Cluj left without breweries and furniture plants, but with major investors nearby

Ursus brewery and Libertatea furniture producer, two centres with an over 100-year history, are closing, after Cluj has lost a large part of the dairy, sweets or apparel industries in the last decade.

While the city has been left without established production centres, such as Napolact dairy plant, Feleacul sweets producer, Flacăra apparel company and most recently Ursus and Libertatea, the city instead gained from the foreign investments operated by Nokia (a company that has already joined Romania's top exporters) or Emerson.

On the other hand, Ursus closing raised a number of questions. Could the shutdown of production facilities of the area where the brand was born gradually lead to its disappearance? Bogdan Brânzaş, the CEO of Branzas firm that redesigned Ursus brand in 1995, believes that the shutdown of Ursus brewery of Cluj will not kill the brand.

On the other hand, Cluj authorities are challenging the brewer's decision to close the brewery, saying Ursus is a brand that belongs in Cluj.