Cautious optimists
Though its citizens rejected the EU constitution and many are wary of further enlargement, The Netherlands has thrown its weight behind Romanian accession: its Ambassador to Romania Jaap Werner talks to Michael Bird
Rightly or wrongly, the Netherlands
has gained a new reputation as Eurosceptic
following its strong rejection of
the European Constitution last year.
Ambassador Jaap Werner says the
main issue that mobilised the opposition
camp was concern that Dutch decisionmaking
powers may be lost to Brussels.
“This ‘No’ vote was an alarm bell – the people said involve us better at a
national and European level on European
issues, including enlargement,” he says. “Romanian and Bulgarian accession is
not such a hot issue, but Dutch citizens
want to know: where does it end?”
With Turkey and Croatia opening
accession negotiations, the Dutch want
to know what benefits enlargement, and
the European Union as a whole, will
bring them. One necessity, says Werner,
is to communicate to the Dutch that
European solutions for their problems
can be the best solutions.
|
||
But he is positive the issue of targeting corruption is on the table.
“Now what we need is more credible investigations and indictments and, somewhat in the longer term, convictions.”
But many commentators believe there is little chance that the big fish will be reeled in and prosecuted by the time the European Commission issues its report on 16 May. So will the mechanisms of anti-corruption have to show only structural indications of progress, rather than proof?
“It’s up to the European Commission to make the report – the requirement in this field is one of a credible track record, not necessarily convictions, but a clear indication that the anti-corruption infrastructure is in place and is producing investigations and indictments and, in the end, the judicial system will no doubt produce convictions.”
Positive signals emerge from the Senate’s second reading and passing of the anti-corruption bill, which now puts politicians under the same scrutiny as the common man.
But Werner says its initial rejection by the Senate “raised some eyebrows and doubts” as to whether there was broad political support for the new anti-corruption department (DNA) as the best tool to fight corruption.
“After that disappointing short while, there is now relief and conviction that things are in order, so that DNA can do work with proper legitimacy,” he adds.
NEGATIVE SPIRAL
Werner has witnessed the worst abuses
of power in recent Balkan politics, when
he was posted in Belgrade between 1990
and 1993.
“It was the beginning of a process of a
country that was going down the drain,”
he said. “All trends and developments
were negative. Here the
situation is the opposite.
All trends are in the
right direction. With
a little help from the
EU, Romania is getting
back on its feet with
a potential to become
a powerful player in
Europe.”
In Belgrade Werner
saw how the “bad guys”
took over economic
power, including smugglers and the
worst divisions of the army. Living a few
hundred metres from the ice cream parlour
where Serbian paramilitary leader
of the ‘Tigers’, Arkan, used to have his
headquarters, Werner would see their
military vehicles pass to go to Bosnia on
weekend murder sprees.
Now the debate centres on whether
Kosovo will become independent – a status some politicians believe
is inevitable. This is despite strong
opposition in Serbia, in part due to
the presence of Serbs in the majority Kosovan Albanian province who fear
being marginalised.
Romania has favoured something
called ‘negotiated autonomy’ for the
province.
“Romania has ideas on what Kosovo
should become and not become, defined
from Romanian interests and a little bit
of fear of precedents that might result
from a Kosovo solution,” says Werner.
Other unofficial nations in the Black
Sea area, such as Transnistria, may see
Kosovan independence as a pretext to
declare its own desires for full autonomy,
which could upset regional stability.
“Romania has good access to Belgrade
and is in a good position to translate
European solutions for the Kosovo
issue,” says Werner. “There is no doubt
that at some point in time the western
Balkans will become part and parcel of
the EU integration process.”
STABILISING FORCE
Black Sea stability has been at the
core of President Basescu’s desire to
internationalise Romanian politics. This
move is welcomed by the EU because
this region will soon be its border.
But this entails a cluster of issues,
such as democratisation of Georgia,
Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, the
fight against organised crime, terrorism,
drugs and people trafficking, the control
of energy and foreign military interests.
