The officials of the group declined to comment on the information. “We do not comment on rumors or speculations.”
The new investment of the US group, whose brands include Pampers, Ariel, Gillette and Head & Shoulders, will be built in Urlati, Prahova County. The city, which is one-hour drive from Bucharest, is also home to P&G’s hair product plant. The project launched in 2010, when the first shampoo bottle was made and required more than $100 million investment. P&G has since invested further in this facility, turning it into an export hub.
Romania no longer has any large toothpaste, soap bar and diaper plants, for instance, all of which products sold by P&G. The group also operates on the detergent segment but is unlikely to open such a production facility, considering it had one in Timisoara, which it sold to Germany’s Dalli group citing powder detergent overproduction capacity as a reason.
P&G has a diaper plant in Targowek, Poland. A new facility is unlikely in the region, especially considering the birth rate is not at all encouraging.
On the other hand, the investment in Urlati might simply be a relocation from the West.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)