French tyre producer Michelin is unsatisfied about the evolution of the Romanian economy, as the country is among the Central and Eastern European countries with growth potential for the group, said Jean-Dominique Senard, the group’s executive director, quoted by Mediafax.

“We like Romania, we’re not on this market by chance. We like it because people are loyal, dutiful and work very well. The economy is not where we want it to be, but it is the same in France; however, the potential is there, in Romania,” said Senard.

Michelin has three factories in Romania, and 3,000 employees, after investments of some EUR 300 million. This year it closed a factory near Budapest and decided to relocate some of the production to Romania.

The Romania division became a regional center for the region, coordinating the activity in 12 countries.

Michelin Romania had a turnover of EUR 473 million and a net profit of EUR 17.4 million, in 2013, according to data from the Finance Ministry.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Flicker, International Transport Forum)