Plywood Production and Factories in Turkey: Production Centers, Product Groups, Capacities, and Sectoral Analysis

koraykoru
Aug 14
23 min read

Introduction

Plywood is one of the most important engineered wood panels in Turkey's forest products industry. Produced by bonding thin wood veneers with their grain directions perpendicular to each other and combining them under hot press, plywood has a wide range of applications due to its high strength, dimensional stability, workability, and adaptability to different uses—from furniture to construction, automotive to caravans, packaging to maritime industries.

When examining the geographical distribution of plywood production in Turkey, it becomes evident that factories are not randomly distributed. Production facilities are generally located close to forest resources, poplar production regions, lumber and veneer industries, furniture clusters, transportation corridors, and major consumption centers.

Particularly, Sakarya, Tokat, Kastamonu, Bursa, Bilecik, Çorum, the IstanbulKocaeli corridor, and partially Antalya stand out as prominent centers in the plywood supply chain.

However, there is a significant data problem regarding Turkey's plywood industry: there is no comprehensive, uptodate, centralized public database that directly answers the question "how many m³ of plywood are produced in which factory?" Therefore, when conducting sector analysis, TURKSTAT production data, Ministry of Trade statistics, TOBB sector reports, KOSGEB and development agency reports, along with producers' own disclosed capacity information, should be evaluated collectively.

This distinction is particularly important. For example, while an academic study calculated Turkey's plywood production at approximately 650 thousand m³ for 2023, TURKSTAT's broader category of "plywood, laminated wood and similar wood materials" recorded 3.402 million m³ for 2024. These two figures are not directly comparable; the product classifications differ.

Therefore, to understand the true scale of plywood factories in Turkey, rather than looking at a single statistic, companybased capacity, product type, production facility, raw materials, and market should be examined together.

1. General Overview of Turkey's Plywood Industry

Turkey is a mediumscale producer in global plywood production when compared to China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, the USA, and some European countries.

An academic study for 2023 estimated Turkey's annual plywood production at approximately 650 thousand m³, ranking Turkey 13th in world plywood production. The same study stated that world plywood production was approximately 109 million m³.

According to FAO's 2024 global forest products statistics, global plywood and LVL production reached 113 million m³.

These figures indicate that Turkey has a significant yet not quite on par with the world's largest producers in terms of scale.

Nevertheless, Turkey has a significant advantage:

Turkey does not just produce plywood; it also has a very strong furniture, automotive, construction, caravan, packaging, and wood processing industry that uses plywood.

This keeps the domestic market vibrant.

2. Historical Development of Plywood Production in Turkey

The roots of plywood production in Turkey date back quite far.

According to Pelit Arslan's corporate history, the company is one of the organizations that established Turkey's first plywood factory and has been operating in the sector for over 70 years. Today, it continues production at its facility in Sefaköy, Istanbul.

Former stateowned forest products facilities also played a significant role in the development of Turkey's plywood industry.

For example, past capacity records of the Vezirköprü facility show an annual production capacity of 6,000 m³ of plywood. The facility was also designed as an integrated forest products plant including lumber and particleboard production.

Over time, with increasing private sector investments, plywood production became concentrated in centers such as:

Kastamonu

Sakarya

Tokat

Bursa

Çorum

Bilecik

Istanbul

Kocaeli

Particularly in the last 1015 years, production has shifted toward more modern, exportoriented, and highercapacity facilities.

3. Geographical Distribution of Plywood Factories in Turkey

When evaluating plywood production in Turkey regionally, the following structure emerges:

| Region | Key Centers | Notable Characteristics |

||||

| Marmara | Sakarya, Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, Bilecik | Large market, logistics, furniture |

| Black Sea | Tokat, Kastamonu, Samsun | Raw materials, forest resources |

| Central Anatolia transition | Çorum, Çankırı | Raw materials and transportation |

| Mediterranean | Antalya | Trade, distribution, import/export |

| Aegean | Aydın and vicinity | Historical production infrastructure |

According to TOBB's forest products sector reports, the provinces where plywood enterprises are concentrated include Sakarya, Kastamonu, Antalya, Tokat, Bolu, Bursa, and Kütahya.

This distribution reveals two different production models:

First model:

Factory close to forest resources.

Second model:

Factory close to consumption and logistics centers.

For example, facilities in Tokat and Kastamonu are closer to raw materials, while facilities in Istanbul and Bursa are closer to customers and the furniture industry.

4. Sakarya: One of Turkey's Most Important Plywood Production Centers

Sakarya is one of the most notable centers in Turkey's plywood sector.

