Bramac imports drop below 10% after plant opening

The representatives of Bramac, the Austrian producer of concrete tiles, for this year project a growth in turnover by 25% to 10 million euros.

Bramac Sisteme de Invelitori, the domestic branch of Bramac International, a producer of roof covering systems, has been reducing its import quota each year since it opened the plant of Sibiu in September 2004, according to the company”s representatives.

“After the opening of the Sibiu-based production facility, the value of imports of Bramac coverings has dropped below 10%,” Mircea Dumitru, sales and marketing manager with Bramac Romania, told ZIARUL FINANCIAR.

Mircea Dumitru, 39, has been with Bramac since 2005, after working in the tobacco industry for 8 years.

This year, the company has started manufacturing a new tile model, Donau, which will come to generate 30% of the company”s sales this year, according to Dumitru.

“The decision to introduce this product onto the market was strengthened by market research Bramac carried in the summer of 2005,” states Mircea Dumitru. According to him, all Bramac products are introduced on the market only after some market research has been carried out.

“Our strategy is to expand our sales on the standard market. Donau coverings stand somewhere between the standard and economy sectors,” specifies Dumitru.

According to company estimates, the economy market accounts for 45% of the overall tile market, the standard market for 30% in sales, while premium tiles account for the remaining 25% of the market. The premium segment addresses high-income customers; the standard segment is aimed at middle-income households, whilst the economy range carries the lowest prices. Bramac Sisteme de Invelitori last year posted turnover worth around 8m euros, 33% higher year-on-year.

“Our sales of coverings were boosted last year due to the increase in residential constructions sector and to our entrance onto the economy segment of the tile market, as until now we haven”t had a presence in that area of the market,” says Dumitru.

Bramac arrived in Romania in 1995, when it opened a sales office in Brasov. The Austrians started producing in Romania in 2004, in the wake of a greenfield investment worth 5.8 million euros in Sibiu. The plant has a four-hectare area and a production capacity of 13 million tiles per annum. The company currently has 75 employees, according to its representatives. The Austrian-owned Bramac company is held by the Lafarge French group and Austrian brick producer Wienerberger.

Bramac Romania

*The Austrians entered Romania in 1995, opening a sales office in Brasov

* Started production in Romania in 2004, in the wake of a 5.8 million euro greenfield investment in Sibiu

* The plant in Sibiu has a four hectares surface area and a production capacity of 13 million tiles per annum

* Posted turnover worth 8m euros last year, up 33% from the previous year