“In Romania we find a new member
state that will put that issue on the table – it is not an easy subject – the mixed
bag of issues it represents have smaller
and bigger players which each have their
own agenda, from USA to Russia to
Turkey and Ukraine.”
Though Romania may have the right
agenda, some fear that it does not quite carry the international weight among
regional nations to be a power broker on
major issues.
Werner says it would be helpful if
Romania and Ukraine could sort out
their territorial issues, “the headaches
here and there” such as the status of who
owns Snake Island and whether-or-not
the Bastroe Canal is going to wreck the
Danube Delta.
After confidence is built between
countries, the next step is to act jointly
against common threats such as organised
crime. Werner says all must engage
Russia in these areas.
“Russia is too big a player to be
ignored and from the Romanian side I
see positive efforts to improve bilateral
relations with Russia to enhance economic
exchanges,” he adds. “Russia
holds the key to much of what can be
achieved in the Black Sea region.”
| VIEW FROM THE WEST |
Now the Netherlands has ratified
the Accession Treaty of Romania
and Bulgaria to the EU, Romanian
Ambassador to The Hague, Iulian
Buga, says Dutch interest in
Romania is increasing. TRADE TALK |
Waterway to go
Inland waterways could offer great potential for Dutch investors as ‘The Diplomat – Bucharest’ publishes an analysis of top Dutch business
Romania has a bounty of natural
resources that are not exploited to full
capacity. One area under close examination
by The Netherlands is the Danube
for waterway transport.
“Dutch companies
can be involved
because of their vast
experience with
inland shipping,”
says head of the
economic section
and environment
at the Netherlands
Embassy, Marjolijn
van Deelen. “It is a
very cheap way of
transporting goods
between Rotterdam
and Constanta.”
While the wars in Yugoslavia bankrupted
many Danube shipping firms,
more open Governments in the Balkans
could allow direct transport in bulk,
such as raw materials or heavy goods to
Constanta and then on to Europe’s main
artery.
Currently there are almost no barges
taking cargo from the Black Sea entirely
up to the North Sea, with the exception
of new ship hulls from Romania coming
to western Europe, says a spokeswoman
for the Inland Navigation Europe (INE)
This route can be a
cheaper option for bulk
goods, or those that are
not time-sensitive.
“Storage costs can
be reduced because
ships act as floating
warehouses,” says the
INE representative.
Advantages over
road, rail and air are
reduced congestion,
increased safety and
reduced pollution.
But there are physical obstacles.
These include no guaranteed passage
all year round, some bridge clearance
means only two layers of containers are
allowed on some sections, while container
transport usually requires three
layers.
The Danube passage also needs infrastructure
development that respects
environmental regulations. Austria has
taken up this opportunity, says INE, but
although the scenarios for infrastructure
exist, other countries in the corridor
have not considered this a priority.
Idea Factory
Joint Romanian-Dutch entrepreneurships
with a good business idea in a
new industry to Romania could benefit
from Dutch Government funding in its ‘Programme for Co-operation with
Emerging Markets’.
“An idea that would not be approved
would be exporting ping-pong balls to
China, or, to here, exporting cabbage to
Romania,” says van Deelen.
Since 1996, 95 projects
have gained funding from
The Hague with grants of up
to around 900,000 Euro, the
majority in agriculture and
food processing.
However, complaints from
local Dutch business show
the common trinity of annoyance:
bureaucracy, corruption
and bad roads.
Some Dutch companies
seem to be put off by deals
if it appears that the tender
procedure is awry.
“If they sit at their desk in
the Netherlands and think:
Oh, I see this tender procedure
for roads in Romania,
well that’s probably going
to be corrupt, let’s not
bother – there is this road in
Germany, let’s do that,” says
van Deelen. “The perception
may be right or wrong.”
- To give regional support,
the Embassy set up a
Netherlands Business Support
Office in Cluj-Napoca, due to
be operational as we went to
press.
- Fancy going Dutch?
The Netherlands business
community and anyone
wanting to meet them collect
for a drink every second
Wednesday of the month at
the Amsterdam Cafe, 6 Str
Covaci, Bucharest
New broom
Gerdwin Lammers has just
landed the job of executive
director of the newly-formed
Netherlands - Roma n i a
Chamber of Commerce
(NRCC).
