Having entered the Romanian market in the late '90s, the German automotive component manufacturers have invested over 650 million euros in Romanian plants and will not stop here. Lured by the cheap and highly skilled work force, major German producers such as Continental, INA Schaeffer or Ruwel are revealing investment plans worth tens of million euros for the following years.

With over 240 million euros earmarked for the Romanian market, Continental group is one of the most important German investors on the domestic market. Continental entered the Romanian market in the late '90s, deciding to invest 100 million euros in a tyre plant in Timisoara. Subsequently, the Germans invested another 70 million euros in expansion, with the plant due to reach a production capacity of 16 million tyres a year by 2008.

Continental Automotive Products Timisoara, the tyre production unit of the German group, last year hit 217 million-euro turnover and gross income worth 38 million euros. Beside the Timisoara plant, Continental also owns in Romania Contitech Romania, PHX Romania, Phoenix Union industrial parts plants in Carei and Continental Automotive Products car parts plant in Sibiu.

Another major investor in the Romanian automotive component industry is Germany's Draxlmaier, which has invested over 180 million euros in Romania in the five plants in Codlea, Satu Mare, Timisoara, Hunedoara and Pitesti. The plants now have around 17,200 employees, more than half the total number of employees the group has globally. Draxlmaier's turnover in Romania rose by over 10% last year, to 116 million euros. The entire production of the group in Romania is delivered for assembly abroad.

Another car parts maker is BOS Automotive Products German concern, which entered the Romanian market in 2001 by setting up BOS Automotive Products Romania in Arad. BOS Automotive Products