Austrian steelmaker voestalpine is expected to commission its new €20 million steel service center in Giurgiu, Romania this summer, according to Romanian media sources. Work on the project had been postponed due to the 2008 economic crisis.
The original announcement regarding the planned steel service center was made in October 2007, with commissioning initially scheduled for the second half of 2009.
Located on a site covering some 9,500 square meters, the service center will employ 50 people. The enterprise has received €5 million in financing from the European Union, as well as 14 percent in financing from the Romanian state. The factory will have an annual capacity of 130,000 metric tons of coils, which may be doubled if needed. Production will be delivered to the domestic market, as well as to Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey, and will be focused on supplying the automotive sector.
Giurgiu is considered by voestalpine to be a strategic location as it lies on the Danube, just like Linz, where voestalpine has its headquarters.