Since then his mobile has
been buzzing and most callers
have only one thing on
their mind.
“The most commonly asked
question is: Where can I buy
land?” says Lammers. “The
answer is: It doesn’t matter.”
As well as suggesting to
callers to search out boom
towns such as Arad, Sibiu
and Cluj-Napoca, Lammers
believes there will be a ringroad
in Bucharest by 2011,
which will make access to
the undeveloped south and
east easier.
“Five Euro per sqm in the
south will probably give a
higher return than 60 Euro
per sqm in the north,” he
adds.
NRCC debuted last year
and now has 30 members
with a target of 200. Open for
Dutch or Dutch related companies,
the Chamber includes
Romanian firms who want to
trade with The Netherlands
and its concerns vary from
tax and commercial to legal
issues. Ways of doing business
differ between western
Europe and Romania, says
Lammers.
“If we organise an event in
Romania and after the event
schedule there is a drink, the
Dutch are all there, but the
Romanians are gone. It’s not
in there culture to socialise
that way – yet.”
But he believes Romanians
need to be more active. “Today
it is the Dutch who come to
Romania to search for business,
not the Romanians who
go to Holland,” he adds.
The EU may bring drawbacks
to some investors: an
increase in wages could turn
off some foreign firms looking
to relocate production
and choosing between Asia,
CIS and Romania.
“Yes, the wages will increase, but Romanians can afford to
become more expensive,” he says.
This is not the prime problem. That,
Lammers argues, is productivity. “The
Romanian labour force should and can
catch up with its standard of productivity,
if it does, it will be in a strong
position.”
Banking : staying organic
ING Bank is the only bank that has
managed to become one of the five largest
in the country exclusively through
organic growth.
Its assets grew last year by almost
50 per cent, partly due to
a massive branch expansion
programme through
its automated ‘Self-Bank’
outlets.
“Last year was one of
great decisions and challenges,
but we chose the
organic growth strategy,
which proved to be the
winning card,” says ING
Romania president Dirk
Serbruyns.
Now, with around 90
retail branches, the bank
intends to open 70 new
ING offices by the end of
2006.
With a policy of separating
corporate from
retail services, Director of
wholesale banking Misu
Negritoiu says the bank will
open ten more branches in
the business sector from
its current 20.
|
|
With state bank Banca Comerciala Romana now in the hands of Austrian Erste, Negritoiu says this can contribute to a more competitive environment.
“The costs of banking services - fees and commissions - will dramatically go down,” he adds. “This includes prices for cash withdrawals. Only 50 per cent of Romanians have an account. Once 70
per cent have an account, costs will go down.”
Long-time market leader ING Life Insurance just announced it has consolidated its market share at 37 per cent, with an increase in gross profit of 72 per cent over 2004, according to executive general manager Bram Boon.
He says the firm’s Financial Plans for Children are among the most successful products in its portfolio.
This year he says the company will focus on diversifying its portfolio, with an increased focus on the protection plan segment.
“Romania is a key market for ING Life Insurance, especially since the protection need is bigger,” says Boon.
The bank estimates the protection deficit in Romania now stands at around 130 billion RON [37 billion Euro].
The general manager added that one of his firm’s priorities this year is supporting private pension reform.
Last year ABN Amro bank entered the retail banking market, in particular targeting the ‘mass-affluent’ niche.
This includes entrepreneurs who have started their own businesses and look to grow.
One of the initial contenders for Romania’s largest bank, BCR, ABN Amro since withdrew from the race and has no immediate plans for an acquisition.
“Instead we will focus on growing organically, and are not thinking at a takeover as of now,” says Peter Weiss, country executive and chairman of the board of ABN Amro Romania. “We will look at an opportunity to acquire a local bank if that bank fits with our strategy and culture, and is for sale at a reasonable price.”
HEALTH: Private options
Following success in insurance products
in Euro, Interamerican launched
last March new products Ronsafe, Ronmedium and Ronplus, which are
unit-linked and use the local currency
with low, middle and high risk levels.
