continued. . . 

The warehouse is a necessity particularly as f&d looks to curry favor among independent retailers. Previously, Pasabahce was known for its container loads direct to its huge retail partners. “We recognize that not every retailer has the purchasing power to buy on a container basis,” Orzeck suggests. “As we open up the f&d line to a new channel of retailers we want them to feel comfortable working with us, and having the product on these shores helps.”

Although the Turkish operation does just 5% of its volume here, America is deemed a market with immense growth potential. “The U.S. market is diverse with upper-end consumers with discretionary income who value home entertaining and nesting,” affirms Orzeck. “As the largest manufacturer of glassware without a factory in the U.S., we have the advantage of shipping into the market high-quality and innovative glassware at price savings for value-minded consumers.”
Management back in Turkey understand the potential. “The U.S. and western Europe represent great sources of future business for us,” Orzeck deems. “We’re on target to grow another 15% this year in the U.S. In fact, sales are faster than production capacities.” Which explains why a new factory in Bulgaria was opened last year, making for five automatic operations and one handmade plant, all throughout Eastern Europe and western Asia. “Our strategy has always been to grow in regions with the strongest market potential and the lowest production costs,” Orzeck notes.
Sisecam’s strategies have been on target since its 1935 inception when the government needed a company to supply glass to its people. The Pasabahce region (just east of Istanbul across the world’s narrowest strait which separates ‘European’ Turkey from ‘Asian’ Turkey) has long been rich in the natural resources used to make glass, and the region has been known for its glass production since the 17th century. After the Ottoman Empire ended in 1922, its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, led sweeping reforms that created a modern democracy. One such reform was having the nation’s bank, Isbank, finance a national glass operation, Sisecam, that would produce the country’s household, industrial, and scientific glass. The four divisions – flat glass, packaging glass, chemical glass, and household glass – have grown at a steady pace and generate a fairly equal market share. The company makes its mammoth headquarters (15,000 worldwide employees) in Istanbul in three large towers that dominate the skyline. Domination is a company mantra, and despite a relative hiccup beginning in 2001 when raging inflation resulted in a couple of lackluster years, Sisecam has performed very well for its shareholders. (Isbank remains the largest shareholder with 65% of stock.)