The main reasons for this:

Proximity to Istanbul

Strong lumber industry

Access to forest resources

Adapazarı Lumberyard Site

D100 and TEM highway connections

Access to ports

Proximity to the Marmara Region's furniture and construction market

Sakarya is home to wellestablished production facilities such as DastaşDemircioğlu Ağaç and Bizon.

According to statements made by [Dastaş / Demircioğlu Ağaç](https://www.dastas.com.tr), Demircioğlu Ağaç's plywood and lumber factory was established in Sakarya in 1978. The company later commissioned its second plywood facility at the Adapazarı Lumberyard Site. The Bizon Plywood Factory was acquired by the company in 1996 and its machinery park and capacity were developed.

The declared land area of the Bizon facility is 70,000 m², with approximately 14,000 m² of indoor space. In addition to plywood, the facility also produces veneered panels, door frame panels, solid panels, fingerjointed door lintels, and heattreated wood products.

This structure demonstrates that Sakarya has not just a plywoodproducing but a multiproduct wood processing cluster.

5. Pamukova — Keskinler Plywood Facility

Sakarya's Pamukova district has recently become one of the notable centers for plywood production.

[Keskinler Kontrplak & Plywood](https://www.keskinler.com.tr) provides capacity information of 250 m³/day for its facility in Pamukova/Sakarya. The company also produces plywood, plywood, OSB, and various specialized product groups.

Product portfolio includes:

Beech marine plywood

Poplar plywood

Pine marine plywood

Birch marine plywood

Flexible plywood

Exotic marine plywood

Plywood

Hexa plywood

Birch plywood

Brazilian pine plywood

OSB

The company also uses an expression of approximately 150,000 CBM capacity on another corporate page. Since the same website contains the 250 m³/day capacity statement, caution should be exercised regarding what the 150,000 m³/year figure represents in terms of production scope. Therefore, in this article, it is more appropriate to evaluate the 150,000 m³ figure as a publicly disclosed capacity declaration by the company rather than as "independently verified annual plywood production."

The main advantage of this facility is its logistics location in the Marmara Region.

6. Sakarya's Strategic Advantage

The significant advantage of plywood producers in Sakarya is their proximity to Istanbul.

Since Istanbul is Turkey's:

Largest construction market

Largest furniture trade center

One of the largest forest products distribution centers

Products produced in Sakarya can be transported to Istanbul quickly.

Additionally, Sakarya has strong connections to Bursa, Kocaeli, and Ankara.

Therefore, a plywood factory based in Sakarya can simultaneously access:

Istanbul + Kocaeli + Bursa + Ankara + Marmara + Central Anatolia

markets.

This logistics advantage is extremely important for a bulky product like plywood.

7. Tokat — Erbaa: One of Turkey's Important Plywood Production Basins

Tokat's Erbaa district is one of the most important production centers in Turkey's plywood industry.

The main reason for this is the region's forest resources and particularly poplar raw materials.

[Erapan Kontrplak](https://www.erapan.com.tr) conducts its production at its main facilities in Tokat Erbaa.

According to the company's current corporate information, it operates three specialized plywood factories on a total production area of over 130,000 m² in Erbaa, with a total annual capacity of over 70,000 m³. The company also states that over 90% of its raw materials are of Turkish origin.

This capacity makes Erapan one of the most significant plywood producers in Turkey with publicly available capacity information.

8. Erapan's Product Portfolio

Erapan's product range is important in demonstrating how plywood production in Turkey has diversified.

Products include:

Poplar plywood

Beech plywood

Pine plywood

Filmfaced plywood

Hexa plywood

Wire mesh plywood

Beech plywood products are offered in standard dimensions such as 12201250 mm width and 24402500 mm length, with thicknesses ranging from 1030 mm.

This product diversity shows that the company produces not just standard commercial plywood but products with different performance levels for construction, furniture, and industrial applications.

9. Erbaa Kaplama

Another important producer operating in Erbaa is Erbaa Kaplama Sanayi.

According to the company's own data, its annual production capacity is 41,000 m³. However, this figure is presented as the company's total production capacity and should not be equated solely with plywood production in Turkey.

At the company's Erbaa facility, annual plywood production is specified as:

6,000 m³

Additionally, door lintel and frame filling panel production is carried out in Romania.

Plywood products:

Filmfaced plywood

Pine plywood

Poplar plywood

Beech plywood

The company offers its products to furniture, packaging, transportation, construction, formwork, scaffolding platforms, interior partitioning, roofing, and various industrial applications.

10. Tokat's Advantage: Poplar Raw Material

Poplar is an important raw material in plywood production.

According to FAO's report on fastgrowing tree species in Turkey, approximately 1.9 million m³ of wood was harvested from poplars in 2023, with 600,000 m³ evaluated as industrial roundwood.