“I can’t tell now which one Romanians
will prefer, but looking at the Euro funds
launched in 2004, there is a clear preference
for high risk,” says Timo van
Voorden, CEO of Interamerican.
He says people’s risk appetite is linked
to how the stock exchange operates.
“If there are too many good indexes
on the stock exchange, people feel
invincible and then high risk equals
high return,” he says. “Now the stock
exchange is not doing so well and you
see a migration to lower risk.”
Interamerican started the activity on
the market with life and non-life insurance
products. Last year the company
introduced health insurance products and
opened a private hospital, Medisystem.
Diplomats, expats and Government
officials have responded fast to the idea
of private health, but the Romanian
middle class is under the impression this
is an expensive product.
|
|
Insurance giving a customer unlimited access to the hospital costs around 35 Euro per month and Interamerican plans this year to develop the health insurance and private hospital segment.
AGRICULTURE: Dairy farms
Dairy product firm Friesland Romania
is consolidating its market position by
investing six million Euro in 2006 in upgrading its factories in Mures and
Baciu, Cluj county.
The owner of dairy brand Milli and
chocolate bar Dots sees its largest
sales in Bucharest, Transylvania and
Banat and fewer in Moldavia and south
Romania.
“Milli sales more than doubled last
year and now represent 35 per cent of
our turnover,” says Friesland Romania
general manager Gerbrant de Boer. “Dots sales also increased by almost 40
per cent.”
This year, Friesland will continue to
invest in its raw material base and factories,
develop its brands and distribution.
Flower-crazed
“No more tulips were imported into
Romania this year,” says Gheorghe
Teodorescu, administrator of Fresh
Flowers. “We provided around 2.5 million
tulips and this covered the whole of
the country’s request for tulips.” Now this
Dutch-Romanian joint venture, which
cultivates 43 breeds of tulip, is gaining
interest from Turkey and Ukraine.
In January Adriean Videanu baptised
the Bucharest Tulip, a red petalled flower
with a white edge, which Fresh Flowers
cultivates.
Between February and March,
when Romania has three national days
that benefit women, Valentine’s Day,
Martisor (1 March) and Women’s Day
(8 March), demand grew to between
80,000 and 120,000 tulips per day.
This year Teodorescu says the firm
plans to buy a lot near Bucharest to build
a 5,000 sqm greenhouse.
Equipment for this site will include
shadowing screens on the roof and water
sprays to cool the air.
Need for feed
|
|
Specialists in tailoring different feed
products to livestock from backyard
farms to large corporations, Sibiu-based
LNB Romania Feed will further invest
in storage, production and a laboratory.
LNB Romania Feed now covers all
Romania and the best selling area is
Transylvania and around Bucharest.
The firm boasts a 15 per cent market
share, says general manager Lambert
Reudink.
Set up in 1998, the company operates
a plant in Sura Mare, Sibiu county and
this year is investing in extending its
production line.
“We intend to construct a silo building
for storage of almost 750 metric tonnes
of ingredients, an automation of the production
process, a micro dosing system
and a 600 cubic metre office and laboratory,”
says Reudink.
The general manager says nearly
all international players are more or
less present in Romania, but LNB
Romania Feed has strength in its local
production.
With the Romanian Government passing
new GMO laws to bring Romania in
line with Europe, such as banning the growth of soy, Reudink says this will not
affect his business directly.
“We are ready for it and we have
all certifications needed, so our business
and production process won’t be
affected,” he says.
LNB Romania Feed also runs activities
in Bulgaria and the Republic of
Moldova. “We are also thinking about
Ukraine, but have no clear sales or plans
yet,” says Reudink.
Wine : Boxing clever
|
|
With local wine consumption
soaring, producer
Vinterra intends to expand its
distribution towards Moldova
and south of the country
this year, especially to markets
such as Bacau, Iasi and
Suceava.
