The Cluj-based producer of tubular steel radiators, Irrom Industrie, a member of the Italian group Irsap, will have a new production line for its plant in Iclod (Cluj county) by the end of the month as part of an investment worth close to 400,000 euros.

"The new production line forms part of our development plans for this year. We currently work on a single production line, using three shifts and 50 employees - 30 more than at the beginning of the year. Assuming there are no problems, we expect the new line will be operational by September," the Irrom general manager Bogdan Ionescu told ZF Transilvania.

He says that the number of employees at the plant will rise to 100 by the end of the year.

Irrom is also planning to establish a national sales network during this year. "The demand on the Romanian market is constant, but it has remained at a low level. For the time being we are only in Transylvania, Banat and the counties in the south of the country, however we plan to develop a presence in all the specialist stores around the country over the following period," Ionescu explained. The company does not run its own retail operations and is not planning to open its own outlets in the future, says Ionescu: "Each business has its own particularities, and we will be focusing on production for the time being."

The company''s current production in Cluj is 90% destined for export.

"We plan to stay in Romania after it joins the European Union, and for this reason all the industrial machinery we have in our plant is new and compliant with European standards. We also plan to ensure working conditions similar to those in Western Europe," said Ionescu.

This year saw Irrom Industrie finalise a production hall for tubular steel radiators. Production there began in April, though according to company estimates ful