The headquarters of brothers Ioan and Viorel Micula, which covers 100 hectares of land, is prominent because of its size in a rural area populated by just a few thousand inhabitants located in southern Bihor county.
Ioan and Viorel Micula, the businessmen from Bihor who founded European Food & Drinks group in 1993, have marked 20 countries on a map of Europe, a market of more than 120 million inhabitants, where they intend to supply soft drinks, beer, mineral water and several other products from a portfolio that totals 350 products.
"Whereas at the beginning we were at a disadvantage because of our location in Bihor, a long way from Bucharest, now we can say we are strategically positioned on a market of 120 million inhabitants," says Viorel Micula, chairman of European Drinks. His brother, Ioan Micula, maintains that their strategic position near the western border of the country could bring them an additional 400-500 million euros, should they decide to sell the brewery near Draganesti tomorrow.
However, the shareholders seem to be motivated to invest more in the food industry. They have invested around 800m euros in European Food & Drinks, the biggest Romanian-held company in the food industry. Of these, around 335m euros were directed at the mineral water and soft drinks unit. The group, which owns 26 bottling lines for mineral water, juices, beer and other alcoholic drinks, production facilities for sweets, sauces and pasta and a distribution firm for its products, could reach cumulated turnover worth 800m euros this year.
The group's exports rose by 50% this year against 2006, with export growth outpacing domestic sales growth.
The Micula brothers say export growth was significantly bolstered by the group's partnerships with major store chains. European Food & Drinks shareholders have also received financing offers from foreign markets.
Ioan Micula adds that in negotiating a bank loan the group counts on the guarantees it can offer and holds tangible assets worth around 800m euros. The brewery built on the industrial site in Draganesti could be the group's most valuable asset. It was assessed at around 400m euros by one of the biggest banks operating on the Romanian market last year, according to previous statements made by Ioan Micula.
The group entered the beer market in 2003 and currently owns the best-selling beer brand, Burger. "We now have a beer production capacity of 500 million litres per year and could expand it to 850 million litres, which would account for half of the Romanian market," says Ioan Micula.
At present, Ioan and Viorel Micula say they own 11 companies in Romania. They started domestic business activities in the early '90s, after spending around seven years in Sweden. They have developed their businesses by gradually entering into a rising number of market segments.
European Food & Drinks
The biggest Romanian-held player in the food industry, in which the Micula brothers have so far invested approximately 800m euros
Exports rose by 50% this year against 2006, with export growth outpacing domestic sales growth
Hold tangible assets worth around 800m euros
The brewery built on the industrial platform in Draganesti could be the group's most valuable asset and was assessed at 400m euros last year
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