In its core market of Bucharest, Vinterra is about
to launch ‘Bag in a Box’
(BIB) in three, five, 15 and 20
litre-formats of Merlot and
Feteasca Regala for supermarkets,
says David Nicolae,
general manager of Vinterra
The firm produces its
Black Peak, Bucur Villa and
Hariton brands in Prahova
County vineyards. When the
company started in Romania
in 1998, there was little local
appetite for premium wines,
so the company sent most of
the products abroad.
But now 50 per cent of the
firm’s sales are
in Romania.
In 2006 the
company expects
60 to 70 per cent
of its sales to be
local.
Global consumer trends
favour varieties such as
Cabernet, Merlot and the
German Riesling. These
are being grown around the
world, even though the difference
between a Cabernet
Sauvignon made in Australia
or Romania, says Nicolae, is
huge.
However consumers
are looking for something
different.
“Lately around the world
there is a demand for local
wines with their own stories,
so every country comes on
the market with something
peculiar,” he adds.
Romania has as its representative
variety Feteasca
(Neagra, Alba or Regala),
wines which international
experts are already declaring
as world class.
Electronics: Harmonising launches
In consumer electronics,
Philips’s best sold products
are home cinema systems,
DVD players and flat screen
televisions, says Petronius
Secareanu general manager
consumer electronics Philips.
But domestic appliance
products see a good evolution
on the local market, with
Philips selling many electric
shavers.
“We’ve reached that point
when there is no difference
between what is launched
abroad and in Romania,”
says Secareanu. Missing
from Philips’ portfolio is the
semiconductors segment, but there are no future plans to
bring in this division for the
moment.
|
|
Thanks to access to credits, low and middle income customers have more accessibility to many Philips brands.
In 1927 Philips opened the first radio equipment factory in Romania.
But Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic are where Philips has production units in the Eastern part of Europe.
Philips has not made serious research into the possibility of investing in production in Romania, says Secareanu and Romanians’ intelligence in the software sector is more attractive to the general manager.
Software : Backing the service boom
Despite its fast growing potential,
large size and considerable number of
experts, the Romanian software market
lacks investment, says Exact Software
general manager Petre Maran.
“The market became competitive in
the last years, mainly due to the presence
of more international companies which
brought their know-how to Romania, but
also because of the development of the
software industry locally,” says Maran.
“In terms of percentage, Romania is a
country that generates a higher profit
compared to the profit of the big countries
that are already part of the EU.”
|
|
“We are now more or less on the same segment with Microsoft and Oracle and the profile of our clients has changed,” says Maran.
One product attracting existing customers and new business is E-Synergy, which provides real-time management of a company and integrates the back and front office.
Though most of the business is from Bucharest, the company has gained customers from Transylvania, Banat and Dobrogea.
Sealant producers : Sticking up for fair play
Global sealant producer Den Braven
has used its success in Romania to open
a subsidiary in the Republic of Moldova
since 2003, where its major adhesive
brands are now available.
“We are very fond of our business in
the Republic of Moldova. In January
President Voronin gave us an award for
the best tax payer,” says Adrian State,
Den Braven Romania general manager.
However in the Republic of Moldova
the black market is a competitor, while in
Romania, competition does not always
play by the rules.
With products imported from The
Netherlands for both the industrial and
commercial markets, Den Braven sells
80 per cent of its products by direct distribution
to 5,000 clients.
“We played with the idea of producing
in Romania, but it would not be profitable
for our business,” says State.
Ship -building : 2006 to be a better year
|
|
In February ship-builders Damen
Galati launched a new support ship
for the Royal Netherlands Navy ‘The
Pelikaan’ for transport of personnel and
materials.
Last year the firm sold 25 vessels and
this year will deliver 26 units.
“We have ensured orders at least until
the end of the first half of 2008,” says
Gelu Stan, managing director of Damen
Galati.
The managing director predicts a more
prosperous year for 2006 with a turnover
of 100 million Euro and investments of
3.1 million Euro.
So far the firm has invested 26 million
Euro in the Danube shipyards.
Staying in or going out
After opening Amsterdam Grand
Cafe, the ‘Cina’ Terrace and Rembrandt
Hotel, Jerry van Schaik is planning to
launch a new three-star hotel in the historic
centre and this summer bring the
beach to Bucharest.
