Eczacibasi start up in Russia

The new Russian factory owned by the Turkish group Eczacıbaşı Building Products Division, one of the world leaders in the tile and bathroom furnishing sector, was opened at a ceremony held on 7 October and is now fully operational. The Group already has a manufacturing presence in Germany with the brands VitrA, Villeroy & Boch and Engers Keramik. At the opening ceremony, the group’s chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı welcomed key representatives of the local institutions as well as the Turkish ambassador to Russia.

Located in the city of Serpukhov, 100 km south of Moscow, the new production facility is part of the group’s international expansion strategies. It involved an investment of 27 million euro and extends over a total works area of 25,000 square metres. The factory will employ around 200 people and will be capable of producing 3.2 million sq.m/year of ceramic tiles, swimming pool tiles and accessories, and porcelain tiles for the residential and contract sectors. The Serpukhov facility will produce around 4,000 different items under the VitrA, Villeroy & Boch and other brand names owned by the group.

With this start-up, Eczacıbaşı is aiming to establish itself in Russia and secure a share of the country’s 100 billion euro building market. To achieve this goal, the group intends not only to invest in production but also to strengthen its distribution network. For this purpose, the Group recently opened new Russian showrooms in Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Kazan and Serpukhov.