2m euros triples Apemin Tusnad?s production

Mineral water producer Apemin Tusnad SA, headquartered in Harghita, tripled its production capacity in the wake of investments in a new bottling line worth 2.1 million euros, aiming to enter the non-carbonated water segment.

“Total investments amounted to about 2.5 million euros, of which 2.1 million euros were poured into the new bottling line and 400,000 euros were aimed at a production hall of 1,000 square metres. About 800,000 euros were derived from our own sources, with the rest being obtained from BRD through leasing,” stated Gyarfas Kurko, the company’s general manager.

Last year, Tusnad Apemin registered turnover worth 130 billion ROL (3.5 million euros), with turnover of 160 billion ROL (about 4 million euros) being expected for this year.

“In the first seven months, sales increased by about 10% against the corresponding period of last year. Had the weather been warmer, sales would have probably have gone further up, because we posted a 40% rise last year,” added the Tusnad Apemin manager.

The company is a family business, with Kurko as its majority shareholder. Another significant shareholder is the mineral water bottler Perla Harghitei.

Perla Harghitei and Tusnad Apemin were part of a single company until 1999, when they split up. Tusnad, bottling only carbonated mineral water, is currently 7th in the league of Romanian bottlers, with a market share of 3.5-4%, according to Kurko. The company has 105 employees on average, with 13 working within the sales department.

Kurko says he plans to significantly add to the sales force and increase the presence of Tusnad products in the retail sector. In the medium term he also hopes to turn the company into one of the top five players on the Romanian market. Starting next year, Tusnad Apemin will also bottle non-carbonated water.

“This week, we’ve signed the contract for the exploitation of a new source of non-carbonated water and starting next year we will also bottle non-carbonated water, a segment with increasing importance,” Kurko added.
georgiana.stavarache@zf.ro