In poplar plywood production, particularly:

Low density

Lightness

Ease of workability

Light color

Good surface properties

stand out.

Therefore, production in the TokatErbaa region is in a strategic position to meet Turkey's need for lightweight plywood.

11. Kastamonu: Tosya and Taşköprü Axis

Kastamonu is one of the historical centers of Turkey's plywood industry.

Particularly around:

Tosya

Taşköprü

Kastamonu center

forest products enterprises are concentrated.

Today, there are current business records indicating the presence of operations such as TKS A.Ş. Plywood Factory and Çağ Orman Ürünleri in Tosya.

TKS's capacity in past sector data was recorded at approximately 9,600 m³/year. This figure should be evaluated as historical sector data, not current capacity.

12. Taşköprü — Ekol Kontrplak

Kastamonu's Taşköprü district also draws attention in plywood production.

The [Ekol Kontrplak](https://www.kosgeb.gov.tr) company's success story published by KOSGEB contains quite important information.

Taşköprü Tarım ve Hayvancılık Orman Ürünleri, operating under the Ekol Kontrplak brand, develops products for:

Construction

Furniture

Yachts

Automotive

According to KOSGEB's 2023 publication, the company has an annual production capacity of 23,500 m³ and operates on a total area of 53,000 m², with approximately 18,000 m² of indoor space.

This is one of the most important current publicly available capacity data for the Kastamonu region.

13. Ekol Kontrplak's AutomotiveFocused Production

What makes Ekol notable is that it does not only offer its products to the construction sector.

According to KOSGEB data, the company supplies:

Mercedes

MAN

ISUZU

Karsan

BMC

and other automotive manufacturers.

This demonstrates an important transformation in Turkey's plywood industry.

Plywood is no longer just:

"construction formwork material"

It has also become:

"an engineering product used in automotive"

Plywood can be used in bus floors, ceilings, interior panels, vehicle superstructures, and various transport systems.

14. Bursa — İnegöl Plywood Production Center

Bursa's İnegöl district is one of Turkey's most important furniture clusters.

Therefore, plywood production in İnegöl has a different character from other regions.

A significant portion of the factories here are oriented toward:

Furniture

Chairs

Seating

Decoration

Molded plywood

Wood panels

One of the most important examples is Anıl Orman Ürünleri.

The company started production in 1997 and operates in the İnegöl Organized Industrial Zone.

15. Anıl Orman Ürünleri

Anıl Orman Ürünleri's production is not limited to standard flat plywood.

The company produces:

Generalpurpose plywood

Waterresistant plywood

Molded plywood

Shaped plywood

Particularly for the furniture and automotive sectors, it produces:

Chair backs

Seats

Armrests

Cinema seat components

Furniture panels

Sofa arms

Legs

Office furniture

The use of a fiveaxis machinery park for these products demonstrates Turkey's plywood sector's transition to valueadded production.

In past sector data, Anıl Orman Ürünleri was recorded with approximately 10,862 m³/year capacity.

It should be particularly noted that this figure is not current capacity.

16. Why is the Production Model in İnegöl Different?

The biggest advantage of plywood production in İnegöl is being in the same ecosystem as the customer.

A plywood producer in the same region can quickly reach:

Furniture manufacturers

Chair manufacturers

Seating manufacturers

Decoration companies

CNC operations

Therefore, the production model in İnegöl has developed toward "standard panel production + customerspecific shaping".

The economic value per kilogram or m³ of this model can be higher than standard plywood.

17. Bilecik — Bozüyük: NextGeneration Production Center

Bilecik's Bozüyük district has also gained importance in plywood in recent years.

[Sağlamlar Orman Ürünleri](https://www.saglamlar.com.tr/) has production facilities in the region.

The company's production address is in the Bozüyük Organized Industrial Zone, and its product portfolio includes:

Poplar plywood

Birch plywood

Pine plywood

Birchpine combination

Poplarpine combination

The company also offers wire mesh plywood products. These products are particularly used in:

Truck/trailer floors

Cold storage warehouses

Grandstands

Stages

Platforms

Hard cases

Packaging

This product diversity demonstrates that Bozüyük plays a role not just in standard plywood but also in industrialusefocused plywood production.

18. Sağlamlar's Product Structure

Sağlamlar's product portfolio shows that "combination" products are gaining importance in Turkish plywood production.

Combination plywood;

using multiple tree species in the same panel structure allows optimization between cost, weight, strength, and surface performance.

For example:

Birch + pine

Poplar + pine

combinations can create different cost and performance balances.

This approach is particularly important for largevolume industrial consumers.

19. Çorum — Akça Plywood

Çorum is one of Turkey's important plywood production centers.

