Romcarton enjoys 15% growth

Corrugated cardboard packaging maker Romcarton Bucharest saw its turnover grow by up to 15% in 2004, more than initially forecast. “We expected at least 8% growth for 2004 due to higher demand for the products sold by the companies Romcarton supplies,” said Paul-Henry Kohler, Romcarton general manager. The company made sales of 14 million euros in 2003 and 16 million euros in 2004. The corrugated cardboard market is estimated at 12,000 tonnes per month, or annually around 140,000 tonnes. Annual growth is put at 10-15%. Calculated at an average price of 600-650 euros per tonne, the market is worth something in the region of 90 million euros a year. One factor that will influence the growth of the market in 2005 is the fiscal relaxation, which, Koehler believes, will generate an expansion in consumption. a”Romcarton has a monthly capacity of 2,000 tonnes of corrugated cardboard, and this may go up to 3,000 tonnes. The investment budget for 2005 is for 500,000 euros, and is mainly for upgrading already existing production facilities,” Kohler added. ZF