Roibu, Oltchim: Mowing the grass alone cost 2m euros at Arpechim's petrochemical unit

Constantin Roibu, who has been at the helm of Romania's biggest chemical plant, Oltchim Ramnicu-Valcea (OLT), over the last twenty years, believes he can turn around the petrochemical unit in Pitesti, which he has recently acquired.
The Austrians at OMV Petrom sold the assets of the petrochemical unit of Arpechim refinery to state-owned Oltchim at the end of last year, in a deal worth 12.9 million euros. The deal also included the hydrocarbon stocks, the other circulating assets involved in the petrochemical operations and 560 employees who moved from Petrom to Oltchim.
"Given what we found there, there was no way for Arpechim's petrochemical unit to be profitable. Mowing the grass alone cost two million euros in 2008," Constantin Roibu said.
He added the wear and tear of the equipment in the factory was another obstacle in the way of a profitable operation at Arpechim.
The sale of the petrochemical assets by the Austrians came after the business had been making losses for a few years before being shut down.
Oltchim on the other hand is not doing any better, either, having posted cumulated losses worth 592.5 million RON (about 148 million euros) over the last three years, which the management blames on the closure of Arpechim, the main raw material supplier.