Start of work at one of the largest car factories in Romania in recent years

2023-05-11 05:47:00

In Oradea, work begins on the tire factory of the Finns from Nokian Tyres, an investment of 650 million euros and the largest attracted in the last 20 years by the city of Crișana. Romania has lost several large automotive investments in recent years, but the west of the country, being better connected by road to central Europe, has a not inconsiderable asset.

Nokian tirePhoto: V Razgulyaev, Dreamstime.com

Nokian’s plans are for the factory in Oradea to become in 2027 the largest of the group in the production of tires for cars, with 40% of the total world production of more than 15 million tires/year. Estimates are that 35% of the production will be done in Finland (the factory in Nokia City) and 25% in the USA (the factory in Dayton).

Especially thanks to the factory in Oradea, Nokian Tires hopes to reach annual sales of two billion euros in the world, compared to 1.35 billion euros last year.

According to the approved PUD, in the first phase, in the place of the former CET II Oradea, two halls will be set up, the first of which will be used as a storage space and an administrative body, and the second as a storage space, where add a building for utilities and other annexes.

The production facilities will be set up gradually, and at the end of the investment there will be a total built area of ​​256,000 square meters, a developed area of ​​549,000 square meters and over 100,000 square meters of green spaces.

The annual capacity of the plant will be 6 million tires, with potential for expansion in the future. The first tires are expected to be produced in the second half of 2024. Commercial tire production is expected to start in early 2025, according to the investor.

Nokian announced in November 2022 that it will build a factory in Oradea, the decision being a major one for the economy of the area, but also for Romania in particular, especially since our country has lost other large investments in cars, especially due to infrastructure.

Nokian made the decision to build the factory mainly because, due to the war started by Russia in Ukraine, it had to close its operations in the Russian Federation where it had a large production of car tires. The exit from the Russian market occurred in March after the operations were sold for $265 million.

The total costs of closing down operations in Russia exceed $330 million.

The factory in Oradea will have 500 employees and will mainly produce tires for SUVs and other high-class cars, with the main sales markets targeted being those in Central Europe. The Finns say they analyzed 40 sites before choosing Oradea.

Net salaries would be over 5,800 lei, almost double the average salary in the area.

According to the Government, the state aid requested by Nokian for the realization of the investment project is estimated at the nominal value of 99.55 million euros (gross value).

The state aid will be granted in the form of a grant, only after the European Commission issues its authorization decision, and the state aid payment period will be 2023-2028.

The investment project must be maintained for a period of at least 5 years.

Photo source: Dreamstime.com

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