October 8 (SeeNews) - Austrian wood panel board producer Kronospan has completed a 200 million euro ($295 million) factory for oriented strand boards (OSB) in central Romania, Bucharest-based daily Ziarul Financiar reported on Thursday.
The factory, located in the city of Brasov, has an annual estimated capacity of 350,000 cubic metres. It will create 500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs, the daily quoted Kronospan Romania communication manager Oana Bodea as saying.
She added that the factory will produce OSB especially for the construction sector as the company expects that demand for this type of building materials will continue to rise at home and abroad, including in eastern Europe.
Bodea also said that Kronospan Romania's sales fell by 20% on the year in the first half of 2009, as the most difficult period for the company was the first quarter, when sales stagnated.
Kronospan Romania also owns a particleboard factory in the town of Sebes. Earlier this year, the company announced a 20 million euro investment in a new production line at its factory in Sebes, Ziarul Financiar (www.zf.ro) said.
Kronospan Romania reported a turnover of 43.3 million euro for last year, it added.
($=0.6771 euro)