[Akça Plywood](https://www.akcaplywood.com) has been operating in the wood sector since 1976 and started plywood production in 1998. The company states that production capacity has been increased through investments.

Akça's product portfolio particularly features:

Pine plywood

Filmfaced plywood

Construction plywood

1821 mm products

Plywood with different layer counts

Products offer options including:

WBP adhesive

Phenolic film

Different densities

Birch

Pine

Poplar

Combination

Beech

Exotic wood

20. Akça's Capacity Increase Story

Akça's capacity development in the production process can also be tracked through a publicly supported project.

In the Middle Black Sea Development Agency's project catalog, it is stated that Akça Kontrplak invested in a fiveline drying unit to eliminate bottlenecks in the drying process.

Before the project, approximately 30 m³ of plywood was produced daily, while after the project, daily production increased to 50 m³.

This data should not be used as current annual capacity; however, it is extremely valuable in demonstrating the critical impact of the drying line on production capacity in a plywood factory.

21. Kuriş Entegre — Gebze and Tuzla

The KocaeliIstanbul corridor is also an important center for plywood production.

[Kuriş Entegre](https://www.kuris.com.tr) states that it started plywood production in 2010 by taking over the Kuroğlu Kontrplak facility in Gebze.

The company later added:

Filmfaced plywood/plywood

products to its product range.

Kuriş's current contact information shows two production locations:

Tuzla factory

Gebze factory

The location of these facilities in the Marmara Region is particularly advantageous logistically.

22. Kuriş's Strategic Location

The GebzeTuzla corridor is one of Turkey's most important industrial corridors.

This region contains numerous sectors including:

Automotive

Metal

Machinery

Logistics

Shipyards

Construction

Furniture

Therefore, having a producer like Kuriş in this region enables plywood to reach industrial customers quickly.

Additionally, due to proximity to Istanbul, access to the Lumberyard Site and other forest products distribution centers is easy.

23. Istanbul — Sefaköy Pelit Arslan

One of the most important historical and technological facilities in Turkey's plywood sector is Pelit Arslan Kontrplak Fabrikası in Istanbul Sefaköy.

[Pelit Arslan Kontrplak Fabrikası](https://www.pelitarslan.com.tr) operates under the Turanlar Group.

According to the company's official statement, the facility in Istanbul Sefaköy is built on:

35,000 m² open

30,000 m² indoor

area.

The product portfolio is quite extensive:

PeliMarin

PeliWood

PeliTır

Peliİzo

PeliKontrlam

PeliKontrtabla

PeliA2

and other products.

24. Why is Pelit Arslan's Product Diversity Important?

The Pelit Arslan example demonstrates that plywood production in Turkey is not limited to "raw panel" production.

For example:

PeliTır

targets the transportation sector,

PeliMarin

targets maritime and moistureresistant applications,

PeliA2

targets applications requiring fire resistance,

PeliKontrlam

targets applications requiring laminate surfaces.

This approach is one of the most important strategies that can increase the competitiveness of Turkey's plywood industry in the future.

25. Pelit Arslan's Production Capacity

Pelit Arslan's current official website does not publish direct annual plywood m³ capacity.

However, sectoral sources indicate that the Sefaköy facility has an annual production capacity of approximately 15,000 m³ of filmfaced and unfilmed plywood.

Therefore, this figure should be evaluated as an opensource sectoral capacity estimate, not a value confirmed by the company as current official capacity.

Making this distinction is important.

26. Akasya Ahşap — Tokat Turhal

One of the notable companies investing in Turkey's plywood sector in recent years is Akasya Ahşap Ambalaj ve Orman Ürünleri.

[Akasya Ahşap](https://www.akasyaagac.com.tr) started in Istanbul İkitelli in 2007 and over time expanded its production network, reaching a total of seven production facilities in Istanbul, Tokat, Manisa, Ankara, and Çankırı.

The company's main production groups are:

Wood packaging

Pallets

Cases

Plywood

Lumber

27. Akasya's Tokat Plywood Factory

Akasya's plywood factory in Tokat Turhal is built on 3,400 m² indoor and 8,100 m² open area.

The company states that it started production at this facility in 2018. Later, it announced that the second production facility of the plywood factory was commissioned in 2022.

Another notable feature of Akasya's Tokat facilities is the sustainable energy investment.

The company announced in 2023 that it installed a 1 MW solar energy system at its Tokat Turhal facilities.

This shows that production and sustainability investments are progressing together in Turkey's plywood sector.

However, since Akasya's current public sources do not disclose the net annual m³ capacity of the plywood factory, it is not appropriate to make estimates regarding capacity.

