Italy-based AFV Beltrame Group has announced that it has signed the contract for the acquisition of the functional production assets of Romania-based Special Steel Plant (COS) Targoviste by concluding the transfer of ownership documents and full payment of the price in the amount of €38.3 million. The Italian group, which also owns the Donalam plant in Calarasi in Romania, aims to transform COS Târgoviṣte into "a European competitive special steel production unit." Over the next four years, around €100 million will be invested in the modernization of the machinery, namely steel shops and rolling mills, and around €40-50 million in providing working capital.
On March 16, following the completion of the acquisition of COS Targoviste, the representatives of Beltrame Group had a meeting with Romanian prime minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă. The latter underlined the support that the Romanian government gives to the development of investments in industry, for the modernization of the national economy, access to new technologies, and the creation of new jobs for Romanians and of high-value products for the local and European markets.
Carlo Beltrame, responsible for group business development of AFV Beltrame Group, stated, "The acquisition of COS Targoviste is an important step in the Beltrame Group’s expansion strategy in Romania and confirms our long-term commitment to the development of the local steel sector. COS Targoviste has a strong history in the steel industry, so we are honoured to have the opportunity to revitalise this steel giant. We expect to start production at the existing steelworks and the two rolling mills in early June, in order to supply the internal market with rebar and wire rod and stop the market’s dependence on imports, especially in the context of the conflict in Ukraine."
Initially, COS Târgoviște will produce rebar and, with the progress of the modernization works and the training of the workforce, it will return to the production of special steels for which it was originally built. The reopening of the production unit is expected to create around 450-500 new jobs in the near future. Currently, around 90 employees work within COS Targoviste, mainly to keep utilities up and running and to preserve equipment.