The hotel will have 40 rooms and,
although it will not be called Rembrandt,
will have a Dutch artistic connection, so
guesses are ‘Van Gogh’ or ‘Vermeer’.
“The hotel market is in the developing
stage and that’s the business market
I want to develop in the future,” says
Jerry van Schaik.
Taking the space of a former bank
built in 1925, Rembrandt Hotel opened
in January 2005 with 15 rooms in a one
million Euro investment. It also boasts a
bar and bistro, which is popular among
the office crowd. Ninety per cent of the
hotel’s clientele are business people.
Van Schaik has been approached to
open branches of Amsterdam in shopping
malls. But he is not thrilled with
the idea.
“Amsterdam is unique
and I don’t want to duplicate
it,” he says.
Last year van Schaik
took over the decrepit
Cina terrace opposite the
Athenaeum and, along
with some help from ING
Bank, transformed it into a
year-round terrace.
Although the customer
numbers have dropped in
the winter, van Schaik has grand plans
for the summer.
This includes a city beach on the flat
roof of the building with space for sunbathing
and showers for cooling off.
Meanwhile, in a new taste phenomenon,
Amsterdam Cafe will start
blindfolding its customers and feeding
them mystery food.
Strategic moves
|
|
Local market leader in courier services
and delivering packages TNT is
focusing on organic growth through its
nationwide coverage of Romania, but
does not rule out the chance of a takeover
as competition heats up.
TNT bought its exclusive agent for
Romania, Romcargo, in 1999 and now
contends with the other three major
global players present here: DHL, UPS
and FedEx, through agents.
“We focus on the business to business
sector in Europe, where the private
sector is a frequent consumer and loyal
client,” says Bodgan Enache, general
manager of TNT Romania. “We do not
approach the business to consumer line
- we don’t work with online shops for
example.”
The general manager says the local
market is “extremely dynamic” and a
few players have developed
their business in a short
time, such as Cargo and
Fan Courier Express.
Mergers and acquisitions
are next on the cards for the
market.
“It is fashionable to buy
somebody in Romania, but
TNT has so far focused
on organic growth,” says
Enache. “If we identify a
Romanian player worth
buying, we will do it. I am both for
organic growth and a takeover, and if it
were for us to take over somebody, I’d
look at Cargo or Fan Courier Express,
but there have been no discussions on
this matter.”
First class call
|
|
KLM is looking to operate on other
Romanian airports outside of Henri
Coanda, says Alexandru Dobrescu, the
company’s manager for Romania, but he
would prefer to cooperate with another
company active on the Romanian market
for this.
But, if there is a breakdown in negotiations
or the activity is delayed, KLM
will go with its own fleet.
Romanians’ flying mentality is different
from its western counterparts.
“Often on a normal flight from
Bucharest to Amsterdam, there are passengers
with a strong financial situation
who drive cars no cheaper than 70,000 Euro, who stop at a famous shop and buy
shoes for 3,000 Euro. These people are
travelling with the cheapest ticket and
not with business class,” he says.
Abroad, he says, those with a strong
financial situation, by default, use
business class.
More than 80 per cent of the passengers
KLM transports are not for
Amsterdam but to connecting flights in
Europe, USA, Asia or the Pacific.
With last year’s merger with Air
France, both companies are keeping distinct
brands and identities but trying to
pool their qualities. Together, the companies
have a market share of around 20
per cent of Romanian flights.
Freighting game
|
|
Although the announcement of the
merger between Dutch-based Frans
Maas and Denmark’s DSV will become
official any day now, it is still business as
usual for the local activities of the international
freight forwarder and logistics
provider.
Frans Maas Romania, which employs
450 people, now has 30,000 sqm of
warehouse facilities.
Having opened its latest warehouse in
Pipera last year over 10,000 sqm, Frans
Maas area manager Romania, Dragos
Geletu says the company is now in talks
with a developer to open another 10,000
sqm warehouse in Bucharest this year.
