The German tyre manufacturer Continental has announced its priority for the Romanian market: its research and development centre based in Sibiu. To date the German company has invested more than 150 million euros in four factories for the production of tyres and auto components.
"We have taken on 200 engineers to work at the research and development centre in Sibiu, where we also have an electronic components plant. Our priority is to increase the number of engineers," said Hans Joachim Nikolin, a member of the Continental Board.
The German group officially entered the Romanian market in 1999, when it opened a tyre factory in Timisoara as part of its expansion plans for countries with low labour costs. They subsequently opened a further three plants in the western part of Romania and then last year announced a change of strategy. At the time the Sibiu-based factory was opened, Continental officials said they intended to employ many of the graduates from the Sibiu Computer Science School.
The change in the way Romania is viewed - from a low-cost country to a country able to supply high-quality products - is also confirmed by the action of Continental''s main competitors.
French group Michelin, which bought two tyre plants from the Tofan group in 2001, has started to make medium-range tyres in Romania and is scheduled to begin producing tyres under the Michelin brand.
Italian company Pirelli, the world''s fifth-largest tyre maker, has decided to invest 110 million euros into a factory for high-quality tyres in Romania.
"We chose Romania because the market is much more competitive than in the other Eastern European countries and people are much better trained. Expenses on raw materials, energy and other costs are comparable with similar expenses in EU countries. The only difference lies in salary-related costs. Romania offers cheaper workforce, but the quality of services is similar to that in the EU," said Francesco Gori, executive manager of Pirelli Tyres.
Last week saw Pirelli and Continental launch a 40 million-euro joint investment project for a metallic inserts plant. Cord Romania is a joint venture owned by Pirelli (80%) and Continental (20%).
"When it comes to relocating production, it is very important that the local authorities support the investor. For instance, we were granted all the necessary licences in 45 days," added Gori.
The Pirelli-Continental plant in Slatina is located on a 100,000 square-metre site and has 135 employees. It exports 80% of its output.
lavinia.marin@zf.ro ; ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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