Yilpar A.Ş. goes for growth with major investment in BOBST gravure technology

Two BOBST gravure printing presses are the preferred choice of Turkish converting company Yilpar A.Ş. to expand their flexible packaging operations.  The commissioning of a 9-color RS 6003 was completed earlier in 2023, while the installation of a 9-color RS 5003 was completed during the summer in the company’s production facility at Kemalpaşa, in Izmir province.  

Istanbul-headquartered Yilpar A.Ş. has an illustrious history and pedigree since it was established in 1959 by the Yilancioglu family. Paper production started in 1975 and the business grew steadily over the following decades so that the company was well positioned to make its move into flexible packaging manufacturing in 2007 – and has not looked back since.  The 2022 investment from Taxim Capital Fund provided a further impulse to the company profitable growth: capacity was increased four times leading to a current production of 15,000 tons per year.  

With a longstanding experience in the printing and converting industry backed by a policy of ongoing investment in infrastructures, Yilpar has secured a strong market position among Turkish converters, and it is a major supplier to some of the blue-chip brands, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Pladis and Jacobs, as well as to major private labels. Food & beverages, pet food and cosmetics are the main markets served. Label production is another core activity of the company serving a variety of markets with its very wide range of printed and unprinted labels and tags applications.  

The recent installation of the two BOBST gravure presses is a cornerstone of Yilpar strategic plan.  

Using high technology to its advantage  
The impressive line-up of equipment housed in Yilpar’s plant, which includes extensive gravure and flexo printing capabilities, along with various types of laminating and hotmelt lacquering lines, slitting machines and bag making equipment, reflects the company’s commitment to one of its pivotal principles of corporate policy, namely maintaining its production facility at the leading-edge of equipment technology.  

“Our policy has been centered on the principles of acquiring the most advanced technology and applying the most stringent quality controls and hiring the best people in their job,” explained Mr. Berk Yilancioglu, COO of Yilpar. “Nowadays the main challenges we are confronted with are the economic uncertainties in the domestic market and the shortage of qualified personnel, while in terms of flexible packaging market requirements there has been an increase in the number of short run production, while the overall demand has not increased at the same rate.” 

“These factors have had an influence on the choice of BOBST as our gravure press supplier. It is not just a matter of getting the equipment to extend production capacity and provide the kind of print quality required by the highly demanding and competitive food market segment, it must also feature the efficiencies required with regard to overall machine operation irrespective of job lengths, which for gravure can be critical with short run production” added Berk Yilancioglu. 

Yilpar’s RS 6003 press entered production during summer 2023 and the company is satisfied with its performance “Press speed and low waste are the main advantages, along with the ease of operation. This is our first BOBST gravure press, but the operators adapted to the machine comfortably. Ease of use and automation make set-ups and changeovers fast and minimize downtime, hence short runs do not impact are no longer considered the “bête noire” of productivity” he concluded. 

Gearing up for the sustainable future of flexible packaging 
The other item at the very heart of the company is sustainability.   

“We are working to reach Europeans standard by reducing carbon emissions thanks to our solvent recovery facility, solar energy installation. And add production of MDOPE and recyclable films by 2025,” stated Mr. Altug Yilancioglu, CEO of Yilpar.   

Yilpar’s commitment to making its production facilities ready to fulfil the new demands for sustainable, recycle ready packaging applications has also played in favor of their choice of BOBST gravure technology.  

“We need to ensure that our equipment can handle the new functional materials that are entering the market to replace non-recyclable multi-materials laminates. These substrates, be they paper/fibre-based material, or thinner thermosensitive filmic substrates, that are coated with functional layers that need to preserve their barrier properties through the various printing and converting stages of production, present many criticalities. BOBST is very advanced in this field where he can offer solutions that have been tested at every stage of the end-to-end production cycle. This makes us confident that our gravure presses will be able to handle efficiently and qualitatively the MDOPE and recyclable films that we are planning to print in the future.” Altug Yilancioglu. 

What else is Yilpar planning for its future? 

“We anticipate that with our recent investments, modern facilities, and foreign investor vision we will boost our company profitability. We expect to increase our current 55% export rate and become a more significant player in Europe, and we envision our company among the top three flexible packaging companies in Turkey within the next five years” concluded Altug Yilancioglu. 

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