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TURKEY
tripled to 40,000 tonnes annually in the new unit, much of which is taken up by rubber mixing for automobile applications.
The plant has five rubber mixers in total, two from Harburg- Freudenberger Maschinenbau GmbH (HF), in Germany including a brand-new machine sourced specifically for the new plant. A further machine has been sourced from Italy, whilst two have been moved from the Istanbul unit.
The highly automated new factory has automatic weighing and endorsing, advanced ERP system integration, cord fabric calendar, gum calendar for cushion gum and sidewall extruder from Buzuluk Inc, Czech Republic. The Eskişehir plant
has a total of two lines, one moved from Istanbul and one all-new line. The unit is equipped with two 11 metre PCT (precure tread) presses and one OTR line offering a combined tread-line capacity of 7,500 tonnes yearly. “We now have the space for two more PCT lines for future expansion with the option to double the PCT capacity to 15,000 tonnes depending on demand,” confirmed Algan.
Explaining the positives of moving to Eskişehir, Algan added, “We have moved to an industrial zone and we can now take full advantage of having our presence here. Besides, Eskişehir is much smaller than Istanbul with absolutely no traffic jams. The climate is fine and we
have access to a trained workforce as Eskişehir is well known as a university town.”
Rekor to focus on exports
Rekor now says it is planning to focus on growth in the export market and is looking to increase exports to 50 per cent of total production from the current 25 per cent. “We are seriously looking at expanding our overseas footprint to achieve the 50 per cent target by 2023,” he said.
Rekor largely exports to various adjoining countries and some of its key markets include countries such as Bulgaria and Romania in Eastern
Europe, Bosnia and Kosovo in the Balkans, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus in Balkans, as well as nearby Greece.
The majority (95 per cent) of production at the new plant will be precured tread rubber, although some conventional hot rubber will continue to be manufactured. The domestic market has totally shifted to precure, but some of the company’s export markets, especially Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan and Syria, have clients importing the conventional tread.
Rekor exports tread rubber under its own brand name among its clientele in the Eastern part of Europe and
Selahattin ALGAN, General Manager, Rekor Kauçuk Sanayi ve Ticaret A.