Center of Excellence to Be Focal Point of Major Projects

Turkey's Plastics Sector Gets Excellence Centre Turkey, Europe's second-largest and the world's sixth-largest plastic producer, is set for leadership advancement with the laying of the foundation stone for PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre by PAGEV. The facility, with a production capacity of 10 million tonnes, will increase the sector's value-added production and reduce imports. The foundation-laying ceremony, hosted by PAGEV Chairman Yavuz Eroğlu and attended by National Education Minister Prof. Dr. Ziya Selçuk and sector representatives, brought together plastics sector leaders. The major project carries an investment cost of TRY 70 million. Spearheaded by the Turkish Plastics Manufacturers Research, Development and Education Foundation (PAGEV) under the patronage of the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre foundation-laying ceremony was attended by National Education Minister Prof. Dr. Ziya Selçuk, PAGEV Board Chairman Yavuz Eroğlu and numerous plastics sector representatives. The centre, totalling 30,000 square metres of enclosed space, is located on the grounds of the Küçükçekmece PAGEV Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. The PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre carries an investment cost of TRY 70 million; the centre's construction is planned in three phases. The first phase will be completed within 2021 and will begin serving companies operating in the plastics industry. The PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre will add strength to the plastics sector specifically and Turkey's economy generally. The centre, planned to serve not only the plastics sector but also product, raw material and machinery equipment sectors, will provide research, certification, testing and laboratory services and will collaborate with industrial establishments, universities, research institutions, professional associations and civil society organisations for the production of products with the most advanced technology. It will also provide vocational and technical training and consulting services. The centre, which will also serve the machinery sector, will increase both the volume and quality of plastic machinery, mould and equipment production necessary for technological developments.

Product Quality to Increase

The PAGEV Excellence Centre will establish a quality control mechanism for exported products, thereby contributing to the protection of the credibility and reputation of plastic products manufactured in Turkey in international markets. An important advantage of the centre will be the prevention of substandard and non-compliant products from entering the country by determining the technical compliance of imported plastic products in laboratories before they are formally imported.

Education and Science Centre as Well

The Plastics Excellence Centre, which will be neighbouring the PAGEV Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, will offer teachers and students at this school the opportunity to become acquainted with advanced technology. While seizing the opportunity to conduct some practical lessons at the PAGEV Excellence Centre, the centre's education and conference halls will be at their service. The centre will create the necessary synergy in establishing close ties between industrialists and academics, with internship opportunities awaiting high school students. Students will also have the opportunity to receive mentorship from academics at various universities, notably Istanbul University with which the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre has signed a protocol.

Value-Added Production to Be Provided

Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony, PAGEV Board Chairman Yavuz Eroğlu said, "With its current size and potential, Turkey's plastics sector is very close to leadership. Our sector, which creates serious value for the national economy with turnover of USD 37 billion, is Europe's second-largest and the world's sixth-largest producer with 10 million tonnes of production capacity. We can better illustrate our sector's current position with the following example: Turkey's 2023 target is to be among the world's top 10 largest economies. Our plastics sector is already the world's 6th largest producer. Around 11,000 manufacturing companies in our sector employ 250,000 people. These companies export to more than 150 countries. While the picture appears this positive, why is Turkey's plastics sector not in a leading position? The greatest obstacle to our leadership is low value-added production. We import high value-added plastic products but export low value-added products. The export price, which averages USD 2.8 per kilogramme, needs to be raised to at least USD 4.5. The greatest benefit the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre, which we are laying the foundation for today, will bring to our sector will be high value-added production. Our centre will ease research and development work for all our companies and will create an important leap in the sector," he said.

R&D and Innovation Support for SMEs

Stressing that no company operating in the plastics sector will be left without R&D and innovation thanks to the Plastics Excellence Centre, Yavuz Eroğlu said, "95 percent of our companies operating in the plastics sector are SMEs. These companies produce many and quality products but unfortunately, because these products have low value-added, they sell them cheap and make no profit. These companies unfortunately have no capacity to conduct testing or R&D, nor do they have the financial resources to receive consulting and training. With our PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre, we will provide our SMEs with R&D, innovation, consulting and training needs and thus make important contributions to them in terms of value-added production. We will meet the value-added production needs of our industrialists from all around Turkey under economic conditions in a single centre without taking much of their time," he said. Emphasizing that both the sector and the country's economy will be strengthened through the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre, Eroğlu said, "Our government provides R&D incentives to many universities or companies. Unfortunately, many testing equipment used only a few days a year in different locations stands idle. Thanks to the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre, while the sector's needs are met, the state will be able to use its resources for more beneficial purposes. For example, money spent on testing machines that operate only a few days a year could be given as credit to SMEs," he concluded. National Education Minister Prof. Dr. Ziya Selçuk, noting that they wish the PAGEV Excellence Centre to serve as an example to other sectors, said: "When we look at the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre, we see a complete ecosystem from its industry to its education. Buildings and infrastructure are all necessary things, but what makes an institution an institution are people. Especially if it is an educational institution. This is why we support this kind of infrastructure-superstructure work, but we support the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre project until the end, most importantly because of the university, vocational school, industrialist, student and teacher ecosystem and the synergy it will create. Thanks to such projects, our foreign trade deficit will decrease and our value-added production will increase. We also believe these projects are labours of the heart. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed," he said. Following the speeches, the foundation-laying ceremony for the PAGEV Plastics Excellence Centre was held.