Deva-based SkyRom company last year made approximately 200,000 pairs of ski boots, i.e. about 2% of the world's ski boots output, under contract for Italy's Nordica, one of the leading international suppliers of sportswear.
"The contract closed with Nordica stipulates production shall maintain at the same level this year. There are signs the international demand for such products will be higher by 10%-15% in 2005 than this year. Which means it will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of over 11 million pairs of ski boots. Therefore we might find ourselves renegotiating the terms of the contract," Claudiu Buciuman, SkyRom manager told Ziarul Financiar.
As the company works under an outsourcing deal, its turnover did not match the weight of the Deva-made ski boots in the total output worldwide.
The company made a little more than one million euros in revenues, about the same as in 2003.
SkyRom's manager added turnover could exceed 1.3 million euros this year, as the company was expanding. "We have started hiring people because we want to continue to make light textile lining for ski boots for several French companies," Buciuman said.
The company was established in Orastie in 1999 and the Italians invested about 25bn ROL (one million dollars) in a full ski boots production line. SkyRom made only textile lining for ski boots for four years.
"In late 2002, the factory was moved to Deva because of the constant migration of work force from one company to another, which caused problems with the production process," SkyRom's manager says.
The company in 2003 secured a long-term contract with two Italian firms, Nordica and Tecnica. Its 170 employees are making about 15,000 pairs of ski boots every month, which are sold for 100 to 300 euros on the international markets. The 300 euro ski boots are the top of their respective ranges and are aimed at professional skiers participating in various competitions.
There are some 2,000 pairs of top of the line ski boots made in Deva every year. The raw material is imported, as Romania lacks the facilities to make it. One of the raw material suppliers that provide the necessary plastic components is a Hungarian company.
The Deva-made ski boots do not share the same features. Those labelled "Ultra Fit" adjust to the feet of whoever wears them and therefore become personalised in time. The "Termic Fit" ski boots come with a special lining made of thermo-insulating materials that always keep feet warm regardless of the temperature outside.
transilvania@zf.ro
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