28. Çankırı — Ilgaz New Production Axis

It is also noteworthy that Akasya announced that it started a PlywoodLumber Production Factory investment in Çankırı Ilgaz after 2023.

Çankırı's advantages:

Proximity to Kastamonu

Access to Central Anatolia

Proximity to Black Sea forest resources

Logistics connection to Ankara

Lumber production infrastructure

Therefore, Çankırı has the potential to become a wood products production corridor between KastamonuTosya and Ankara in the coming period.

29. Bursa — Saydu Orman Ürünleri

Another notable producer in İnegöl is Saydu Orman Ürünleri.

The company operates in the Bursa İnegöl Hamzabey Organized Industrial Zone and produces birch plywood under the SAYDU brand.

Production is carried out in:

1250 × 2500 mm

dimensions and various thicknesses.

The company also specifies B/B and C/C quality options.

Since Saydu's public sources do not contain annual m³ capacity information, it is not appropriate to make capacity estimates for this facility.

However, the product being birch plywood demonstrates the importance of highquality panel demand for İnegöl's furniture and CNC sectors.

30. Prominent Plywood Factories in Turkey's Production

The following table summarizes the main facilities whose capacity or production information can be verified from open sources:

|||||

There is an important methodological limitation to this table: capacity data do not belong to the same date and same definition. Some are annual nominal capacity, some are daily production, some are the company's total capacity declaration, and some are historical capacities taken from past sector reports. Therefore, it is not appropriate to sum the figures in the table and use them as "Turkey's total current plywood capacity."

31. Why is Turkey's Total Plywood Capacity Not Clear?

This question is quite important for the sector.

In TOBB's past sector reports, Turkey's plywood sector had:

70 enterprises and 515,237 m³/year installed capacity

In the 2015 TOBB report:

79 enterprises and 558,264 m³/year capacity

were given.

However, these figures do not represent the present.

Because over the intervening years:

Some factories have closed

Some have changed hands

Some have increased capacity

Some have changed their product range

New facilities have been established

Some facilities have shifted to different panel products instead of plywood

Therefore, using the 558 thousand m³ figure from 2015 as 2026 capacity would be incorrect.

32. The Difference Between Production and Installed Capacity

This is one of the most common mistakes in sector analyses.

For example, a factory having:

100,000 m³/year installed capacity

does not mean that the factory actually produces 100,000 m³ per year.

Capacity utilization rate is affected by factors such as:

Raw materials

Energy

Labor

Orders

Financing

Maintenance

Logistics

Export demand

Therefore:

Installed capacity ≠ actual production.

To understand the true volume of plywood production in Turkey, production statistics and factory capacities must be evaluated together.

33. The Classification Problem in TURKSTAT Data

In TURKSTAT's 2024 construction material indicators:

"Plywood, laminated, wood material"

group production is given as 3,402,638 m³.

This figure should not be directly interpreted as:

"3.4 million m³ of plywood was produced in Turkey in 2024."

Because the classification includes laminated and other wood materials together with plywood.

In contrast, in narrower HS/productbased academic studies, Turkey's 2023 plywood production was calculated at approximately 650,000 m³.

Therefore, the product code and definition must always be specified in sectoral research.

34. Can Turkey's Plywood Production Meet the Domestic Market?

No.

Although Turkey is a significant plywood producer, imports are also quite high.

For example, in 2024, Turkey's plywood imports in just the HS 441212 category were:

96.3 million dollars

and

140,941 m³

In this product group, Russia was the largest supplier with 98,946 m³, while Latvia had 21,457 m³, Estonia 3,716 m³, and Finland 3,423 m³.

These data show that Turkey is significantly dependent on imports for certain types of plywood.

35. Imports of Tropical Wood Plywood

Turkey also has imports of plywood with tropical outer layers.

In 2024, under HS 441211:

15.5 million dollars

and

25,293 m³

were imported.

Approximately 20,956 m³ of this import came from Malaysia.

This demonstrates the importance of imports for special products such as:

Okoume

Meranti

Sapelli

Tropical tree species

that cannot be easily produced with domestic raw materials in Turkey.

36. Turkey's Plywood Exports

Turkey is not only a country that imports plywood.

For example, under HS 441212, Turkey's exports in 2024 were:

51.1 million dollars

and

85,017 m³

Main markets:

Serbia

Bulgaria

Romania

Morocco

and similar countries.

This table shows that Turkey has a logistics advantage in plywood exports to southeastern Europe.

37. What Do Imports and Exports Together Tell Us?

The structure in Turkey is quite interesting.

Turkey simultaneously:

imports plywood

and

exports plywood.

The main reason for this is that the products are not identical.

