Another 40 people will be recruited this year and if there is demand the plant of Ploiesti, which has taken investments of $140 million, is likely to double its capacity.
Lufkin group, including the plant of Ploiesti, is held by General Electric in the wake of a $3.3 billion deal sealed in 2013.
“Lufkin’s Romanian arm includes a production unit and a post-sales and re-processing unit. We currently have 340 employees in Romania, and 320 work in the Ploiesti plant. We expect to reach 380 employees by late 2014,” says Dave Kennedy, general manager of Lufkin for the Eastern hemisphere.
Lufkin opened the Ploiesti oil equipment plant in mid 2013 and $28 million of total investments came as aid from the Romanian state.
At that moment, the company forecast revenue of $60 million in the first operational year. Kennedy chose not to specify the value of the company’s sales.
The Ploiesti plant manufactures oil pumps heading to 20 countries. “The unit mainly produces high-depth pumps and has a production capacity of over 1,100 units per annum. This capacity may double in the future should there be enough demand. Moreover, the unit secures services and assistance for the sale of all the company’s products in the eastern hemisphere,” specifies Dave Kennedy.
The company’s target this year is to maintain sales. Lufkin officials expect market conditions to improve as the rush for resources has pushed oil companies to drill deeper and deeper into ever more challenging areas.
“As the industry is successfully making use of new production sources, we are spotting outstanding industry development opportunities. However, we are realistic about the major hurdles we need to overcome,” Dave Kennedy also says.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)