Warsaw. (Interfax-Europe) – Italian white-goods maker Merloni Elettrodomestici’s Polish unit will open a new plant in the city of Lodz on October 18, the company said in a statement.
The factory, Merloni’s second in Lodz, will employee 900 and cost EUR 40 mln to open. The factory will produce refrigerators under the brand names Indesit and Ariston for sale throughout Europe.
This is the major part of the company’s EUR 50 mln investment plan for Poland. The remaining EUR 10 mln will be spent on upgrading its Polish stove line, boosting capacity to 1 mln stoves a year by 2006.
Its first factory in Lodz, a stove factory, opened in 1999 with an USD 80 mln investment. At present, 84% of the factory’s output is exported. Merloni Indesit Polska plans to maintain this export level and also plans to export 80% of the new plant’s fridge production.
Merloni’s Polish operations cover 10.4% of the market in Poland, trailing only U.S. giant Whirlpool and Poland’s Amica Wronki. Whirlpool and Amica have 24.4% and 19.9% of the market, respectively, according to data from Merloni.
Merloni Elettrodomestici operates in 20 countries and produces 12 mln units annually in 17 factories. The company grew its revenues by 21% to EUR 3 bln in 2003, driving its pre-tax profit up by 19% to EUR 198 mln in 2003.
From Interfax