Egger, 40m-euro sales without any production activities

Austria’s Egger group, the largest investor in the domestic wood industry, registered sales above 40 million euros on the domestic market between May 2006 and April 2007, even though the production facility owned by the group, near Radauti, will start to operate by as late as 2008. “With such sales, Egger’s domestic market share stands at 20%, compared with the 10% globally,” said Emanuel Rucareanu, Egger’s sales manager for Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The 40m-euro value was derived by the Romanian sales office, which was opened by the Austrian company in 2002. Around 30% of Egger’s domestic sales are direct transactions with furniture producers, which include the customers Mobexpert, Elvila and Lemet. In 2006, the Austrian group launched its largest greenfield project, the construction of a wood processing plant near Radauti. The first stage of the investment, put at 210 million euros, will create 400 jobs. Total investments stand at 500 million euros. The entire Egger plant will cover 80 hectares of land, which was purchased from another Austrian player, Holzindustrie Schweighofer. According to the company’s strategy, the Radauti plant will start to operate in early 2008, with construction works continuing as scheduled.