Merona to complete 40m euro investment in Braila

Merona Holding AG, a company based in Switzerland, will complete a 40 million euro investment in a furniture factory in Braila this year, a project it began two years ago.

The investment, which is being implemented through PAL Braila, in which the Swiss company is the majority shareholder, includes the building of a factory for applying melamine to particle boards, as well as a thermoelectric power plant to supply its production facilities. The company plans to continue with the investment programme up to a value of 100 million euros by building a particleboard factory.

“The entire investment programme amounts to more than 100 million euros, some 40 million of which are for the facilities scheduled to become operational this year: that is the furniture factory, the factory for applying melamine to particle boards and the thermoelectric plant,” said Anghel Dumitru, the deputy chief executive of Pal Braila SA and the representative of the Swiss group for Romania. The investment means that Merona will join a large number of foreign investors in the Romanian furniture and wood processing industry, which so far has drawn big names like Swed-wood (Sweden), Natuzzi (Italy), Parisot (France), Holzindustrie Schweighofer (Austria) and Kronospan (Switzerland).

Besides furniture, the Swiss company also plans to make loudspeakers at the Braila factory, which are also for export. “The furniture factory, which has a capacity of up to 600 furniture suites per day, will be complemented with a loudspeaker department and will become operational in the second half of this year,” Anghel added.

The factory”s production capacity will later increase to around 1,000 suites a day. The facility takes up 4 hectares of land and is located on the outskirts of Braila.

The company will initially hire around 200 people.

Anghel did not reveal the company”s expected turnover figures for their first year in business. The company will make a wide range of furniture – from kitchens and living room furniture to office and commercial suites, with the bulk of the output intended for the European Union. georgiana.stavarache@zf.ro