“Our plans also include opening new
warehouses in Timisoara and maybe
Moldova, in cities such as Bacau or Iasi,
but nothing is yet definite,” says Geletu.
“The market here is not yet as mature
as it should be at the logistics level,”
says the area manager. “Other important
market players need to step in.”
Construction: Finding a place on the market
Building developer Cascade Group is
counting the months until it begins construction
on a new office building in the
Barbu Vacarescu area, an investment
effort of 25 million Euro, says general
manager Alex Van Breemen.
Designed by Dorin Stefan, the architect
behind the HQ for ProCredit Bank
Romania on Str Buzesti, Park Plaza will
be an 18-storey building scheduled for
delivery at the end of 2007.
The new state-of-the-art office building
will also have five underground
levels stretching over 9,000 sqm, which
will be available to local residents at
weekends. Cascade is also interested
in the proposed plan by the City Hall to
build underground parking lots and is
pondering ways to become involved.
“Elsewhere, we have become involved
in a new mixed-used project in eastern
Bucharest, close to the exit of the highway
to Constanta,” he says. “This is a
much more complex project, comprising
retail, residential and office ventures and
could cost up to 200 million Euro and
take five to seven years to complete.”
|
|
“The northern area is overrated, overbuilt, too expensive and too crowded traffic-wise,” he says. “Office development projects like the [one billion Euro] Baneasa need more vision. This particular project is either too early on the Romanian market or it needs to quickly put infrastructure and utilities in place, because it could break the city rather than make it develop.”
Building up
“We are now facing a moment when
expansion cannot be avoided and postponed,”
says Jan van Vulpen, managing
director of building systems firm Remco
Romania, which sells quick to assemble
prefabricated buildings brought over in
a kit from The Netherlands.
“Almost 60,000 sqm were contracted
last year, from which more than a half
were delivered in 2005, the rest are
right now under construction,” says van
Vulpen.
Projects the
company has been
involved in last
year include building
a chocolate
and marzipan factory
for a Dutch
client in Ovidiu,
Constanta county, due to become operational
this month”.
|
|
FURNITURE: Quality matters
|
|
Under the ‘European Heritage’ brand,
pine furniture producer and exporter
Quadra Invest is seeing new sales opportunities
in central and eastern Europe as
the regional metropolitan market opens
up for quality products.
In 2004 most of the customers were
from USA, UK, France, even Japan,
South Korea and Australia.
This year the situation changes.
“Central and eastern Europe is starting
to become destinations for our products,
because they are markets with increasing
potential,” says Gijsbert Huijink,
general manager of the company.
“The furniture offer is quite limited
and the Romanian buyer is directed to
two options: cheap or high quality furniture,”
says Huijink.
But he says Romanians are slowly
choosing wood furniture or products
with real leather upholstery.
Opening doors
|
|
Doors in Romania have a bad
reputation.
Often they do not close properly, the
lock jams and they have a nasty habit of
opening by themselves. New developments
therefore need better doors which
have consistency and flexibility.
To fill this gap in the market arrives
Solid Works, which last year imported
over 2,000 doors to Romania from Dutch
door producer Reinaerdt.
Romania is a nation of timber processing
and there was some discussion
on whether production could be start up
in Romania, but Reinaerdt is more comfortable
with only one production centre
for Europe.
“They can give me 3,000 doors in
six weeks if I need,” says Nico
Pulskens, general manager of Solid
Works. “But if we have to do some
adaptation or modification, we can
do this in Romania.”
Glass doors are the most popular
product. “Romanians very much
like glass doors,” says Pulskens.
Although when Romanians are
looking for a new portal, they lack the
need for security – maybe because the
local burglary industry is still in its
infancy.
“Proper security for doors is not very
developed here,” the manager says. This
includes doors that may cost up to 2,000
to 3,000 Euro per unit.
Most of Solid Works’ customers are
companies, such as ABN Amro, Petrom
and Carrefour, with individuals representing
only ten to 20 per cent of the
business and mostly in Bucharest.
Solid Works will organise the second
Oranjebal with the Embassy of the
Netherlands on 5 May