December 14 (SeeNews) - Romanian home appliance manufacturer Arctic, a unit of Turkey's Arçelik, said on Tuesday that it has invested 10 million euro ($11.3 million) at its refrigerator factory in Gaesti this year, bringing total investment in the production facility to 154 million euro.
The investment is aimed at increasing the factory's efficiency through digitization, enhancing automation and improving quality control, the company said in a press release.
The factory in Gaesti, Dambovita county, has produced 40 million refrigerators to date. It has a production capacity of 2.9 million units per year and employs 5,000.
"We will continue to invest in Romania, given our goal of turning it into a regional production hub, and we pledge to continue these results while also integrating our sustainability vision and mission," Arctic CEO Murat Büyükerk said.
The performance of the Gaesti factory determined the expansion of Arçelik group operations in Romania, leading to the construction, from the ground up, of a new appliance factory in Ulmi, Dambovita county. Following a total investment of 153 million euro, the Arctic washing machine factory in Ulmi started production at the end of 2019.
Once the investment is finalised with the opening of a second production line, the Ulmi factory will reach an output capacity of 2.2 million washing machines per year, Arctic said.
Established in 1970, Arctic Gaesti was acquired by Arçelik in 2002. The factory manufactures three main brands of refrigerators: Arctic for the domestic market and Beko and Grundig mainly for exports. The factory exports 84% of its output to over 80 countries.
($=0.8877 euro)