BY KERIM ULKER
Karamanci Holding subsidiary Superlit, which manufactures glass-fiber reinforced polyester (GRP) pipes will shut down its production plant located in Buzau Romania where it penetrated 13 years ago, due to increasing transportation costs, decreasing domestic sales and the Austria-based customer’s bankruptcy.
The production plant, which was set up with a EUR 10m investment in 2008, has increased its employment from 90 to 275 to date. Superlit, which manufactures 3-3.5-meter pipes for fields such as sewages and distribution lines, exports its outputs to five continents. The company ranked 460th in the Istanbul Chamber of Industry’s (ICI) Top 500 Enterprises in 2017 with a sales volume of TRY 341m.
Founded in 1961, Karamanci Holding operates in many sectors including energy and textile, while it totally employs around 3,000 people. As part of its textile activities, the holding manufactures denim fabrics and jeans in Turkey and Bahrein with its Orta Anadolu brand. Karel Enerji, which operates hydroelectric power plants, and pipe manufacturer Superlit are considered the holding’s most important subsidiaries.
The number of Turkish-capital companies has totaled 15,832 in Romania as of December 31, 2019. Their registered capital amounts to USD 812m, while they take 7% share in the country’s total foreign capital firms after Italy and Germany, respectively. Nine Turkey-based companies, meanwhile, rank among the country’s top 1,000 firms.
