April 15 (SeeNews) - Turkish household appliance manufacturer Arctic invested 37.8 million euro ($40.92 million) in a new production line at its factory in Ulmi, in Romania, doubling its capacity, the company said.
With the newly opened production line, the factory expects to reach an output of 2.2 million washing machines annually, the company said in a press release on Thursday.
The factory has manufactured more than 2 million washing machines since the launch of production in 2019. It currently produces over 300 washing machine models.
"With the full operationalisation of the second production line in Ulmi, Arctic will annually produce over 5 million appliances in the country. Together with its 46 local suppliers, Arctic has contributed decisively to the consolidation of this industry, transforming Romania into an important player regionally,” Arctic chief executive officer Murat Buyukerk said.
“At the same time, the Ulmi plant serves as a flagship for the efficient use of energy, materials, and resources, in line with the sustainability – centred vision that Arctic and the Arcelik group share," he added.
The 700,000 sq m factory in Ulmi was opened after an investment of 160 million euro and combines artificial intelligence and robotics with traditional, human-led manufacturing. According to Arctic, the 200 robots working alongside the staff have increased productivity by 30%. As much as 70% of production operations are based on industrial Internet of Things applications, which collect data independently.
Arctic is a Turkish-owned household appliance manufacturer based in Romania. It was acquired by Arcelik in 2002 and currently manages the Ulmi and Gaesti factories, totalling up to 5,500 staff. A total 84% of Arctic’s products are exported to 80 countries, with the factory in Gaesti having produced 40 million refrigerators to date.
According to finance ministry data, Arctic recorded a profit of 121.28 million lei ($26.56 million/24.52 million euro) on a turnover of 271.94 million lei in 2020.
Arcelik is an Istanbul headquartered company with over 40,000 employees worldwide. According to the press release, its operations include sales and marketing offices in 49 countries, along with 28 production facilities in nine countries. The company’s roster also includes R&D facilities worldwide, with over 2,000 researchers. Arcelik reported a turnover of 6.5 billion euro in 2021.
(1 euro =4.94 Romanian lei)