German component producer INA Schaeffer will invest about 100 million euros to build a new production hall, by the end of next year. The Germans have already invested 180 million euros in three production halls in Cristian, a locality in Brasov county.
"The group made the decision to boost its investment in Romania, as we have seen very good results here so far, and, of course, Romania is still interesting in terms of labour costs," Alexandru Blemovici, general manager of the Brasov division of INA Schaeffer told Ziarul Financiar.
The automotive and industrial subassemblies manufactured in Cristian are currently exported to Western European countries such as France, Germany and Spain.
According to data from the German group, the new hall will produce big bearings, wind power stations and other industrial equipment, and will require a larger investment than the three existing ones, as these are different categories of products.
"The initial plan is to complete the new investment by the end of 2007 - we are currently looking for builders. The fourth hall will not be working at full capacity right away, this will happen gradually. We still have investments to make in the third hall, where we are still bringing equipment," Blemovici added.
The number of employees in the production facilities of the Cristian-based INA Schaeffer could reach 2,800 after the new hall starts operating, up from the current 1,750.
INA Schaeffer Brasov last year posted turnover worth 40 million euros, as 2005 was the first year of actual activity for the plant in Romania, according to the company official.
INA Schaeffer is a division of the German group Schaeffer, which also owns production facilities in Eastern Europe - Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. INA Schaeffer is one of the world's biggest bearings manufacturers.
The plant in Romania will start production once the new hall is finalised, towards the end of 2007 at the very earliest.
The Schaeffer group operates in the field of automotive, industrial and aerospace components through its three divisions, INA, FAG and Luk, and currently has some 60,000 employees worldwide.
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