BUCHAREST (Romania), February 16 (SeeNews) – Romanian railway group and logistics operator Grampet said on Tuesday that it plans to invest 14 million euro ($17 million) over the next five years in the development of its railway carriage repair factory in Hungary's Debrecen.
As a first stage of the investment plan, Grampet has acquired for 6.5 million euro a 28-hectare landplot on which the Debrecen Vagongyar factory in Hungary is located, it said in a press release.
In the 12 years since Debrecen Vagongyar joined the Romanian brand Grampet, the Hungarian unit doubled its turnover and turned to profit, Grampet president and founder Gruia Stoica said.
Currently, Grampet's activities, in Hungary, namely the rail freight operator Train Hungary in Budapest and the railway carriage factory in Debrecen, contribute almost 11.2% to the turnover reported annually at group level, he added.
In addition to being the leader in the Hungarian tank wagon repair and maintenance market for the transport of gas and petroleum products, over 70% of Grampet Debreceni Vagongyar's turnover is generated by contracts with partners in Western Europe.
Every year, the plant overhauls and upgrades almost 2,000 wagons. The plant employs about 400 people, and the medium-term investment plans could create another 100 jobs.
Grampet entered the Hungarian market in 2005 when it founded rail freight operator Train Hungary. Four years later it took over the wagon factory in Debrecen.
"We are optimistic about the future of our division in Hungary and estimate that the new investment projects can generate a 20% growth in sales and a similar increase in the number of employees, which equates to a strengthening of our presence in both the neighboring market and also on the specific European market," Stoica also said.
Established almost 20 years ago, Grampet is the largest private rail freight and logistics operator in Romania, comprising 16 companies. Its flagship company, Grup Feroviar Roman, is the biggest private railway transport operator in Romania, with a market share of approximately 30%.
In July, Grampet acquired the industrial platform of bankrupt oil refinery RAFO Onesti through its newly-established subsidiary Roserv Oil. Grampet decided to buy the platform in order to develop a logistics centrе for containers and oil products which will serve Romania's historical region of Moldova, it said at the time. The project is expected to generate at least 600 jobs in the long run.
($=0.8243 euro)