Irum Reghin sells agricultural and forestry equipment worth 8m euros

Farming and forestry equipment manufacturer Irum in Reghin expects to post a 34 million-RON (over 8 million-euro) turnover this year, down by around 8% in RON and by around 20% in euros against last year. The Mures-based company ended 2008 with an over 36.8 million-RON (10 million-euro) turnover. "The financial crisis affected our company's business through the sales decline on markets in Germany, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria. The demand for forestry equipment is growing at a slower rate at present than it did in 2008, but in the future we expect the market to see a more significant increase. The investments in technology made in previous years supported the company's business during this time of crisis, so in the second half of the year we recorded an up to 3 % rise in sales," Mircea Eugen Oltean, general manager of Irum Reghin, told ZF Transilvania. For this year the company has budgeted investments in modernising technology flows in the steel, cast iron and non-ferrous materials departments, with an overall value amounting to around one million euros. Last year Irum allocated around 2.2 million euros for investments in modernising the heat treatment facility and processing centres, as well as in professional training for the company's personnel.