US truck group Oshkosh, with annual sales of around 2 billion dollars, will start producing metallic supra-structures for garbage trucks in Romania, together with the company Automecanica Medias.
Investments by the two companies will total 5 million euros, while the annual value of items produced will reach 15 million euros in 2006.
Oshkosh will come to Romania through its Dutch branch the Geesink Norba Group, one of the most important European companies in the field of garbage truck production.
“Geesink was attracted by the low labour costs, which are an important constituent of total costs in this domain, and by our expertise in the domain. The Automecanica-Geesink joint venture is likely to be set up this autumn, but investments and production have already been initiated. So far, 3.5 million euros have been invested in this collaboration,” Nick Stirban, general manager and main shareholder of Automecanica Medias, told Ziarul Financiar.
Regarding the establishment of the new company, Automecanica will contribute the location where the new product will be manufactured; the renovation of the production hall; and investments in production equipment. Geesink will secure the largest part of the necessary equipment; production technology; and retailing.
At present, following the completion of the first part of the investment programme, Automecanica is already operating a metallic supra-structure production line.
For the time being, the entire output of this line is directed towards the Geesink group, which uses the supra-structures for the construction of its own latest brand of garbage trucks, Valu(euro)Pak.
“In the wake of an additional 1.5 million-euro investment, we will launch a second production line, which will gradually lift our production capacity to 300 units per year and then to 500 units per year. The production increase will allow us to sell garbage trucks to companies outside the Geesink group, in European countries (including Romania), the Middle East and Asia,” Stirban stated.
The sale price per garbage truck supra-structure stands at 30,000 euros, which means that the joint venture’s turnover will amount to 15 million euros.
Geesink’s consultant during its collaboration with Automecanica is the French company Larive, through its Romanian branch.
At present, Automecanica Medias mainly produces oil and oil product tanks, with SNP Petrom being its largest customer.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro