Alka invests 2.5m euros in wafers

Alka Bucharest, the second leading player on the wafer market, has completed a 2.5 million-euro investment in new manufacturing lines and developing its brand image. “We have been working for well over a year on the new wafers that come in cardboard packaging, a type of packaging that is successful on international markets. Experience has demonstrated that packaging products in boxes helps protect them much better and allows for improved space efficiency with regard to shelves and customers” shopping bags, as well as keeping the product fresh for longer,” says Amir Krenzia, Alka general manager. Alka posted turnover of nearly 9 million euros in 2003 along with net profits of more than 400,000 euros. The total investment in Alka amounts to 10 million euros. The company is controlled by the Krenzia family and has nearly 600 employees. Alka has started exporting to a number of European markets, including the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. According to the AC Nielsen surveys quoted by the company, the packaged wafer market last year amounted to 10,000 tonnes (40 million euros), of which 67% represented unglazed wafers. “Recent market development shows that the number of consumers for whom price was the main purchase criterion has decreased, with the number of those looking for products with quality as close to that of international brands as possible has gone up,” Krenzia said. ZF