Unilever's chairperson for South-Central Europe says the group has decided to analyse the departments and activities of the company in Romania in comparison with the European practice, with the accession in mind.
"In order to prepare for this moment, our company started a complex programme, called "Getting ready for Europe" two years ago, whose role is to analyse each department and all company activities against the European practice," stated Alexandra Gatej, chairman of Unilever South-Central Europe (USCE). One result of the new strategy was the outsourcing of logistic and transport services, according to Alexandra Gatej, 40, who has been in charge of USCE's business since November 2005.
"We believe the integration in the European Union is a process that will have positive effects on the competitive environment where we as a company are developing. The integration will generate fair competition, a competition where everyone follows the same rules and which will help us better exploit the synergies with our European operations," explains Gatej.
The company will concentrate its whole production in Romania in Ploiesti, where it is building a plant. The investment in this facility will stand at about 3m euros. The production of spices, sauces and Knorr soups (which were produced in the Otopeni-based plant until now) and the production of margarine (which used to be produced in Targu-Mures) will be transferred here. "Unilever made the decision to concentrate production in one location in order to boost efficiency of its production and distribution operations. This attempt to make operations more efficient is part of the company's long-term plans for developing the business in Romania," Gatej adds. The process to relocate production facilities will end this November. The two plants in Targu-Mures and Otopeni will be sold, and the company is currently looking for buyers.
Unilever has 650 employees in Romania out of a total 850 in the whole region. Of these, 350 work in plants.
The company produces laundry detergents Dero and Omo, Delikat spices, Knorr soups and sauces, Rama and Delma margarines in Romania and imports housecleaning products Cif and Domestos, Coccolino fabric conditioner, personal care products Dove, Rexona, Axe and Sunsilk.
"The market of consumer goods is developing in full swing, but consumption per capita is still far from the European average," says Gatej.
Unilever has two companies in Romania: Unilever South Central Europe (which handles marketing and sales operations in Romania and in the Balkan area) and Unilever Romania (the company that manages the Unilever plants in the region). Turnover of Unilever South Central Europe stood at 167 million euros in 2005, 125m of which were posted in Romania.
Unilever in Romania
Has two companies in Romania, USCE (which handles marketing and sales in Romania and the Balkans) and Unilever Romania (which runs Unilever's plants in this country)
USCE made 125 million euro turnover in Romania, while Unilever Romania posted 36 million turnover in 2005
Will concentrate production in Ploiesti, where it is building a plant and sell the facilities in Targu Mures and Otopeni
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
