1. Highways in Iraq and apartment buildings in Morocco
Romania builder Delta ACM 93, controlled by businessman Florea Diaconu, took the first step on foreign markets this year, when it won a construction contract for 20 kilometers of highway in Iraq. The company, whose revenue stood at EUR91 million last year, is building a 20.6 kilometer section of the 58.3 kilometer long Erbil-Koya highway. The contract Delta ACM 93 won stands at $66.7 million (EUR47.8 million).
On the other hand, Arges County-based (southern Romania) construction company Building Astrom, held by Marian Dragoi, Nicolae Dragoi and Alexandru Radu, entered foreign markets such as Morocco and Libya, where it got construction contracts. It is also looking at Algeria, Iraq and Qatar as its next targets. Building Astrom has won an EUR34 million contract to build 12 apartment buildings in Morocco, via a public-private partnership and a $3 million contract in Libya so far.
2. Generation change in cement industry
The cement industry has gone through a real generation change over the past year, as the two big bosses of the sector, Mihai Rohan from Carpatcement Holding and Markus Wirth of Holcim Romania left the helm of their companies. They kept their seats in the boards of directors, though.
This fall, however, Philippe Questiaux, chairman and chief executive of Lafarge Ciment Romania, too, announced he would end his term next year and will be replaced by Sonia Artinian, recently appointed as deputy chief executive of the company.
3. Henkel builds new adhesives plant
Henkel, a company with over EUR130 million revenue a year derived from consumer goods and construction supplies industries, started construction work on its third adhesives plant, an EUR10 million investment, this year.
Out of the EUR10 million budget of the new plant, EUR3 million will come from European funds. The new plant will have a 36,000 square meter floor area and will make 180,000-200,000 tons of adhesives a year.
Although announcing it had both the land and the permits for a third plant in Romania last year, German-held Henkel postponed the start of the construction work for 2011.
Henkel has two more adhesives plants in Pantelimon, near Bucharest and in Campia Turzii, Cluj County (NW Romania). Investments in the two plants so far are in excess of EUR30 million.
4. Umbrarescu, the undisputed asphalt king
Dorinel Umbrarescu, who controls Spedition UMB and Tehnostrade builders, has won at least EUR530 million worth of contracts in the past year. It is one of the most active competitors on the local infrastructure market, ZF has estimated based on the information made public and on the data provided by the national company in change of national roads and highways (CNADNR) and by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism. Spedition UMB collected the highest amount of money from CNADNR in the first seven months of this year, over EUR177 million, for building highways and upgrading roads.
5. Octagon invests EUR8-EUR10 million in the Faur site in Bucharest
Builder Octagon, held by Greek businessmen Alexandros Ignatiadis and Paschalis Paganias, entered a new business niche this fall, when it became the majority shareholder of the construction material supply base Comat Electro, located in the industrial area of Faur-Republica Bucharest (east side of the city).
The company announced it planned to invest EUR8 to EUR10 million in expanding the industrial park with production and storage facilities. Work should begin at the end of 2012 or early in 2013. The company, whose revenue stood at EUR14.3 million last year, expects this year’s revenue to remain the same, considering the local construction market did not witness a significant rebound in 2011.
6. AdePlast completes polystyrene plant
Although the construction market did not witness a significant rebound in 2011, Romanian entrepreneurs started preparing for a rise in demand as early as this year. Construction supplies maker AdePlast, owned by businessman Marcel Barbut, inaugurated a polystyrene plant in Ploiesti in August. The plant, a EUR4 million investment was self-financed.
AdePlast has two more plants in Ploiesti and Oradea, in which it invested about EUR28 million.
The company has recently announced it intends to invest over EUR10 million in building a industrial manufacturing area in Moldova by 2012.
7. Poland’s Atlas group buys Cesal Oradea
Polish Atlas group, which posted more than EUR280 million revenue in 2010, held by three of the richest businessmen in Poland, bought the controlling stake in Bihor County-based (western Romania) Cesal. This company makes mortars, adhesives, paints and varnishes.
The amount the Polish buyers paid for 80% in Cesal has not been revealed, and the remaining 20% are still held by the founders, Ioan Gadalean, Vasile Fonoage, Domnica Roucaciu and Sanda Secara, all of whom holding management positions in the company.
Cesal posted EUR4.86 million revenue and gross profit of EUR35,000 in 2009, according to Trade Registry data. The Polish owners have big plans for Romania and intend to invest about EUR8 million in developing production facilities, the brand and in boosting market share over the next three years.
8. EUR25 million amusement park
Synthetic diamond maker Rami Dacia completed a EUR25 million investment in the Terra Park amusement park in Bucharest this fall.
The park, located in sector six of the city on Timisoara Boulevard, has 30 attractions and 500 parking spots on a 30,000 square meter surface area. Rami Dacia expects 600,000 visitors in the first year in business of the park, so that revenue should reach at least 30 million lei (EUR6.95 million) according to ZF calculations.
Rami Dacia, whose revenue stood at RON1.7 million (almost EUR400,000) in 2010 is controlled by the Employee Association, and the State Assets Resolution Authority owns 22% in it, too.
9. Fines for builders
The Competition Council fined 25 builders involved in construction of roads and highways, asking them to pay about RON1.9 million (EUR440,000) for failure to provide information during an investigation of the institution that was looking to find out more about the road and highway construction market.
Those fined include Astaldi (Italy), Apolodor Com Impex (controlled by businessman Radu Ouatu) and Lena Engenharia e Construcoes (Portugal).
10. Baumit wants new mortar plant
Construction materials producer Baumit Romania, part of the Austrian Schmid Industrie Holding group announced it was considering the construction of a new 300,000 ton dry mortar plant after having inaugurated a similar plant in Bolintin, Giurgiu County (southern Romania) last year.