ACE finalises 14 million-euro investment in Cluj

The new production facility will be officially opened mid next month.

The group began the project in 2002 when it bought a 24,000 square metre plot of land and initially built two 3,600 square metre centres. The production area of the group has now reached 15,000 square metres following completion of the last production facility of 4,200 square metres.

“A doubling of turnover every year has made it necessary to expand our production space. We began with a few orders for Seat, but every year we signed new contracts for the latest models of the Spanish carmaker and for other carmakers,” Adam Ambrus, ACE Romania’s chief executive, told ZF Transilvania.

Besides the factory in Cluj, the Spanish group also owns another 19 production centres around the county, where it employs more than 650 people. ACE Romania’s largest such centre is in Dej, with some of the other locations in towns and villages around Cluj-Napoca. “In these production facilities we produce cables. We supply all the fixed assets, as well as the raw materials,” Ambrus explained.

The company has forecast a 600bn ROL turnover (approximately 16.4 million euros) for this year, up 52% on last year. “The estimate for this year’s growth is largely based on resuming the manufacturing of certain cables for the new Seat Toledo and Seat Leon models that previously were made only at the factory in Spain. We will be doing 50% of the cable production for the new models here,” said Ambrus. He also said that the factory in Cluj would begin production of new cables for Audi and was also in talks with General Motors to discuss manufacturing for Ford.

ACE Romania is currently the sole supplier for a specific type of wiring used in the new Seat Altea model. Some 35% of its turnover is derived from the partnership with the Spanish manufacturer, with sales to Volkswagen accounting for the same percentage. transilvania@zf.ro