After buying a €25m laminator two years ago, the company increased production capacity at the factory by 20% and now wants to expand its products produced in Turkey and manufacture packages that were previously imported.
Greater Middle East & Africa
Amar Zahid, who joined Tetra Pak 20 years ago, will now become cluster vice president of the Greater Middle East and Africa region effective July 1.
Zahid told FoodProductionDaily it will be offering 15 packaging variants and with the production capacity increase expects to reach 9.8bn packages by 2015.
“The Izmir plant in Turkey has a number of strengths, which made it a priority for investment,” he said.
“The well-placed geographic location and availability of skilled labour force, together with the proven success of the factory in terms of low waste ratios and high service levels, have made the plant a successful export hub for Tetra Pak.”
Zahid added its decision to expand its product range was based on customer demand and increasing calls for new designs.
It will include the Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge because it offers shelf appeal, ease of handling, pouring, opening and reclosing for consumers; the Tetra Gemina Aseptic 1000 Crystal, the Tetra Top 500 Midi and Tetra Top 1000 Carton Bottle - two of its most popular chilled package designs.
Shorter lead times
“The original 2012 investment enabled us to shorten the lead time it took to deliver products from a month to one week,” said Zahid.
“With the additional €36m investment to increase the factory’s capacity, we will further increase our production capacity to 9.8bn packages.”
Zahid began his career with Tetra Pak Group in 1994, progressing to positions in the Middle East and Gulf regions including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen.
In October 2010, he was appointed MD of Nihon Tetra Pak K.K., overseeing the company’s Japan operations. He also served as vice president of Northeast Asia and Oceania Cluster, responsible for all markets in the region.
He said the Greater Middle East region is important to its business with its close proximity to other markets and business is expected togrow by 5% in 2014.