Macromex set to build a warehouse on Bechtel highway

Macromex, the biggest distributor of frozen products domestically, is poised to invest 20m euros in the following year in a logistic centre in Campia Turzii, a move due to reshape the company's operations in central Romania.

This is the third major project on the segment of logistics announced for the next few years on the future Transylvania highway, after the central warehouses of Kaufland and Plus retailers.

The project in Campia Turzii is the biggest investment announced so far by Macromex, a company with 120m-euro annual turnover and 530 employees.

"In Romania there is no cold distribution chain with countrywide coverage," stated Dan Minulescu, 41, owner of Macromex.

He specified the segment of frozen product distribution is set to grow in the following years irrespective of consumption dynamics as it is still a niche segment in Romania, with few players.

Less than 20% of turnovers of the ten largest domestic distributors of consumer goods come from cold distribution, according to market data.

"We devised this project to support the development of our business in the next 12 years. In the first stage, which we hope to finalise in early 2011, we'll reach investments worth around 20m euros. Overall, there will be three development stages for the distribution centre of Campia Turzii," Minulescu stated.

He specified the location was chosen so as to allow the company to reorganise its distribution in Transylvania by joining several warehousing spaces into a regional centre. The warehouse will be completely automated and will have a 12,000-13,000-tonne capacity in 2011.

Whereas major investments have so far concentrated in the southern area of the country, around Bucharest or Ploiesti, the construction of Transylvania highway is shifting the focus toward the centre of the country. Developers on the logistic segment are focusing on the course of the highway also because it links the south of the country with the western border, where most consumer goods imports in Romania come from.