONAL PLASTICS AND RUBBER FAIR that is held in Germany and is the largest plastics fair in the world.

İzmir PLASTECH industrialists to meet for the second time İZMİR - PLASTECH PLASTICS, PACKAGING AND TECHN O L O G Y FAIR, pressing forward to become one of the meeting points of the sectors of plastics and plastic processing machinery, which is co-organized by EGEPLASDER will open its gates for the second time from April 11 to 14. Organized as a cooperative effort of Aegean Plastic Industrialists Solidarity Association (EGEPLASDER), which is one of the co-founders of PLASFED, and İZFAŞ, İzmir Chamber of Commerce, Aegean Chamber of Industry, Aegean Exporter Unions targets to make a business medium where the last developments in fair sector are shared.

Erol Paksu, the President of EGEPLASDER, has stated that they are happy to organize a sectorial fair for the second time in İzmir, one of Turkey’s centers for fairs and tourism.

BREAKING NEWS

PAGDER: Plastics Industrialists must participate in business organizations more Stating that plastics industrialists must participate in business organizations more actively, Hüseyin Semerci, the Chairman of PAGDER, called the plastics industrialists to cooperate more with sectorial associations. PAGDER has resolved to support its candidates in a corporate manner in the relevant councils of İstanbul Chamber of Commerce and İstanbul Chamber of Industry. Within this framework, Candidacy of Yavuz Eroğlu, who is charged with several duties including Executive Board Membership of EuPC, European Plastics Coverters apart from Deputy Chairman of Pagder, as well as Mehmet Aslan, who works with many non-governmental organization memberships and Selçuk Gülsün, Accounting Member of Pagder Board of Directors and İstanbul Chamber of Public Accountants will be supported.

Chemistry sector set a record with 2.8 billion Dollar export to Africa Turkish chemistry sector has finished 2012 in the second place in sectorial terms with 17,6 billionDollar export.

The sector has been the top exporter to Africa, which is the target region of Turkey. İstanbul Association of Chemical Material and Product Exporters has recorded that the export share of EU countries kept shrinking in 2012. On the contrary, the share of Middle Eastern and African countries that are in the range of Turkey continued to grow.

According to the assessment of İKMİB, the chemistry sector stands out as the biggest exporter to Africa with a 27 per cent increase in export, and it is stated that “Exporters who matched their chemistry with Africa achieved 2 billion and 889 million-dollar export in 2012”.

Automotive plastics report from PLASFED: Use of plastics in automotive will increase by 20 per cent until 2017 PLASFED assessed the developments regarding automotive plastics with a detailed report. In “Turkish Automotive Plastics Sector Report”, it is established that use of plastic materials in automotive sector will increase by 20 per cent in the next 5 years but the share of automotive plastics with high added value in total production of plastics will reduce. In the report which states that the growth of Turkish automotive sector will continue despite global crisis, it is noted that the increase in sector’s use of plastics

PLASFEDDERGİ

will continue both in terms of the ratio of plastic materials used per automobile and in terms of amount. However, it is also stated that the share of the production of plastics to be used in automotive within total production of plastics will decrease.

is the ability to read the present and future of sectors that use plastics such as automotive in particular. Ronabar states the distinction clearly: The companies that can foresee the future will prevail, and those which are content with their current status will vanish.

According to the PLASFED report, while 212 thousand tons of plastic was consumed in transportation vehicle sector in 2005, this amount increased to 272 thousand tons in 2012, and the share of automotive plastics in total production of plastics was 4 to 5 per cent.

INTERVIEW Cahit Nakıboğlu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Naksan Holding: “We do not give up even what we get is but dust”

OAİB President of the Association of Machine Exporters and Machinery Promotion Group, Adnan Dalgakıran: Plastic and rubber processing machinery sector has competition problems Adnan Dalgakıran, the President of Machinery Exporters’ Association of Central Anatolian Exporter Unions, stated that plastics and rubber processing machinery sector has grown but still has competition problems.

Stating that even though lots of companies are registered exporters, there are few companies with significant amount of export, Dalgakıran noted the necessity of increasing the number of companies that improve themselves.

Adnan Dalgakıran said that the sector kept growing in 2012 but even though there are many companies in plastics and rubber processing machinery sector, most of such companies have low production capacities and noted that “The sector has difficulty competing with the companies abroad due to high input costs”.

INTERVIEW S. Reşit Ronabar, the first engineering plastics investor of Turkey: “Manufacturers without a vision are destined to be wiped out” While Turkey shows considerable effort to attract foreign capital investments, it also looks for ways to increase domestic added value in manufacturing processes for such investments.

Engineering plastics in automotive is one of its tools. The share of plastics in automotive products is increasing every day. Engineering plastics are used directly or indirectly in majority of products high added value such as construction, electronics, and white appliances. S. Reşit Ronabar is one of the first investors of engineering plastics in Turkey and the chairman of the board of directors of Eurotec and Interplast, which are two companies with the highest share in domestic market today. According to Ronabar, what should be kept in mind in engineering plastics

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Making up one of the brightest achievements of the region with invesments made in the most difficult times of Turkey, NAKSAN, owned by Nakıboğlu family, keeps its growth with new sectors.

Forming the foundation of NAKSAN Holding, which includes many successful companies from technology to construction, logistics to education, NAKSAN Plastik continues to draw attention as one of the leading companies of the sector. Cahit Nakıboğlu, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NAKSAN Holding notes that they are in business for three generations, and describes their insistence on keeping up with their work even for very small profit margins with the tradesman motto “even its dust is ok”. Cahit Nakıboğlu, who, apart from being a company that has played a crucial role in development of Gaziantep, contributes to industrialists by assuming the Presidency of the Organized Industrial Zone keeps his support to an intensive social contribution program primarily with education.

INTERVIEW Hasan Manav, one of the witnesses of the history of Turkish Plastics Sector: We must be spiteful to our job and say, “why should not we?”

Turkish plastics sector has also enabled the development of the industry of plastics machinery. At the time when the first seeds of the sector were spread, success stories were written by skilled experts and entrepreneurs in this field. Hasan Manav, who is one of the people that played a role at establishment and development stages of the sector is one of the leaders of manufacturers, who write one of such success stories. Even though Hasan Manav assigned his work to his son today, he is still a well-remembered name. He is hopeful of the prospects of Turkey. He advises the youth to enjoy their job to the extent of “praying with their boots on”. Hopeful of Turkey’s futures, Hasan Manav looks to the future with following words: “Turkey will be like European countries. It must be; there is no option”.