Swedish packaging company transfers production lines to Romania

Swedish company Korsnas Packaging has extended its operations in Romania by transferring two production lines from Germany and the United Kingdom to its Romanian subsidiary in Ploieşti, an industrial city close to Bucharest. The first production line will be designed for producing packing material for food and the building industry. This line will be transferred to Romania at the beginning of May, with the transaction being worth €1.5 million. The second production line will be transferred in 2006, depending on the 2005 financial results of Korsnas' Romanian subsidiary.

In the past few years, and the past year especially, more European Union companies have relocated to Romania for to its lower labour cost and skilled workforce. Foreign investors have also been attracted by a new tax policy which started in January 2005, putting in place a flat 16% tax rate for personal income and corporate profit. Foreign investment is expected to increase in the future, as Romania signed in April 25 its Accession Treaty with the European Union and is set to become a member of this organisation on January 1, 2007.