EGGER will soon be creating more from wood in Romania as well

High quality wood-based materials for furniture production

The international EGGER Group, with its headquarters in St. Johann/Tyrol, Austria, will begin with the construction of an integrated wood-based material plant in the North East of Romania in 2006.

The construction of the site in the province of Suceava in the vicinity of the towns of Dornesti and Radauti will take place in several construction stages. In the first construction stage, rawboards and coated chipboards will be produced and impregnating capacities built up. In the second phase, fibreboard production (MDF/HDF) with downstream laminate flooring production is planned. Subsequently, the construction of production sites for OSBs (Oriented Strand Boards), as well as glue and impregnating resins will be considered. The entire EGGER plant premises span 80 hectares. In total, EGGER is investing € 210 million in the first construction stage. With regard to the supply of raw materials, there will be close collaboration with local forest owners and sawmills.
This was announced by the owner and CEO, Michael Egger, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Flutur and the Prefect of Suceava Dr. Orest Onofrei during the presentation of the project on the 21 December 2005 in Bucharest. Following this, the agreements between EGGER and the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) were signed by Michael Egger and Hildegard Gacek (Director of the EBRD).

 
Up to 700 jobs will be created at the plant
The new EGGER site in Romania is geared up to produce over 600,000m3 of rawboards per year, approximately 80% of which will be refined and appear on the market as melamine resin coated boards.
The EBRD, which is overseeing the project, sees “significant, positive economic effects” for Romania, not least due to the improved utilisation of the main resource of the region, wood.
With the construction of the new plant in the province of Suceava, EGGER is placing strong emphasis on employment market politics in Romania. After its completion, up to 700 employees will find long-term, secure employment. The indirect effect this will have on jobs in local forestry, for construction companies, in the transportation industry or for various service providers including the catering sector will be considerable.

Sustainable use of raw materials
Guaranteeing sustainable forest management practices in the long term is the highest priority at EGGER. For production, raw materials from Romania will be predominantly used - waste wood and wood from tree thinning activities from woodland management, shavings from the surrounding regional sawmills and low-grade pulpwood.
EGGER wood-based materials will be produced according to strict guidelines and must be subject to regular internal and external examinations. All EGGER products have a high degree of environmental compatibility.
EGGER has its headquarters in the heart of one of the most beautiful holiday regions of Europe, in St. Johann/Tyrol, in Austria. An intact environment is of great importance here, just as it is at all other locations.

The latest technologies
The production technology will be state-of-the-art. Ultra-modern, environmentally sound equipment that has already been tested at other EGGER sites in Europe will be used. EGGER is the pioneer in the industry as a whole in terms of ecological production processes.

Romania is an interesting emerging market
Romania is not just an interesting market for EGGER due to its positive, economic overall development. A strong focus on exports and a low level of unemployment compared to other countries in Europe means that the economy of this future EU Member State can be expected to grow for the foreseeable future. EGGER already supplies a number of furniture manufacturers in Romania with high quality, decorative board materials. The head of the company, Michael Egger, anticipates a receptive market, in which furniture of consistently high quality will have good sales prospects: “We are already working together with a number of Romanian furniture manufacturers who welcome the fact that we will be producing in Romania in the future.”
The region also enjoys comparably good rail and road links as a result of the transport infrastructure. There is a direct road and rail link southward from the provincial capital of Suceava towards Bucharest and Constanta, the most important port on the Black Sea, and in a northerly direction towards Ukraine. The export markets in the Middle East, Southern Europe and Turkey can also be served via the port.

Cooperation with the authorities as the basic requirement
EGGER’s success is based on its qualified employees, innovative technology and the highest quality standards, which is how this family business has achieved market leadership in the countries where it produces today. The aim is also to become the market leader in Romania in the medium and long term. EGGER views cooperation with the local authorities and institutions as a very important contributory factor for the consistent implementation of its plans. Commitments to the provision of appropriate infrastructure as well as a quick and unbureaucratic development on the part of the authorities played an important role in the choice of location and were confirmed a number of times in Bucharest.

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^{Hildegard Gaceck (Director EBRD), Michael Egger, Gheorghe Copos (Vice Premier Minister Romania)}

^{Michael Egger, Gheorghe Copos (Vice Premier Minister Rumänien)}