One of the world's leading producers of polyester fibres, filaments, polyester-based polymers, intermediates and specialty products, Turkish company SASA Polyester Industry Inc. has announced that it will invest $ 8.5 billion in two new projects and change the balance in the global polyester business.

Mehmet Seker, General Manager of SASA Polyester Inc. said: “We have decided to invest to two projects. The first of these will be a polyester investment. The other will be in the field of petrochemicals.” 

“With new polyester investment, in the production of polyester chips, fibres and filaments, we will increase our production capacity from 340,000 tons/ year to 3.1 million tons/ year, making us one of the largest producers in the world.”

Once the investment has been completed, Turkey will move from a net importer to a net exporter position, in terms of polyester.

“With the investment in the petrochemical field, we will cut down on imports. First of all, we will produce PTA (Pure Teraphthalic Acid) and MEG (Ethylene Glycol) which are our raw materials to meet our own needs and sell the rest,” Seker said.

Seker also said that the company is in talks with the Ministry of Economy regarding SASA producing its own raw materials and continued: “We will firstly produce raw material of polyester with this investment. After one step we aim to establish a petrochemical plant to produce that raw material. China and South Korea grew this way. Turkey also had to grow up like that. We have imported these products until now, after this investment we will produce ourselves now.”

“The projects will reduce the current account deficit to about $ 3.8 billion. With these investments, seven thousand additional jobs will be provided. When the investments are over, total production of SASA will increase to about 10 million tons.”

In 2000, SASA strengthened its leading position in the sector by establishing a joint venture with DuPont. Following the acquisition of DuPont’s shares by Sabancı Holding in 2004, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hacı Omer Sabancı Holding A.Åž. and was renamed ADVANSA. In 2005, the name of the group in Turkey was changed to ADVANSA SASA Polyester Sanayi A.Åž.

Then in May 2011, H.O. Sabancı Holding A.Åž. acquired SASA‘s majority shares from ADVANSA B.V and the business was renamed SASA Polyester Sanayi A.S. 

In May 2015, Erdemoğlu Holding acquired all of the SASA shares of Sabancı Holding, and Erdemoğlu became the main shareholder of SASA with 84.8% of its shares. 15.2% of shares are sold publicly.

www.sasa.com.tr