The Turkish industry displayed high levels of technical competency and competitiveness at the recent annual Eurasia Packaging Fair in Istanbul and many exhibitors expressed a commitment to finding new export opportunities. European correspondent Joanne Hunter reports.
Where East meets West, Turkey’s packaging industry wants to continue expanding into international markets to achieve sustainable growth, while helping domestic brands relate to the modern shopper with well designed packs that boast colourful and classic label graphics. Reported packaging industry exportimport data for the first six months of 2015 shows a surplus of around US$ 202 million and a 14% volume growth in packaging product exports compared with the same period in 2014. Pleasing results according to the Turkish Packaging Manufacturers Association, which assists Reed Tüyap Exhibitions to put on the annual four-day event – and general secretary Aslihan Arikan believes the yearly frequency is a benefit to the industry.
She says Eurasia Packaging Fair continues to grow in floor space, although visitor numbers fluctuate. They peak in the years between Europe’s major international events, as this 21st edition did, which topped 50,000 visitors with one in 10 coming from outside Turkey, and there was plenty to impress them.
Elif Plastik Ambalaj
Elif Plastik Ambalaj specializes in flexible films and special-effects printing and enjoyed multiple wins in the Turkish industry’s 2015 awards, including Gold for the ‘stimulating visual experience’ achieved by Elif Holo holographic print. The company claims to be first in Turkey to own holographic machinery to produce numerous effects for decorative finishes that are especially popular with Arabic customers in the feminine hygiene and baby care
markets.
Ceren Ofset
Ceren Ofset, a full-service corrugated display packaging supplier, reported that aisle-end displays, which started as a new line in 2015, in six months grew to represent 15% of total business profits. The trusted Ceren name, the prices and the customer service played
their part, says sales and marketing manager Feyzan Avci. The company recently began selling into Austria and Bulgaria and launched a new website that communicates with customers in English.
Inciler
Inciler Industrial, which exports vacuum packaging machinery under the Invac brand across Europe, Middle East and North Africa is now targeting the UK market. It is also looking for local distributor and food importer customers, says export sales executive
Namik Kemal Agur. Eurasia Packaging is as important as a shop window for the smaller Turkish business because economic factors make exhibiting away from home very costly. Agur sees export as a secure path for growth and exhibiting abroad is a necessary expense – the next event forthe company will be Rosupack 2016 in Russia.
Eco Plast
Strong customer relationships have fuelled its fast expansion, says Eco Plast, which produces films for industrial applications and in retail packaging specializes in foods and hygiene products. Formed just seven years ago, it recently added two blown-film lines,
two cutting machines and two presses supplied by Windmoeller and Hoelscher. It has made a massive investment in dried foods packaging, doybags and flow-wrapping says Özlem Akçi, export department executive at Eco Plast.
Sun Yang
The Korean developer of a 3-layer hygroscopic film designed to prolong food shelf-life, Sun Yang showed the technology ina prototype zippered bag.
The inner layer absorbs any humidity or moisture and has a deodorant function to get rid of the odour of oxidization that occurs in a bag of fresh fruit or vegetables. In an unscientific home-test to check the claim, broccoli florets inside an Onggibag stayed green and not at all smelly for a couple of weeks, several days longer than it usually does. There is a metallized version aimed at dried foods.
Sun Yang, exhibiting under the Korea Packaging Association umbrella, also promoted a polyethylene-based, multilayer lidding film to give a re-sealable pack suitable for prepared salad. The adhesive layer can be adjusted to the adhesive strength a customer wants it to be, says foreign sales general manager Chul-Ho Noh.
Setag Group
The superlative visual impact of labels made from wood was an attention grabber for their Turkish producer. The digitally printed labels for glass applications ‘are not ordinary’, says Setag Group general manager Gürbüz Ereno luand likely customers are manufacturers of high-value products such as organic oils and wines. With a substrate close to 80 to 90 micron these labels need strong adhesive and handling expertise, he adds.
Sarten
Sarten’s super market look a like stand was a treasure trove of good plastics design and metal packaging with highly colored surfaces gleaming under the bright store lighting. Among this year’s Turkish industry Crescent and Stars award-winners, Sarten won Gold for a fridge-to-table Feta cheese container combining translucent body and lid with a large labelling area. A Cronos industrial oil container took Bronze, which achieves high top-load resistance in a lighter weight PET bottle by equally distributing the axial load to the cap and handle.
“We produce with effort and love” is the motto of Ceren Ofset and the sentiment was expressed in different ways by exhibitor after exhibitor. Together they amplified the message that Turkish players in terms of competency, customer service and price stand up to the offers of competing global suppliers.
