Amid growing demand for cardboard, Rondocarton, the largest player on the market, targets a 15 percent rise in its turnover this year. "We estimate turnover of €28-30 million for 2007, compared to €20 million, last year," the company's General Manager, Teofil Campean, told Business Standard.
Rondocarton is owned by Austrian Rondo Ganahl group, which last fall decided to invest €30 million in a new production unit. Construction work began earlier this year and is expected to be completed in April-May 2008. The new factory will initially produce an annual 25,000-30,000 tons of cardboard, eventually doubling this to 60,000 tons.
The current factory, opened in 1998 following a €20 million investment, is annually producing some 30,000 tons. The Austrian group invested a further €4 million last year to modernize and acquire new technology for the Cluj factory. Main clients are furniture producers, food and drinks producers, and consumer goods producers, such as Salomon, Mattel, IKEA, European Drinks&Foods, Kraft Foods, BAT, Unirea, Elvila, Mobexpert, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. The furniture industry is the largest corrugated cardboard consumer, with some 50 percent demand.
Market. The need for corrugated cardboard packaging is constantly rising. The market, estimated to reach €150 million this year, has doubled since 2004. In 2006, the market was worth some €120 million. According to Campean, the market will also increase in the coming years, but at a slower 5-8 percent pace. Rondocarton's main competitors are Romcarton Bucuresti, Dunapack Sfantu Gheorghe, Ecopack Ghimbav and SCA Timisoara.
