Prysmian to expand Romanian and Slovak cable factories

Italy-based cable manufacturer Prysmian has unveiled plans to raise the output capacity of its two cable production facilities in Slatina, Romania, and Presov, Slovakia, the company said in a statement.

The two investments are expected to be worth a total of €43m. The factories make cables for the telecoms industry.

"Both plants will be the biggest in Europe for their category once they reach full capacity in the beginning of 2017,” the statement said.

The Italian firm is aiming to double the output capacity of its Romanian factory in 2017, and triple its production capacity by 2020 through creating around 300 new jobs. The investment in Slatina is estimated to be worth about €22m, according to data from the manufacturer. To carry out its investment, Prysmian has secured an investment grant of about €3m from the Romanian government, reports local daily Ziarul Financiar.

Prysmian launched the Slatina-based factory in 2013 under a project worth some €15m. Currently, the Romanian plant exports 70% of its output.

Prysmian specialises in supplying cables to companies from the energy and telecom sectors. The Italian company produces a wide range of cables which consist of PVC, PE, and fluorinated plastics, such as ETFE, FEP, PFA and PTFE, among others.

Prysmian says it is operated by about 19,000 employees at 88 production facilities located in 50 countries worldwide.