Pirelli invests another 150 million euros in Slatina

Italian tyre maker Pirelli, which owns three factories in Romania, started a 150 million-euro investment project, which will double the production capacity of the tyre manufacturing facility in Slatina.

Pirelli has invested some 250 million euros in Romania, 170 million euros of which were directed to the tyre factory in Slatina. “Pirelli reconfirms investment for Romania that started this year and will be completed in about three years as projected. The first phase of investment is worth more than 150 million euros,” stated Enrico Malerba, chief executive of Pirelli Romania. Pirelli is moving ahead with the Slatina tyre factory project, with a production facility similar to the one erected in 2004 to be built within three years. Pirelli announced it would receive state aid for the new investment project, which will be collected in instalments over the next three years. “At the end of 2008, Pirelli and the Romanian Government agreed upon a 28 million-euro state aid. The funds are granted in stages only after the investments made by Pirelli Tyres Romania have been inspected, with work on the first part already started,” Malerba added. According to Pirelli officials, the funding comes from the parent company, and no money has been taken from financial institutions. Pirelli’s investment projects only target the tyre factory in Slatina, as the investments in the metallic cord factory and in the anti-pollution filter facility in Gorj have been finalised. There are approximately 1,900 people working in Pirelli’s three factories, most of whom, about 1,350, work in tyre manufacturing. Last year, the company’s chairman, Marco Tronchetti-Provera, stated that Pirelli’s local investments in the three production facilities would go up by 250 million euros. Pirelli’s representatives stated that production was expected to go up by about 30% this year, from 3 million tyres in 2008.