By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

KT&G Corporation hosted a ceremony celebrating the Türkiye factory expansion on Jan. 16. The expansion is part of KT&G's efforts to leap to a "Global Top-tier" and to strengthen its global operations.

KT&G celebrated the expansion of its Turkiye factory to fulfill its goal to leap to a 'Global Top-tier' and to expand its global operations.

Around 50 major participants, including KT&G's CEO Kyung-man Bang, Tire District Governor Vural Karagül, the Korean ambassador to Türkiye Yeon-doo Jeong, Tire Mayor Hayati Okuroğlu, and President of Department of Tobacco and Alcohol Uğur Yalçın attended the factory's ceremony held in Tire, Izmir.

KT&G invested more than $60 million to install two new high-tech manufacturing facilities. The factory was expanded by 1.5 times and now has a total area of 25,000 square meters. After the expansion, the Türkiye factory has a total of four cigarette making machines with a capacity to produce 12 billion sticks of cigarettes annually. After this investment, KT&G's total investment adds up to $110 million. The expansion created 60 new jobs, and a total exceeding 200 people will be employed by the Türkiye factory.

The Türkiye factory will become KT&G's outpost and core manufacturing facility to meet export demands to the Northern African and Latin American markets that are showing steady growth.

In 2008, KT&G established its first overseas factory, the Türkiye factory. KT&G has since continued to fortify its global operations; currently KT&G is building factories in Indonesia and Kazakhstan, and the Kazakhstan factory construction will be completed within the year. KT&G plans to use its global manufacturing basis to create a completely local value chain that oversees everything from manufacturing to operations and distribution, increasing its profitability.

The Türkiye factory expansion comes as part of the growth investment KT&G has announced during the "Future Vision Declaration Ceremony" in January of 2023. During the ceremony KT&G presented its mid to long-term vision of becoming a 'Global Top-tier' as well as its growth strategy of focusing on the three core businesses—NGP (Next Generation Products), overseas cigarettes, and health functional foods. KT&G plans to increase the proportion of its global revenue to 50% by 2027.

Kyung-man Bang, CEO of the KT&G, stated that "the factory expansion has made the Türkiye factory a global hub that will tow the growth of KT&G's global business and an outpost for a leap to a 'Global Top-tier', our group's vision for the future" and that "KT&G will continue to reinforce its competitive capabilities by investing in the three core businesses and through its readiness for the future".