Tehnoton assembles stoves in Congo

Iasi-based Tehnoton, a manufacturer of home appliances (stoves and washing machines) will open a stove factory in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Africa is a solution for me. I saw what happened to most companies in Poland and the Czech Republic after accession. They went bankrupt, brought to their knees by the companies in the West. Africa is an untapped territory with opportunities for business,” says Maricel Popa, the owner of the Omega-Tehnoton Group. The new company is called Tehnoton Africa International. The Iasi-based company had to wait almost a year to get all the necessary authorisations. Congo has one of the cheapest work forces in the world, with an average wage of 20 dollars per month and extremely low taxes. ZF