For example, Turkey:

Imports birch plywood from Russia

Imports tropical plywood from Malaysia

Imports certain highquality products from Finland

while:

Filmfaced plywood

Poplar plywood

Beech plywood

Pine plywood

Special industrial products

produced in Turkey can be exported to the Balkans, Europe, the Middle East, and other markets.

Therefore, the basic structure in Turkey's plywood trade can be evaluated as:

"productbased specialization and complementarity"

38. Which Tree Species Are Used in Turkish Plywood Factories?

When examining the product portfolios of production facilities in Turkey, the main species are:

Poplar

Particularly for lightweight plywood.

Beech

High density and strength.

Pine

Structural and filmfaced plywood.

Birch

Highperformance and marine/industrial applications.

Combination

Use of multiple tree species together.

Exotic/tropical species

Special applications and imported raw materials.

For example, Akça's product technical information includes birch, pine, poplar, combination, beech, and exotic wood options.

Keskinler's product range also includes beech, poplar, pine, birch, and exotic marine plywood.

39. FilmFaced Plywood: One of Turkey's Most Important Production Segments

Filmfaced plywood is one of the most important product groups in Turkey due to the demand from the construction sector.

Main application areas:

Concrete formwork

Column formwork

Shear wall formwork

Slab formwork

Scaffolding platforms

Truck and trailer floors

Container floors

Factors determining product quality in filmfaced plywood:

Wood species

Number of layers

Adhesive

Phenolic film grammage

Surface quality

Edge sealing

Pressing quality

Density

40. Marine Plywood Segment

Marine plywood is used in Turkey particularly in:

Boats

Yachts

Caravans

Bathrooms

Kitchens

Outdoor environments

Humid areas

Here, WBP or phenolicbased waterproof adhesives gain importance.

For example, Akça's filmfaced products include WBP adhesive use and thickness options such as 1821 mm.

Keskinler also offers beech, poplar, pine, and birch marine plywood products in separate categories.

41. Why is Birch Plywood Important in Turkey?

Birch plywood is an important product in Turkey, but it is not as easily accessible as poplar or pine in terms of domestic production.

Birch wood characteristics:

High density

High strength

Good surface quality

Good CNC machinability

High layer quality

place it in higherpriced segments.

Therefore, the birch plywood market in Turkey can be divided into two:

limited facilities producing domestically

and

imported birch plywood.

Imports from Russia and Baltic countries in particular meet a significant portion of this segment. The fact that 98,946 m³ were imported from Russia in just a specific HS 441212 category in 2024 demonstrates the size of this supply chain.

42. Poplar Plywood: One of Turkey's Strong Areas

Poplar plywood is one of Turkey's most advantageous products in terms of domestic raw materials.

Particularly:

Tokat

Amasya

Samsun

Bilecik

Bursa

And some parts of Marmara and the Black Sea

are important for poplar production.

Poplar plywood is preferred in caravans, furniture, packaging, and interior applications because it is:

Lightweight

Lightcolored

Easy to work with

Economical

The fact that producers such as Erapan and Sağlamlar offer poplar plywood products demonstrates the importance of this segment in Turkey.

43. Automotive Plywood

Turkey's automotive industry is an important customer for plywood producers.

Plywood is used particularly in:

Buses

Trucks

Trailers

TIRs

Special vehicles

Caravans

Ekol Kontrplak's supply to manufacturers such as Mercedes, MAN, ISUZU, Karsan, and BMC clearly demonstrates the importance of this segment.

In this area, rather than standard panels:

Dimensioned

Processed

Lightweighted

Specially surfaced

Fireresistant

Waterresistant

products carry higher value.

44. Plywood for Furniture

Furniture is at the core of the production model in Bursaİnegöl.

In the furniture sector, plywood is used in:

Chairs

Seating

Tables

Panels

Shelves

Decorative panels

Molded plywood differs from standard panels.

By shaping the panel on a mold during production or finishing stages:

Chair backs

Armrests

Seats

Curved furniture parts

can be obtained.

Anıl Orman's production of molded products with its fiveaxis machinery park is a good example of this.

45. Caravan and Tiny House Sector

Turkey's developing caravan and tiny house sector creates new opportunities for plywood producers.

In these sectors, the combination of:

lightness + strength + workability

is important.

Poplar plywood can be advantageous due to its lightness.

Birch plywood can be preferred in applications requiring high strength.

Pine plywood can be evaluated in more economical and structural applications.

Therefore, in the future, it would be more appropriate for producers to develop applicationoriented products such as:

"12 mm lightweight plywood for caravan furniture"

rather than just selling:

"12 mm plywood"

46. Proximity of Plywood Factories to Raw Materials

A factory's proximity to raw materials can provide cost advantages.

