Second wave of construction materials producers

Romania’s integration into the EU has generated a second wave of investments in construction material plants, after the initial investments seen in 2004-2005. The construction market is proving to be dynamic and has persuaded big foreign producers to invest in production capacities, after originally testing the market as importers. As a result, Xella, the biggest ACC (autoclaved cellular concrete) importer, Isopan, the Italian producer of thermal-insulating panels and Isomat, a Greek company, will in the next few years begin producing on the Romanian market. According to initial estimates, their investments alone could reach around 70 to 100 million euros within the next two years. “We chose Romania as the location of our future insulating panels plant primarily due to its geographic position. We have two production facilities in Italy and one in Spain, and want to expand our operations to Eastern Europe. Additionally, the strong development of the Romanian market has been an important factor in choosing it as a location,” stated Luigi Betti, exports manager of the Isopan Group, the local branch of Italian group Manni. His comments were made at the Construct Expo Fair, which held from April 17 to April 21 in Bucharest and featuring 500 companies from construction industry.