Sep 13, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. Segezha Packaging announced on September 10, 2007 that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Turkish cement sack operations of Isiklar Ambalaj, with 2 sack plants in Turkey, and a combined production capacity of 300 million paper sacks per annum. The transaction will be finalised before end November 2007. Segezha, which is owned by Russia’s ILP Group, is the world’s second largest manufacturer of industrial paper sacks. It produces about 1.3 billion paper sacks annually in high-quality production facilities in ten countries, across Europe and Russia, and employs around 1500 people. The 2 plants acquired by Segezha are in Izmir, in the western part of Turkey, and Elazig, in the eastern part of the country. With 5 modern production lines, an experienced work force, a strong management team and an excellent position in the Turkish cement market, the operations are an excellent fit within Segezha’s global paper sack operations. This purchase strengthens Segezha’s already strong position in the fast growing Emerging European markets region and provides an excellent base for expansion into the Middle-East, North Africa and Asia regions. Isiklar Ambalaj will continue to produce paper sacks at their Cumra plant in Turkey. This is an exciting and very positive development for our company, as we will now be in an even stronger position to meet the requirements of our customers, with an extended market coverage and manufacturing capacity in Turkey.