Particularly in veneer peeling production:

Log diameter

Straightness

Moisture

Species

Fiber structure

directly affect product quality.

Therefore, facilities close to poplar production regions are advantageous for poplar plywood.

Similarly, the Black Sea and Western Black Sea regions, where beech and pine resources are found, are also suitable for plywood production.

47. Why is the KastamonuTokatSakarya Corridor Important?

The most notable axis of Turkey's plywood production geography can be considered as:

Kastamonu → Çankırı → Tokat → Sakarya → Istanbul

In this corridor:

Forest resources

Poplar

Lumber

Veneer

Plywood

Furniture

Logistics

are interconnected.

Kastamonu stands out in terms of raw materials and forest products,

Tokat in terms of poplar and plywood production,

Sakarya in terms of production and Marmara logistics.

Istanbul is the final consumption and distribution center.

48. Istanbul's Role: Distribution Rather Than Production

Besides plywood production in Istanbul, a more important function is distribution and trade.

Particularly the trade network around:

İkitelli

Lumberyard Site

Başakşehir

Sefaköy

Avcılar

reaches Turkey's plywood consumers.

Therefore, a factory producing in Istanbul and a distributor holding stock in Istanbul are not the same thing.

Production can take place in Anatolia.

However, the place where the product meets the customer can be Istanbul.

49. The Importance of the Sector for Distributors Like Korutaş

This structure creates an important opportunity for forest products distributors in Istanbul.

A distributor's advantage is:

Being able to source products from different factories

Stocking imported products

Offering different quality classes together

Showing alternatives to customers

Making smallquantity sales

Managing logistics

For example, one customer may want:

18 mm birch plywood

while another customer may want:

18 mm poplar plywood

A construction company may request:

18 mm filmfaced plywood

It may not be economically feasible for a single factory to produce all these products.

The distributor fills this gap.

50. Structural Characteristics of Turkey's Plywood Market

There are three main player groups in Turkey's plywood market.

1. Integrated producers

Large producers with their own raw materials, lumber, and veneer facilities.

2. Specialized plywood factories

Enterprises focused directly on plywood/plywood production, such as Erapan, Keskinler, Akça, Ekol.

3. Distributors and importers

Companies that bring plywood from various countries and distribute it in Turkey.

These three groups are both competitors and complementary to each other.

51. Impact of Imports on Domestic Production

Domestic producers in Turkey compete particularly with plywood products originating from China, Russia, Baltic countries, and the Far East.

Within the scope of the Ministry of Trade's 2023 antidumping investigation, firms representing the domestic production branch included:

Aydın Kontrplak

Taşköprü Tarım

Erapan

Dastaş

Sağlamlar

Petek Kontrplak

It was stated that firms such as Akça, Çağ, Epalsan, and Bayrak also supported the application.

This list is valuable for understanding a significant portion of domestic producers in Turkey.

52. Importance of AntiDumping Measures

Import policies in the plywood sector have been an important agenda item for many years.

Antidumping investigations against Chineseorigin plywood have been ongoing since the 2000s.

In the Ministry of Trade's 2023 communiqué, current measures regarding certain plywood products under customs tariff positions 4412 were explained in detail.

This shows that state policies are also important in domestic producers' competition with imported products.

53. More Important Than Factory Capacity: Value Added Per Product

A factory producing 50,000 m³ alone is not sufficient.

The more important question is:

Which product is this 50,000 m³?

For example:

50,000 m³ of standard poplar plywood

and

50,000 m³ of highperformance birch marine plywood

do not have the same economic value.

Similarly:

50,000 m³ of raw plywood

and

50,000 m³ of CNCready, specialdimensioned, surfacecoated, and certified panels

have a large value difference.

Therefore, Turkey's future competitiveness should be sought not only in m³ increases but also in value added per m³.

54. Turkey's Strongest Plywood Products

When evaluating current producer portfolios, it appears that Turkey has a strong production infrastructure particularly in the following products:

1. Poplar plywood

2. Beech plywood

3. Pine plywood

4. Filmfaced plywood

5. Marine plywood

6. Combination plywood

7. Wire mesh plywood

8. Molded plywood

9. Automotive plywood

10. Specialdimension plywood

Birch plywood has a combination of more limited domestic production and strong imports.

55. Which Factories Will Be More Competitive in the Future?

In the coming period, the common characteristics of successful factories will likely be:

High automation

Higher production with less labor.

Modern drying

Lower waste and better quality.

Continuous pressing technologies

High production capacity.

Automatic sanding

Better surface quality.

Film coating lines

Higher value added.

CNC and special processing

Customerspecific products.

Certification

Export advantage.

Energy efficiency

Lower cost.

