Austria's Holzindustrie Schweighofer, one of the major players in the wood processing industry, intends to boost its investments on the domestic market by 130m euros, with a view to increasing production capacities and also for the construction of two electro-thermal cogeneration stations.
"The total value of investments in Romania stands at around 170m euros, on top of which we will add 130m euros within the next three years," Gerald Schweighofer, owner of Holzindustrie Schweighofer, told ZF.
Schweighofer specified that 50-60% of the investments would be paid for with bank loans, while the rest will be self-funded.
The Austrian-based company is already carrying out a project involving a new timber plant in Radauti, Suceava, which will support the already existing plant in Sebes, Alba. The investment amounts to 70 million euros and the project is scheduled for completion at the end of this year, with production due to start in 2008.
With the Radauti investment, the company's annual production capacity will reach 2.2 million cubic metres of processed logs, from a previous level of 1 million cubic metres.
"Around 80% of the raw materials we use come from Romanian suppliers, but we want to reduce this percentage to 70% in the next few years," added Schweighofer.
Eighty percent of Holzindustrie's Romanian production goes to export markets, with Asian countries as the prime destinations.
For 2007, Holzindustrie expects to generate a turnover worth 150m euros, an increase from 121.3m euros in 2006. In the first half of this year, the company's revenues reached 80m euros. At present, the company has 750 employees, with their number expected to reach 1,000 by the yearend. The current Sebes wood processing platform has an approximate area of 34 hectares.
More specifically, last year, the company finalised works on a wood pellet
