Freudenberg opens new plant in Turkey

Weinheim, Germany – Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has opened a new €10-million plant in Bursa, Turkey, to supply to the automotive, agriculture and energy industries.

The plant, in Hoyab industrial estate, was inaugurated on 3 June and has an area of 14,000 square metres.

“This step will allow us to engage in even closer partnership with a large number of automakers with production plants in the area and other industrial companies. In addition, we will be establishing a firm position in a strategically promising market," said Freudenberg Group CEO Mohsen Sohi.

The plant is one of Freudenberg’s most advanced plants and almost doubles the company’s local capacity, explained, Claus Möhlenkamp, CEO of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies.

The new manufacturing site employs about 220 workers and produces a range of products including encoders, bearing seals, radial shaft seal rings and cassette seals that are used in engines and transmissions.

According to Freudenberg, the Turkish automotive industry is a key market for the group, with production growing by 16 percent and exports by 12 percent in 2015.

Nearly two-thirds of 800,000 vehicles produced in Turkey each year are manufactured in Bursa.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies also sees growth in target markets, such as the energy, mining, metal-processing, machinery and construction industries.

"Turkey is a geographically important interface between East and West and is therefore interesting for the development of our business with the Middle East," Möhlenkamp said.

In 2004, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies commissioned a smaller plant producing precision seals for the bearing industry in Bursa.  The old plant has now been integrated into the new facility.