Turkey’s Cokyasar Holding reports that it has started to manufacture steel wire at its new operation, Cokyasar Wire Industries (CWI) in Albania.

A press release from the company said that the plant can annually produce 45,000 metric tons of steel products. CWI will manufacture zinc-aluminum coated steel wire and standard galvanized steel wire from 1 mm to 5.50 mm to international standards. It has some 60 employees, and as the facility was designed to be expandable, that number could increase.

CWI will supply sectors such as energy, automotive, construction, agriculture, gabion manufacturers and security. Cokyasar Holding’s experience will enable CWI Albania to develop its quality and production capacity.

Cokyasar Holding was founded by Ahmet Cokyasar in 1973. Despite the pandemic in 2020, it manufactured 180,000 metric tons of steel wire products at its three modern plants, and had revenues of US$150 million. Cokyasar Holding is one of the top 500 exporters in Turkey, with 70% of its production sent to more than 80 countries. The company has also been recognized as one of the larger employers, having more than a thousand staffers.

“We are going on our investments despite the global pandemic problem,” said Erman Korkusuz, CEO of Cokyasar Holding. He described CWI as “an investment needed for European and Balkan countries.” He said he was proud that his Turkish company could meet the obvious needs. The interest from customers so far has verified that it was a good decision to invest in Albania. “We will accelerate our other abroad investments with the success of CWI. I want to thank my team who contributed ... (to our new investment) in Albania.”