US-based firm Emerson Electric intends to build five production facilities in Cluj to manufacture small electric engines as well as a research centre. The total investment for the next five years will exceed 125 million euros.
Representatives of the American company have met with the local authorities on several occasions to discuss the investment, which will be in the Tetarom 2 Industrial Park.
"Emerson Electric wants to build its first engine factory in 2006, involving an initial investment of 25-30 million euros. The company is also planning to open three or four more factories within the same business over the next four years and to hire approximately 2,000 people, mostly highly skilled labour, during the five years it takes to complete its investment," Vasile Gavrea, general manager of Tetarom Industrial Park, told ZF Transilvania.
Emerson will be using raw materials from local suppliers in the investment, and the finished products will be exported.
The US group also met with the management of the Technical University of Cluj, announcing it was planning to build a research centre to cover electrical engineering, automation, mechanitronics design, robotics, and machinery and equipment construction technology that will hire more than 200 engineers from various fields.
In order to carry out its investment in the Tetarom 2 Park, Emerson requested through two letters of intent that a 12-hectare plot of land, which is close to the tram depot in Cluj and currently held by Tetarom, be provided for free.
It also requested that all utilities be in place at the borders of the land, prior to the transfer of ownership. To make it easier for the American company to invest, the local authorities have already endorsed the increase of Tetarom''s share capital by a contribution in kind in the form of the land, which is worth 1.95 euros/square metre.
Councillors yesterday authorised the general manager of Tetarom Industrial Park, Vasile Gavrea, and the chairman of Cluj County Council, Marius Nicoara, to begin negotiations over the contract with the US group.
Emerson Electric was established in the US in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1890. It operates in a variety of fields, including industrial process management, air conditioning technology, network power supply, storage solutions for industrial and household commodities, professional equipment, engine manufacturing, industrial automation and integrated equipment solutions.
It currently employs 120,000 people across the world, of which 23,000 are in Europe. Emerson has more than 60 divisions operating in 245 locations worldwide and sells its products to more than 150 countries. Emerson''s exports in 2004 amounted to 7.4bn dollars, 47% of its total sales.
Even if the authorities are successful in their talks with the US investor, however, they will still find it hard to forget that they missed out on a 120 million-euro investment by France''s Montupet this year. This is because every time they hear the name of Emerson''s vice-president, they will be reminded of their failure: the American company''s vice-president is Jean-Paul Montupet.
Copos on Emerson
Emerson has been probing the Romanian market for some time and attempted to make its entrance by buying electrical engine and equipment manufacturer Ana Imep Pitesti, which is owned by businessman George Copos. The negotiations, which lasted for almost two years, fell through in the end. "I negotiated with Emerson for Ana Imep, but we did not agree on the price. Anyway, they have manufacturing operations on the Romanian market, though nothing much - just a few hundred thousands euros. They insist on staying in Romania, and I explained to them that it was important to come here because now is the right time," vice-premier George Copos told Ziarul Financiar. He did not elaborate on the plans of the American group, merely saying he would be meeting Emerson officials next month.
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