The company did not provide estimates on this year’s sales. “The 2012 budget was calculated based on forecasts of the sales division of the Schaeffler group for worldwide sales of the parts manufactured in the Brasov plant. As for the market, last year we noticed a moderately positive trend, which we hope will be kept, despite negative rumors, this year as well,” Alexandru Blemovici, general manager of Schaeffler Romania told ZF Transilvania.
The German company hired around 400 people last year at the Brasov plant, which currently employs 3,600 people. Depending on the evolution of the market and of orders, Schaeffler Romania intends to hire new people this year, for management, expert, and operator positions.
Schaeffler manufactures big ball bearings in Brasov for various sectors, with production being almost entirely exported. The Schaeffler plant in Brasov supplies components to GKN, Renault (Dacia), Ford, VW, and Daimler on the automotive side, and on the industrial segment manufactures for Siemens, Winergy, Enercon, Trumpf.
Last year the company’s production rose by around 9% against the preceding year, on rising orders from both segments
“Apart from ongoing investments into boosting and modernizing the existing capacity, we are planning to start production for 3 new production lines this year, for products dedicated to the automotive and industrial sectors,” Blemovici said.
The company says in the coming period it will open an engineering center where a team of up to 300 engineers will design and develop products and manufacturing processes. Schaeffler officials say this engineering center will be able to develop joint projects, both with car manufacturers and with other players in industrial production present in Romania, without providing additional information on the value of the investment. (EUR1=RON4.3473)
(English version by Daniela Stoican)