Romanian group Teraplast buys Serbian panel maker

Teraplast Bistrita (TRP), one of the biggest Romanian industrial groups, has acquired the Serbian sandwich panel maker Interlemind, with EUR 4.3 million. The Teraplast Group will invest EUR 11 million in Serbia this year. The amount includes the factory’s acquisition value, as well as investments of EUR 2.7 million in development and EUR 4 million worth of work capital. The acquired company has a production capacity similar to that of Teraplast’s subsidiary TeraSteel, namely 2.2 million sqm per year. TeraSteel is the market leader on the galvanized steel structures market. Serbia's panel factory will mainly serve countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro, as well as secondary markets such as Hungary, southern Romania and northern Greece. These markets have a potential of 9.6 million sqm in 2017, or about EUR 153 million, according to Teraplast estimates. Serbia's panel market is estimated at a volume of 2.3 million sqm, 20% of which represents local production, the difference being imports, Teraplast officials say. By comparison, local production accounts for about 80% of the total market in Romania. editor@romania-insider.com