Siegwerk Brand Launched in Turkey

After buying out its joint venture partner Samo, Siegwerk is now the 100 percent owner of one of Turkey’s leading producer of packaging inks. The company’s name is changed from Sicpa-Samo to Siegwerk Turkey.
    
“We’re really happy that Siegwerk Turkey is now a full member of the Siegwerk Group because Turkey is one of the biggest growth markets in Europe,” said Siegwerk board member Hugo Noordhoek Hegt, head of PPL (Plastic, Paper & Label) Packaging. “We believe this entity will also help us to further expand our export activities into the Middle East.” In addition to supplying big domestic customers including Korozo, Ispak and Naksan, the unit is also a major exporter to such dynamic growth markets as Ukraine, Israel, Egypt and Syria.
    
Many packaging converters had shifted or started operations in Turkey, both to produce for that country’s booming market, and to produce at lower cost for Western and Central European markets.

“Acquiring the remaining shares in the company was a logical step for Siegwerk,” Mr. Noordhoek Hegt said. With 100 percent ownership of the company, Siegwerk can now invest in transferring resources and know-how to the site which will serve as one of the company’s centers of excellence, producing the base inks and whites that serve as the building blocks for Siegwerk’s numerous customized products. The site, which is located in Istanbul and has 43 employees, will also have a sales team and a distribution center.
    
“We want to launch Siegwerk’s brand and technology not just in Turkey but also in nearby markets – after all, we have 14 neighbors with a total population of more than 500 million people,” said Alper Almelek,the unit’s managing director.
    
Siegwerk Turkey has its roots in the year 1963, when it was established as Samo, producing mainly solvent-based inks for the flexible packaging sector of Turkey and neighboring markets. Later, Sicpa Packaging and Samo formed a joint venture; when Siegwerk merged with Sicpa’s packaging division last year, the company took over Sicpa’s role as Samo’s partner in the joint venture. On July 5 of this year, Siegwerk acquired the remaining shares of Samo to become the company’s 100 percent owner.