Ecolor expects 16m-euro business

Cluj-based Ecolor, an exclusive producer of furniture for the Swedish group Ikea, estimates an approximately 16 million-euro turnover for this year, double the value seen last year. Ecolor produces three furniture models for Ikea and will continue to manufacture the same products in 2007, with an increased volume in production. “Currently, our only problem is the limited supply of particleboard and MDF in Romania. Sebes-based Kronospan, which is our main raw material supplier, also has trouble supplying raw material, due to the forest restitution process and by the readjusted forest exploitation methods,” Marcel Puscasu, general manager of Ecolor, told ZF Transilvania. For this year, the company management has also budgeted investments worth around 3 million euros for expanding the plant and acquiring new equipment. The company will expand production facilities by another 10,000 square metres, amid the continued growing demand for furniture on the foreign market. Following this expansion Ecolor will reach 200 employees, 50 more than currently employed.