The new plant will produce wing components for aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Embraer and is due for completion within two years, EBRD said in a statement.
Sonaca operates in the development, manufacturing and assembly of advanced structures for large aircraft. It serves leading enterprises such as Airbus, Embraer, Dassault Aviation, Bombardier and Gulfstream.
Sonaca is headquartered in Belgium, with production facilities in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China and Romania, and employs over 2,500 people worldwide including 350 engineers.
“Sonaca’s new plant will contribute to the sustainable development of the aerospace industry in Romania. We firmly believe that the plant will demonstrate that high-quality elements for wing aerodynamics can be produced here, and that this will attract further investment into higher value-added manufacturing in the country and strengthen the local knowledge base,” Matteo Patrone, EBRD Regional Director for Romania and Bulgaria, said.
According to Bernard Delvaux, Sonaca CEO, the new operation in Romania will strengthen the company’s competitiveness and ensure renewed growth over the next five years.
EBRD has invested over EUR7 billion in Romania to date and also mobilized more than EUR14 billion from other sources of financing.