Merloni unveils EUR 100 million regional expansion plan

Italian white-goods producer Merloni announced that it would spend EUR 100 million on investments in Poland and Russia. The concern will construct a washing machine plant in Russia, while in Poland it will build a EUR 40 million factory, which will produce refrigerators. Moreover, it will also spend EUR 10 million to expand its existing cookers plant in Łódź. "We did not get any investment incentives in Poland. However, we believe that the market and potential of the region is so large that it is worth investing and expanding in this country," said Merloni Indesit Polska general director Giuseppe Parma. At present, about 80% of cookers produced in Łódź are exported and the same figure will apply to fridges scheduled to be produced in a year. However, construction of the plant and reaching production capacity of one million units per annum will take about three years. Merloni has so far invested $80 million and the company employs 700. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) M.M