“We had our own labs even before that. We have a production capacity of 1 ton of sanitizer per day. We now have five employees and are preparing to hire five more soon. We’re waiting to see if we get orders from the authorities, see what they like, buy from abroad or from us,” Professor Liviu Pandele, Ph. D, chairman of the board of Laboratoarele Merlin, told ZF.
“It’s an uneven battle, we would like the government to provide the working capital at this time. VAT of such products is 19%. The government needs such finished products and we are making money that stays in the country.”
Laboratoarele Merlin, a Brasov-based business that makes and distributes food and beverages, is among the companies that received the approval of the proper authorities to make surface disinfectants.
In an economy where more than 1 milion people have been furloughed and more than 215,000 people have had their employment contracts terminated, small and medium-sized companies are shifting focus and continue to hire.
A number of 27 companies got approval from the relevant authorities to make disinfectants since the start of the state of emergency and 60 more companies and public institutions got the approval to make protective gear such as coveralls, face shields, medical gowns and surface disinfectants.
Many of them need additional staff to refocus their business or add a new activity to their portfolios.
Laboratoarele Merlin will continue to make surface disinfectants even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
“We chose to make sanitizers to ensure a supply at a decent price in Romania. Imported sanitizers cost as much as RON150, we will sell them for one third of that price. We will continue to make sanitizers even after the crisis ends, we’ve got all we need to do it,” Liviu Pandele said.
Romtehnochim, a company that makes paint, decorative wall paint and floor tiling, received approval from the relevant authorities to make two types of surface disinfectants. The company officials say they are looking to hire six to ten new people soon.
“We now have 30 employees and want to hire more. We are experiencing a labor shortage. We want to hire six to ten people, but we need candidates to choose them from. We don’t necessarily need college graduates, we need blue collar workers,” Marcela Petre, chief executive of Romtehnochim, told ZF.
The company has a production capacity of about 10 tons per day and will continue production of disinfectants once the crisis is over.
D&C Products Industry is one of the 27 companies that got approval from the relevant authorities to make hand sanitizer.
The company plans to hire five to seven people soon for the purpose, says Ioan Pasca, general manager of D&C Products Industry SRL-D.
The company’s core business is perfume and cosmetics manufacturing and it started operations in 2017.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)