The growth logged by most international companies operating in Romania, and by the major Romanian firms as well, has spurred a wave of investments in a related field: logistics. After a slow start, things are about to change, with many companies announcing projects of tens of millions of euros.
For instance, Centrum Romania, a subsidiary of Dutch group Centrum Europe, after having poured 7 million euros in the construction of a 15,000 square-metre warehouse in Bucharest, announced the launch of new investments in "strategic points" for the development of logistics services countrywide.
The firm acquired a plot of 65,000 square metres in Oradea and will next spring start building up a new warehouse on an area of 20,000 square metres, under an investment worth 4.5 million euros. This will be the second logistics point in Oradea after Bihora Centrum, which provides 11,000 square metres of warehouses and 1,200 square metres of offices.
Simultaneously, construction works on a 2,450sqm warehouse will start in Piatra-Neamt this spring, with the new unit scheduled to become operational in September 2005, in the wake of investments reaching one million euros.
"At this moment, more than 70% of the capacity of the warehouse of Bucharest is sold out and we are already considering adding another 15,000 square metres to the building, with talks with investors and construction firms to start early next year," Marc Paulissen, a managing director with Centrum Romania, told ZF Transilvania. He added that the first 15,000 square metres of the current warehouse would become operational on March 1, 2005.
"The Romanian market of logistics services is in full swing and, from this point of view, we must strategically cover the territory of Romania, so that we can provide our customers with solutions tailored to their demands," said Nadia Maxim, a representative of Centrum Logistics Oradea.
Centrum Romania was set up in 1992, in Oradea, as an office for international transportation. In 1999, Centrum Logistic was set up, and in the wake of an investment worth 4 million euros, the Bihora Centrum project was developed. The company expects turnover worth 5.5 million euros for this year, 22% higher year-on-year. transilvania@zf.ro
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
