“Total investments will revolve around EUR1 million and are mainly related to the acquisition of new equipment producing corrugated cardboard boxes. The new equipment will boost production capacity by 10% starting this autumn,” Remus Craciun, Ecopack general manager, told ZF Transilvania.
More than half of the plant’s production goes to the consumer goods industry, but the company also has clients in the electronics, car parts industries.
The company reached revenue worth 51.3 million lei (EUR11.5 million) in the first half of this year, up 23% against the same period of last year. In 2013, revenue amounted to some RON92.6 (EUR20.8 million).
For 2014, the producer budgeted RON100 million (EUR22.2 million) in revenue. About the market, the company says it is rising, but growth rates are still extremely low.
“Market trends are constantly positive ones, but growth rates are extremely low. Exports have the capacity to absorb part of the capacity surplus in Romania,” said Remus Craciun.
Ecopack has around 210 employees, but plans to recruit another 7 by yearend. The company is listed on the Bucharest bourse and is controlled by Kameran Financial company registered in Switzerland.
Ecopack is a stakeholder in Ecopaper company of Zarnesti, Brasov county, which produces paper for corrugated cardboard. Ecopaper last year started investments of RON43.5 million (some EUR10 million) to acquire new equipment to the end of doubling production capacity.
The corrugated cardboard market, which includes 10 domestic players, is a highly competitive field, with demand covering just 37% of production, as Romanians focus on low-price, average-quality products.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)