Renewable energy

Lower carbon footprint.

56. Sustainability and Plywood Factories

Plywood production is an energyintensive process.

Energy consumption occurs particularly in:

Drying

Pressing

Sanding

Film coating

Cutting

Therefore, energy efficiency investments of modern factories are becoming increasingly important.

Akasya's 1 MW solar energy investment at its Tokat facilities is one concrete example of this trend.

Similar investments can be expected to increase in the future.

57. FSC and Traceability

For exporting plywood factories, FSC and similar certification systems are becoming increasingly important.

For example, Erapan states that its pine and poplar plywood products are FSCcertified.

This is particularly important in the European market.

Because buyers are no longer just asking:

"How much does the product cost?"

They are also asking:

"Where does the raw material come from?"

"Is forest management sustainable?"

"Is it traceable?"

58. How Will EUDR Affect Turkey's Plywood Sector?

The European Union's Deforestation Regulation is creating a significant transformation in the wood products sector.

Plywood exporters will need to track their raw material sources better.

This will require factories to establish more advanced data infrastructure for:

Supplier records

Raw material sources

Geographic data

Certification

Legal harvest information

As a result, the plywood factory of the future will have not only a:

press line

but also a:

data management system

59. Strengths of Turkey's Plywood Industry

Turkey's strengths are:

Strong forest products industry

Extensive forest assets

Poplar production

Developed furniture sector

Large construction market

Automotive industry

Proximity to Europe

Proximity to the Middle East

Port infrastructure

Young and experienced production sector

Export capability

These characteristics have the potential to make Turkey a regional plywood production center.

60. Weaknesses of Turkey's Plywood Industry

On the other hand:

Import dependency for some raw materials

Financing costs

Energy costs

Exchange rate fluctuations

Smallscale enterprises

Old production lines

Capacity utilization problems

Standardization deficiencies

Lack of current sector data

are important issues.

The lack of current capacity data in particular makes investment planning in the sector difficult.

61. Where Could New Plywood Factories Be Established in Turkey?

Considering the current production geography, several regions stand out for new investments.

Tokat

Poplar and Black Sea raw material advantage.

Kastamonu

Forest resources and existing industrial infrastructure.

Çankırı

KastamonuAnkara connection.

Sakarya

Marmara market and logistics.

Bilecik

MarmaraCentral Anatolia transition.

Çorum

Logistics location between the Black Sea and Central Anatolia.

In new facilities, not just proximity to raw materials but the cost of delivering the product to the customer will become more important.

62. Turkey's Plywood Sector Toward 2030

Toward 2030, the following changes can be expected in Turkey's plywood industry:

First: More automation.

Second: More filmfaced and technical plywood.

Third: More certified production.

Fourth: More special dimensions.

Fifth: CNC and digital processing.

Sixth: Growth in caravan and modular construction demand.

Seventh: Increase in technical products in automotive and trailer sectors.

Eighth: Increasing importance of traceability in exports to Europe.

Ninth: Energy efficiency investments.

Tenth: AIsupported production and inventory optimization.

63. How Should Turkey's Plywood Production Map Be Read?

Turkey's plywood production map can be roughly summarized as follows:

Northwest

Sakarya — Kocaeli — Istanbul

Production + logistics + large market.

West

Bursa — İnegöl — Bilecik

Furniture + automotive + panels.

Central Black Sea

Tokat — Erbaa — Samsun

Poplar + forest raw materials + plywood.

Western Black Sea

Kastamonu — Tosya — Taşköprü

Forest + lumber + plywood.

Central Anatolia transition

Çorum — Çankırı

Raw materials + logistics + new investments.

This geographical structure forms the backbone of Turkey's plywood industry.

64. Conclusion

Plywood production in Turkey is not just a fragmented structure of hundreds of small businesses.

Within the sector:

Historical producers

Highcapacity modern factories

Integrated forest products facilities

Automotivefocused producers

Furniturespecific producers

Filmfaced plywood producers

Importers and distributors

operate together.

Among the current information verifiable from open sources, Erapan's total annual capacity declaration of over 70,000 m³ in Erbaa, Ekol Kontrplak's 23,500 m³/year capacity, Erbaa Kaplama's 6,000 m³/year plywood capacity, and Keskinler's 250 m³/day capacity declaration demonstrate significant production scales in Turkey.

In addition:

Dastaş/Bizon — Sakarya

Pelit Arslan — Istanbul

Akça — Çorum

Kuriş — Gebze

Anıl — İnegöl

Sağlamlar — Bozüyük

Akasya — Tokat

Saydu — İnegöl

TKS — Tosya

and other production centers form important parts of Turkey's plywood ecosystem.

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