$310 million in international financing to aid Brisa tyre plant project

Turkish joint venture tyre maker Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. – or Brisa, as it is more commonly known – intends to primarily utilise a US$150 million long-term loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and $160 million from a syndicated loan transaction arranged and coordinated by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) for the greenfield factory it is now building in Anatolia. A portion of the financing will also be directed towards the expansion of Brisa’s truck and bus tyre plant in Izmit.

A new passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre plant is currently being set up at the Aksaray Province Organised Industrial Zone, where Brisa acquired a 96 hectare site in 2013. The facility in Aksaray will reportedly become a strategic hub for Brisa, serving the growing market for tyres in Turkey and neighbouring countries.

According to Jean-Patrick Marquet, EBRD director for Turkey, the organisation’s loan not only helps Brisa expand its business and capture market growth, it also enables “a leading global player and a local business giant to create jobs and opportunities in one of the developing regions of the country.” The EBRD views Anatolia as a priority region within Turkey and anticipates the tyre plant “will have a pivotal role for the city of Aksaray and the entire region.” Marquet adds: “We are confident it will boost the wider local economy.”

For his part, Brisa chief executive officer Yiğit Gürçay describes the EBRD’s “decision to trust in Turkey and Brisa despite the current conditions” as “truly encouraging and promising.” He refers to the terms of the $150 million loan as “convenient.”

In its 2015 Annual Report, Brisa stated an expectation that production at the new plant would get under way in 2018, with the project creating 550 new jobs. Planned capacity for the factory in Aksaray is 4.2 million tyres a year, an amount that will lift the company’s total annual production capacity by 30 per cent.