Natuzzi wants 1,000 new employees

Of the total number of jobs, 500 are intended for women, Natuzzi added. There are already 1,400 people working at the Baia Mare plant, and 8,000 employees working for Natuzzi worldwide.

The Italian producer, a major international player on the leather sofa segment, with an 8 percent market share, is producing Italsofa furniture at the Baia Mare unit. Italsofa is the company’s second brand, after Natuzzi.

While Natuzzi positions itself on the high-end segment and works only in Italy, Italsofa is a product range designed for young people and is manufactured in three factories in China, Brazil, and Romania. The Baia Mare Italsofa plant is the largest of the group’s factories, and has been recently extended to 76,000 square meters.

The unit, in which the company has invested €46 million, exports about 99 percent of its production, and is destined to serve the entire European market.

“We completed the expansion of the Baia Mare unit and are targeting cost optimization for next year. We are planning no new investment in the coming 24 months,” said Pasquale Natuzzi.

Natuzzi opened its first local showroom yesterday, in partnership with the Class Mob furniture company, controlled by Camelia Sucu, who estimates that the Natuzzi brand will make up for 25 percent of Class Mob’s sales in Romania in 2008.

The company intends to open two further units in Constanta and Cluj. According to the company’s Sales Manager for Eastern Europe, Franco Nettis, this step will triple Natuzzi’s sales in Romania.

According to Camelia Sucu, the Romanian furniture market will increase by 15 percent in 2007. This market has an estimated value of €1 billion and is dominated by Mobexpert and Elvila.