German group Continental AG announced it would invest 20 million euros in its tyre distribution centre based in the Sacalaz commune, Timis county, by 2010.
The company's representatives said that the distribution centre would become operational for its clients from Eastern Europe this coming March. In addition as of this January, the centre will serve clients from Romania.
The German consortium has built the tyre distribution centre in partnership with the air cargo company Dietrich-Honold Logistik and with the Honold Logistik group, with the initial investment amounting to some 5 million euros.
"Until 2005 all the output produced on the local market was exported first to Germany and from there it was delivered on to the market. Now that the distribution centre has opened, it will allow us to sell directly from Romania both locally and in other Eastern European countries," Ildiko Kovaks, PR coordinator with Continental Automotive Products Timisoara told ZF Transilvania.
The tyre centre based in Sacalaz will become a central distribution point for Eastern Europe within several years, according to the company representatives. Approximately 30,000 tonnes of tyres will be exported every year to countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Croatia, Bosnia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The investment made in Timis county will amount to some 20 million euros in three-years time and the new centre will employ 250 people.
Continental Automotive Products Timisoara has budgeted investments worth approximately 15 million euros for this year, money that will be used to expand production capacities to 14 million tyres per year, compared with the production capacity of 12.5 million tyres reported in 2006.
The company last year invested 25 million euros to expand its production capacities for the factory
