Romanian car battery producer finalizes EUR 17 mln investment in new production wing

Romanian car battery producer Rombat recently finalized a EUR 17 million investment in a new production unit at its existing factory, which brings the company's production capacity to 3.3 million batteries a year, up 700,000 batteries compared to before. The new unit produces Start/Stop batteries, which are turned off when the car's wheels stop spinning, as well as conventional car batteries.

Half of the money for the new unit came from non-reimbursable funds, while the other half came from the main shareholder, Metair. The South – African company acquired the Romanian Rombat in 2012, and in the nine and a half months after takeover, Rombat posted a turnover of EUR 48 million, and a net profit of EUR 3.3 million. Rombat, headquartered in Bistrița and with 11 logistics centers across Romania, has been producing car batteries since 1997, and employs over 630 people. Since 1999, Rombat invested around EUR 27 million, out of which EUR 11 million were governmental and European funds. Its parent company Metair posted a turnover of EUR 438 million in 2012, up 23 percent on the year before, and a net profit of EUR 41 million, up on EUR 37.5 million in 2011. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Rombat)