In Turkey, Yakamoz Yag Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, a legal entity of Luxembourg-headed agro-industrial commodity major Sodrugestvo Group, has announced that it has closed on the acquisition of the production assets with Altinyag Kombinalari Anonim Sirketi, the owners of a "strategically positioned" multi-oilseeds crushing plant in Izmir, Turkey. The new entity will allow Sodrugestvo to considerably improve service to its customers in Turkey and Middle East North Africa (MENA) region.
In the next three years of operation, Sodrugestvo will focus on reconstruction of the plant, renovation of its equipment, improvements in key processes to reach high international standards and to increase the output as well as the quality of its products.
The main objective of Yakamoz is to produce more than 200 000 tonnes of high-quality meals and oils annually and to ensure a high quality of service to its customers, the most important of which will be the trading company of Sodrugestvo Group in the country – Sodrugestvo Turkey – and the other leading international players in the industry.
Turkey is a quickly growing soybean market and an important region for Sodrugestvo.Group. Yakamoz, controlling a strategically placed multi-seed crush plant and vegetable oil refinery, is well-positioned in the strategic area of Turkey, which is naturally suiting our supply chain. As we continue to look for new strategic growth opportunities – both geographically and in terms of our product and service offerings – it is fitting to our efforts to improve our service to customers in this one of the most dynamic markets in Mediterranean and MENA Region, said Aleksandr Lutsenko, CEO of Sodrugestvo.
Yakamoz with its headquarters in Izmir, Turkey, will operate and enlarge the plant consisting of the two crushing lines, the oil refinery and the industrial infrastructure in the Izmir area.
Three years ago we decided to develop our business in Turkey both in the distribution of soybeans and other commodities and in production, which we started with toll-crush contracts in a few provinces of Turkey. After we worked with Altinyag two seasons we became confident that we should make the next step and become the owners of the plant in order to secure our leading position in the industry. We see a good potential for Sodrugestvo Group to bring innovative technologies into the plant and to combine them with strong local expertise, said Aleksandr Lutsenko.
The value of the acquisition has not been disclosed.
