Germans to invest €100 mln to produce Porsche and Mercedes engine blocks in Dej

“The German company will sign a 50-year concession contract for 15 hectares of land. They will obtain building permits at the beginning of next year, and will most likely begin constructing the factory in early 2008,” according to quoted sources. The first phase of the project will generate some 100 jobs.

The Pierburg Group was established in 1909, and initially sold steel. It became involved in production for the auto industry in 1928, when the company began manufacturing carburetors. The Rheinmetall Group took over Pierburg in 1986, merging two years later with Kolbenschmidt. Annual turnover exceeds €2 bln, and it has production units in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, the United States, Brazil, and China. KSPB has five divisions, and will move its engine block production unit to Romania.

International spare parts makers have entered the Romanian market attracted by a relatively inexpensive work force and Romania’s accession to the European Union.