“This sector will register less intensive activity in the coming six months. But in spring, when much infrastructure work is scheduled, the demand for equipment will soar. I look at 2009 with optimism and estimate a 20-50 market growth rate, based on promises made to initiate large projects in infrastructure and hydro technical design,” said Razvan Marcu, Marketing Manager of Marcom, a major player on the local market.
Marcu said that the crisis will not affect large companies, who have a solid market position, a strong client base, partners, a modern equipment park, and qualified personnel.
On the other hand, Dragos Iorga, General Manager of the Euromat company, member of the Association of Construction Equipment Distributors (ADUC), said that problems related to the financial crisis will slow the market’s growth pace, to a mere 10 percent. Iorga added that the crisis will lead to a series of bankruptcies and takeovers of small producers, but will not affect importers.
The construction equipment market rose by an annual 33 percent in this year’s first nine months, and the growth rate estimated for the end of 2008 is of maximum 30 percent, considering the drop in demand usually registered in winter. Major competitors on the local construction equipment market, valuated at €350-400 million, include Marcom, Terra Romania, Autoconstruct, Liebherr, and Powertek.
