Romania, hub of household appliances. The Chinese Haier Group is building the first fridge factory for the European market

By Jerom Bolt
The Chinese group Haier is building its first refrigerator factory in the European Union in Prahova County, Romania. The total investment amounts to 53 million euros, of which 25 million are state aid, according to a statement from the consulting company Deloitte.
The factory will have a total area of 57,000 square meters and will be located near Ploiești, in an industrial park. The works will be completed in the spring of next year.
The investment has started, and when it is ready it will have a maximum production capacity of 600,000 refrigerators per year.
“Haier has production facilities in France, Italy, China, Russia and Turkey. In addition to these factories, Haier is expanding its operations in Europe with a factory in Romania. The new Haier Tech Romania company, part of Haier Group, is currently building the first refrigeration equipment production unit in Europe, in Romania, near Ploieşti, in the Allianso Industrial Park “, says Cristina Bănică, managing director for Candy Hoover Romania.
This is one of the most important ongoing projects in the local production of household appliances where there are already seven large finished goods factories and one component factory, plus smaller ones. Romania has only one refrigerator factory, Arctic Găeşti, owned by the Turks from Arcelik.
In Romania, the investment will be made through the company Haier Tech SRL, registered in 2019 and owned by the Italian group Candy. It is also owned by the Haier Chinese.
The Haier Group is one of the largest home appliance manufacturers in the world. It was established in 1984 and is controlled by the Chinese state.
Haier is the world’s second-largest refrigerator manufacturer after Whirlpool. The company is headquartered in Qindao and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Over the years, the Haier Group has bought several Western companies, the latest of which was the takeover of General Electric’s home appliance division in 2016, for $ 5.4 billion, according to CNN Money. Haier also owns the Hotpoint, Candy, Aqua, and Fisher & Paykel brands. In addition to refrigerators, Haier also produces air conditioners, microwaves, mobile phones, computers, and televisions.
The Chinese from Haier built their group through acquisitions, indirectly taking over General Electric’s home appliances division in 2016 in exchange for 5.4 billion euros. The Chinese currently owns several brands in its portfolio, including Haier and Candy. On its website appears the information according to which the group controlled in 2016 10% of the sales volume on large appliances worldwide. It was the eighth year in a row that Haier had held this position.
The giant has over 65,000 employees, 24 factories and five research centers.