MANUFACTURING IN ROMANIA

A BRIEF RECENT HISTORY

The fall of Communism in 1989 prompted a conflict of interest between former managers of heavy industry, who opposed the transition to a market economy, and many labourers, who sought what was then seen as radical reform.

Lighter industry appeared a hopeful prospect and began to attract the attention of multinational investors through the 1990s and after the turn of the millennium. Indeed, the machine building and metal processing sectors still account for about 20 percent of Romania’s entire industrial production.

A strong tendency to concentrate on modern subsectors such as electronics is a trend that has characterised the country’s recent manufacturing development, further highlighted by Bosch’s arrival in the mid-1990s. The young, bright labour force, coupled with a strategic proximity to Western Europe, has been a major lure for international organisations.