Connection between cabs, constructions and textiles

The general manager of Satu Mare-based group Castrum, Gheorghe Mois, a construction engineer by trade, became a businessman ten years ago, with some money he had earned as a worker in the US.

He almost went bankrupt in 1992, when his German partners embezzled more than DM100,000, so he had to start over with lots of debts.

That period now seems very far, as long as only Castrum Grup, dealing with civil, industrial constructions, gas and electric power supply, registered more than 200 billion lei in turnover and 14 billion lei in profit last year.

Castrum Q1 turnover stood at 150 billion lei and is estimated to reach about 1,000 billion lei by the end of this year, up 300 billion lei against last year.

Surprisingly, he says, the state-owned clients (ministries and autonomous regies) last year improved their payment habits, as compared to 1999.

Some payments worth 30 billion lei were made only during December. “It must have been Isarescu’s professional attitude,” Mois comments.

Castrum’s turnover went up over the past four-five years definitely because “it was more work to be done.” Gheorghe Mois says that the construction and textile industry activities are the most dynamic in the entire group. Castrum also holds 70% in the Vaslui-based textile plant Vastex.

As for constructions, the group’s clients are coming from both the state-owned and private sector: Tofan Group, Daimler Benz, the Industry Ministry (for mine closedowns), the Finance Ministry (for which it built the head office of Cluj-based Regional Customs Duty Department), Petrom (the works aimed at upgrading Harsova-based oil station and Vaslui-based station of fuel distribution).

Castrum manager says he would like to get involved in the State’s Housing Programme (ANL), given his previous experience in building villas for private persons (including those built by the Stuttgart-based subsidiary).

As for Vastex, it daily manufactures goods worth 1.5-2 billion lei for export. Another “pearl” of the group is the taxi firm Cobalcescu, where, Mois says, a revolution has happened: it has a new head-office and 270 more Dacia SupeRNova cars.

“We have not raised tariffs for one and a half year, we maintained the same price of 4,500 lei/kilometre. We want to continue the same policy and, consequently, we are in demand and Taxi Cobalcescu runs all day-long.”

Although the taxi company’s takeover was accompanied by some turmoil, with a strike and some trade union disputes, Mois says that these were “passing tensions”, which have not repeated since then.

Among the latest acquisitions there is Satu Mare-based Saturn, a heavy accounting inheritance for the time being, as the new owners discovered a gap of 14 billion lei between papers and the real situation.

Castrum manager considers that he “exaggerated” a bit with the investments and that a period of stabilisation and consolidation would be the next step.

Despite all the business achievements, Mois has a big problem: bureaucracy. He thinks that the only solution is to get used with the phenomenon and keep fighting against it.