Celestica to start production in Romania

Canadian producer Celestica, one of the most important international manufacturers of electronic subassemblies which has announced some 100 million dollars (about 77 million euros) of investments in a production facility in Bors in Bihor County, will next month begin production of high-capacity servers for banks and airlines. The servers will cost around 50,000 dollars each.

The Canadian company has already invested 25 million dollars in the construction of the first production unit and hired almost 500 people.

“More than 40 employees are being trained in Italy who will themselves then train those hired at a later date,” said Radu Ene, head of the ICCO consulting company which represents Celestica’s interests in Romania.

Celestica needs personnel skilled in electronics, mechanics, IT and cybernetics. “Unemployment among graduate engineers has basically seen its last days. A large proportion of the new staff will come fresh out of the University of Oradea,” explained Ene.

Company officials estimate the number of employees will reach 1,000 by the end of the year and will increase further to 4,000 by 2007, when three new manufacturing units become operational.

Celestica officials estimate turnover will reach some 300 million dollars, the capacity of one unit, for the first year of business. Revenues are set to reach more than one billion dollars by the time the investment is completed.

Why did Celestica choose Romania over other potential locations, such as Bulgaria and Ukraine?

“Ukraine, for example, has a better skilled and cheaper workforce, but Romania was chosen due to it being more stable. No businessman likes to be ferried by helicopter between his plane and the industrial platform out of security reasons,” Ene explained.

The Canadian company wanted a location with a border to the European Union. “Bors won because, for the time being, Romania has no highways on which products can be transported,” said Ene.

Celestica representatives spent a year and a half in negotiations with Bors Town Hall for the 13 hectares of land for the factory. They also want four additional hectares.

“We negotiated up to the point where we risked being stuck with the unused land. The investors had an offer in Sanmartin and Nojorid at 6 euros/sqm but bought from us for 5 euros/sqm in the end,” said Batori Geza, the mayor of Bors’. The mayor accepted the price of 700,000 euros for pragmatic reasons. “The money we lost in the negotiations will come back to us in taxes every year,” Batori explained. Bors Town Hall will receive one million dollars a year from the property tax alone. transilvania@zf.ro