AB Etiproducts Oy

Boron is an important raw material in the glass industry, and new usages are continuously being discovered for boron products due to their unique, multi-functional and beneficial characteristics. With quality products, reliable delivery and a focus on its customers’ needs and requirements, AB Etiproducts Oy has become a preferred partner for customers in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries as well as Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and the entire African continent. European Business talked to CEO Ali Sapmaz about current developments in the boron market and the benefits the company offers as the exclusive sales agent and distributor of Eti Maden IGM’s boron products.

Boron is a chemical element with the atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a trivalent semi-metallic element which occurs abundantly in evaporated boron minerals, such as colemanite, tincal and ulexite, but it is never found as a free element on Earth. Turkey possesses roughly two thirds of the world’s boron mineral reserves and is the largest exporter of these refined boron products and minerals. Borate production is concentrated in the western part of the country (Eskisehir, Balikesir, Kutahya and Bursa). The Turkish state-owned company Eti Mine Works is the country’s biggest and oldest mining company active in the mining, metallurgical and chemical industries, which are directly connected to its mining operations. Eti Mine Works is renowned worldwide as the global leader in boron minerals and chemicals. Its Finnish subsidiary Ab Etiproducts Oy from Helsinki is the holding company’s marketing and sales arm in the northern and eastern regions of Europe. As the Turkish mining company is constantly increasing its production, Ali Sapmaz, general manager of Ab Etiproducts Oy, is optimistic about the future.