Sem Plastik Shined with THY’s Cup, Eyes Domestic Aircraft
Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Sem Plastik entered the industry with its first ‘disposable crystal cup’ produced for Turkish Airlines (THY). It grew rapidly and expanded to around 200 products. The company is now preparing to become the plastic supplier for Turkey’s first domestically produced airplane.

SME World
By Mustafa Sezer – mustafa.sezer@tg.com.tr

While SMEs are rapidly developing through their innovations, they are also expanding their goals. One of these SMEs, which started from scratch and became one of Turkey’s leading companies, successfully selling its products to global giants, is Sem Plastik.

Starting with the production of spare parts for agricultural machinery, Sem Plastik now produces plastic food packaging for some of the largest companies in Turkey and worldwide. Entering the sector by producing Turkey’s first crystal cup for Turkish Airlines, Sem Plastik now plans to apply the expertise it has gained over the years to the production of the country’s first domestically made airplane.

Sem Plastik General Manager Yavuz Eroğlu shared the story of the company’s founding by his father, Namık Kemal Eroğlu. Eroğlu said, “My father graduated from Yıldız Technical University. From 1968 to 1977, he worked at Taral Agricultural Machinery Co. While serving as the company’s Commercial Director, there arose a need to produce manometers for agricultural spraying machines. My father worked tirelessly to create this pressure-measuring instrument and, after long efforts, achieved his goal and took his first steps into industry. For a time, at the request of his then-boss Burhan Silahtaroğlu, he worked at Taral during the day and pursued his own business at night. Later, he established a partnership and laid the foundations of the company.”

Yavuz Eroğlu explained that at the time, Turkish Airlines used cups imported from a Dutch company. “We decided to produce these cups in Turkey. Back then, there was no technology in the country to manufacture such cups, and mold technology was not sufficiently advanced. Transparent, thin, and delicate plastic products were not being produced in the sector. We were the first to produce plastic crystal cups in Turkey. We now compete with Europe. The design of the crystal plastic cups you see everywhere today belongs to us. This is how we entered the industry,” he said.

Eroğlu noted that collaborations with THY took the company to a new level: “Later, we specialized in this sector, increased our product variety, and formed new partnerships. We now work with global airline giants like Emirates and Singapore Airlines. Additionally, we produce for major food companies such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Ülker, and Sütaş. We also create designs tailored for different countries.”

Praised for Three-Dimensional Characters
At Sem Plastik, every project is carried out with innovation in mind, from producing the first oven-proof plate to creating a three-dimensional version of Danino’s cute dinosaur.

High Expertise in Aviation
Yavuz Eroğlu (right) stated that Turkey aims to produce its own airplane by 2023, and Sem Plastik plans to be involved in the project’s plastics component. Eroğlu said they have a technical team specializing in aviation, and that they exchange ideas and collaborate on new projects whenever they meet.

Invested $4 Million in Palestine
Eroğlu noted that Sem Plastik was the first Turkish company to invest in Palestine: “SEM, which already has a significant market share in Israel, became a leader in the Palestinian market with a $4 million technology-focused investment. The factory, covering 1,200 square meters in the West Bank, is the first Turkish industrial investment in Palestine and the fourth worldwide. Equipped with the youngest machines in the sector, the factory operates at full capacity, producing 3 million units per day.”

“Tomato Juice Tasted Better in This Cup”
Eroğlu shared an example of how their products enhance user experience: “One of our European airline customers reported that tomato juice served in our cups during flights tasted better and was consumed more. Upon investigation, we found that fruit flavors emerge more easily at low pressure, making tomato juice taste better on airplanes and thus be consumed in greater quantities.”

Eroğlu added that the company produces a wide range of food packaging, including plastic cups, plates, cutlery, ice cream containers, ayran cups, and yogurt containers. He also stated that Sem Plastik achieved $150 million in revenue and $22 million in exports.