Turkish Art-Craft Glass Company, which is owned by Grallar Holding, is planning to invest EUR 12 million in its Ktahya facility to increase annual glass production capacity by 30%. Art-Craft is attach…
Turkish Art-Craft Glass Company, which is owned by Grallar Holding, is planning to invest EUR 12 million in its Ktahya facility to increase annual glass production capacity by 30%. Art-Craft is attaching much importance to attaining high production efficiency and productivity, while the company“s main goal is to operate at international standards and increase its global market share, Esin Gral Argat, chairwoman of the company said during a recent press conference. Art-Craft Glass Company is aiming to become the world“s second largest glassware producer, and is currently developing its own technology, and producing its own machinery with investments in research and development. We have invested in research and development technologies, via research institutes and a Technopark located within the company“s compound to enable continuous improvement, Ms. Argat said. Grallar is dedicated to creating its own designs on glass machinery, she added. When we started this business 14 years ago, we had a burner capacity of 65 tons, said Argat, adding that the figure currently stands at 270 tons. In 1996, the company“s product portfolio consisted of glasses and tea sets but now includes 1,500 varieties of products, Argat said. Art-Craft reported USD 110 million in turnover in 2009, and, according to Ms. Argat, “We aim to increase our turnover by 15% this year. Each year, we allocate 5-7% of our turnover for research and development projects. “We also aim to increase our capacity. We will realize that plan with an investment of 12 million euros this year.” Art-Craft also foresees a 10% increase in the employment it provides this year. Another goal of ours is to balance our domestic and international sales, said Argat, adding that Art-Craft sells 40% of its products to the domestic market, while the rest is for export. Our overall export is USD 54 million, which goes to 76 countries, including New Zealand, Japan, Canada, France, Argentina and Belgium.