“The factory has been closed for one month, due to the decline in the market, so that it was not profitable to continue production in Bucharest, especially since we still have large stocks. We will relocate part of the production lines to the Cluj factory [northwestern Romania], which will increase its annual capacity to 8 million of square meters,” said Eduard Macarescu, Commercial Manager of Lasselsberger Romania, one of the two companies controlled by the Austrian group in Romania, together with Sanex Cluj-Napoca.
The official estimated a 20-25 percent drop in the ceramic tile market this year, to less than 30 million square meters. In spite of the reduced production, Lasselsberger expects to raise its market share to 35 percent by the end of this year, from 25 percent, a target supported by the tripling of the number of distributors, registered at the beginning of this year, and by exports, in countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia.
According to Macarescu, Lasselsberger’s consolidated business in Romania totaled over RON 150 million (€40.7 mln) last year, and a similar pace is forecast for 2009.
The local ceramic tile market, estimated last year at 40 million square meters and with a value of some €300 mln, is shared by Lasselsberger and distributors such as Delta Distribution, Romstal, Tiger Amira, Bravo Group, and Pazo Grup.
