Ductil Buzau-made electrode, Europe's best-seller

Ductil SA Buzau, Europe’s largest maker of welding electrodes, anticipates approximately 25 million euro turnover in 2003, up 3% since last year, Cristina Ionita, the company’s marketing and PR specialist said. Ductil posted 24.2 million euro turnover in 2002, up 7% compared with the previous year. The net profit of the Buzau-based producer, part of the French Air Liquide Welding Group accounted for 13% of the turnover, that is 3.15 million euros. The revenue increase this year will be supported by the development of the sales of welding consumables and equipment imported from France on the domestic market. The domestic electrode production volume would be preserved, the company official said. The 3% growth estimate is explained, according to Cristina Ionita, by the fact that the welding equipment market does not grow as fast as the economy does, particularly because the worldwide market for the Ductile electrodes is going down, as such electrodes are being replaced by newer equipment. ZF