FESPA has committed investment of over 475,000 Euros to support the growth of its community in Turkey and the surrounding countries. This significant investment includes a minimum 115,000 Euro to be spent on activities in countries outside of Turkey, with the remaining 360,000 Euro used on marketing and initiatives for the recently launched FESPA Eurasia 2013 event, which will take place from 3-5 October 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey.

FESPA’s investment in Eurasia will be focused towards building key industry contacts, knowledge, networks and market intelligence that can be shared with the regional community of printers through FESPA’s Profit for Purpose programme, helping them seize growth opportunities, build international links, and adopt global best practice across all aspects of their business. The knowledge gathered by FESPA will be delivered via high quality educational features within FESPA Eurasia and other regional events.

FESPA will appoint dedicated personnel to research and engage with key stakeholders including leading printers and industry associations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

FESPA Managing Director Neil Felton comments: “The deeper understanding we have of the local market, the better we can serve the business requirements of local printers by creating quality information and events that meet their needs. This investment is fundamental to supporting stakeholders in countries across the region.”

The decision to invest comes at the same time as the appointment of Betul Binici as FESPA Eurasia Sales Manager, reinforcing FESPA’s philosophy of delivering best-in-class events through local knowledge and insight. Betul Binici is based in Istanbul with ARED, The Print and Sign Association of Turkey and FESPA’s member association.

With a strong background in sales, Betul’s previous career at Interteks International Trade Exhibitions covered a wide range of sectors, where she managed the international sales team and coordinated sales with international partners.

Betul will work closely with the FESPA team in the UK, as well as ARED, to organise a successful exhibition in October to establish FESPA Eurasia 2013 as the number one event for print service providers (PSPs) in Turkey and the surrounding geographies.

Felton concludes: “Feedback from comprehensive discussions with manufacturers and PSPs over recent months has been extremely encouraging - the Turkish market and the region around it is booming, and weathering the eurozone crisis better than most of Central and Eastern Europe. Collaborating closely with local people and organisations is crucial to FESPA’s long term success in Eurasia, which is why we’re so pleased to add someone of Betul’s calibre and experience to our global team to help coordinate the investment activity on the ground along with the committed support of ARED.”

Betul Binici comments: “I am very excited about my new role at FESPA. Their commitment to support printers with education and industry information makes the position more rewarding; to give something back is a very compelling factor. I look forward to developing awareness and activities of the brand in the region, it will be an interesting and highly beneficial task.”

For more information on FESPA Eurasia, please visit: http://www.fespa.com/eurasia/