Rehau closes pipe plant in Cisnadie

Rehau Polymer, the Romanian subsidiary of German group Rehau,
will close its plastic pipes plant in Sibiu in May, after investing
around 10 million euros since 2003 in developing the plant, and
will drop 32 of its 37 employees due to the low volume of sales
recorded in the last year. After suspending production, the company
will refocus its commercial activity on other civil engineering and
infrastructure segments, such as sewerage, heat distribution, water
management systems, systems used in the geothermal energy and
biomass sector. “Amid a deepening of the economic crisis and the
local market shifting to low quality standards and small prices,
the advantages of Rehau’s local production of PVC and PE pipes in
Sibiu have proven insufficient for it to continue to operate the
Cisnadie plant. The decision to suspend its operations at the end
of May 2010 was made in view of streamlining international
distribution and of cutting costs. The employees affected by this
step will have the company’s support to find another job,” says
Emil Pop, general manager of Rehau Polymer. The company’s turnover
fell by 30% last year, to around 45 million euros, but company
representatives say compared with the massive declines recorded in
their sectors, the sales decline was lower than anticipated.