Wirquin invests 2m euros

French manufacturer Wirquin, which makes plastic sanitary ware, will invest around two million euros in a greenfield project in the industrial area of Bucharest near Chitila commune. “Romania has become the main base for production and marketing for the countries in Eastern Europe,” said Marc Huot, general manager of Wirquin Romania. Once the project is completed, say Wirquin officials, sales for next year will increase to more than three million euros, compared with two million euros in 2004. The heavy increases in petroleum prices created problems in the plastics industry in the first half of the year. “We are trying to keep prices at an acceptable level, although raw material prices are constantly rising and the exchange rate fluctuations can upset business plans,” Huot explained. The increase in the price of a barrel of oil to over 50 dollars since the beginning of the year led to a rise in prices for the main raw materials used in the plastics industry, which includes polypropylene, polyethylene and PVC. Manufacturers were not able to factor in these higher prices into their product prices and, as a result, most companies saw their operating margins fall. ZF