The European Investment Bank (EIB) granted a loan of EUR 68 million to white goods producer Arctic to finance the construction of a large-scale washing machine production plant in Romania.

After completion in 2019, the new factory will produce some 2.2 million washing machines a year, which will help Arctic meet increasing demand in the European market, a press release said.

Arctic, which is the market leader in the Romanian white goods market with more than 40% market share, is part of the Arçelik Group, the third largest producer of white goods in Europe and the seventh largest in the world.

“This highly innovative project, supported by the Investment Plan for Europe, will create 480 direct jobs and 900 additional working opportunities at a supplier level. The facility will be located in the South-Muntenia region, which is facing structural economic challenges following steel industry closures and is characterized by high unemployment and a low degree of technology manufacturing,” said EIB Vice President Andrew McDowell.

The Arctic factory will be the first production facility in Romania, and one of the few in Europe, compliant with the Industry 4.0 standards. The project is highly innovative, enabling the implementation of the latest automation processes and the integration of Internet of Things applications, including intelligent machines, inter connected devices and cooperative robotics technologies.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com