The slowdown of the national thermal rehabilitation program is the main factor responsible for the local uPVC profiles market falling below EUR 250 million this year, Aurel Vlaicu, managing director at Gealan Romania told a press conference on Thursday.
He estimates that overall the market will drop by about 15 percent this year compared to 2013. “There still are some rehabilitation works but not as a few years ago,” explained Vlaicu. Despite the fact that the residential sector has seen some growth over the last months, Gealan Romania’s head thinks this has been insufficient to boost the uPVC profiles market. He explained that on the domestic market demand continues to come mostly from the national thermal rehabilitation program and private refurbishment projects and that “the present context calls for cautious spending”.
Gealan Romania estimates that despite the market drop in 2014 it will post a turnover similar to the level reported in 2013 – EUR 23.4 million – but exports will be responsible for this evolution. Some 5 percent of the company’s turnover is generated by sales outside Romania. It exports mostly to Germany, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova.
Gealan Romania is a subsidiary of German Gealan Holding GmbH which earlier this year was taken over by competitor Veka. In Romania the two companies will continue to work as independent entities and the two brands will be kept, said Vlaicu.
Simona Bazavan