PLOIESTI, ROMANIA-Belgium-based Alinso’s Romanian unit Allianso Business Park has signed a contract with Texas oil industry equipment and services company Lufkin Industries, to sell a 33-hectare plot in Ploiesti West Park on which it plans to build a $126m manufacturing facility. It is Lufkin’s largest investment in Europe and a major transaction in the central European industrial equipments sector.
Alinso is developing Ploiesti in a joint venture with Petrica Usurelu, founder of the Piritex Group; they plan to invest $989 million over six years. Allianso Business Park delivered a 323,000-square-foot warehouse to Unilever last April, and a new 215,000-square-foot logistics building will be available by late September.
Ivan Lokere, Alinso CEO, said the fact it found two strong tenants within a year shows Ploiesti was the right choice of location. The Lufkin investment will give new economic dynamics to Prahova County and to the Ploiesti industrial area, establishing Ploiesti West as a base for industrial firms.
Lufkin CEO Jay Glick said the new operation in Romania is a critical step in its strategy to expand its geographic reach for global customers and it will be a strategic hub to serve the European market and the focus for exports to Russia, central Asia, north Africa, the Middle East and east Asia. Romania is becoming a regional energy hub due to the political stability provided by EU membership and the strategic benefit of its significant oilfield heritage. It also provides access to local sources of raw materials, and a technically-capable local workforce.
Allan Saunderson is a managing editor of Property Investor Europe and a contributor to GlobeSt.com.
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