Production, Mobile, Romania, CEE: Industry has long played a part in the economics of the Cluj county of Romania. It is perhaps unsurprising that Nokia has chosen Cluj to be the site of a brand-new US$80 million factory for mobile devices. We report on Nokia’s highly ambitious scheme.

Nokia has confirmed that it will be setting up a manufacturing facility for mobile devices in the county of Cluj in Romania. Nokia anticipates investing some US$80 million in the Cluj plant, which will become its 11th mobile device production facility globally. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today in Romania’s capital, Bucharest.

The decision to establish a new factory in Romania is a reflection of Nokia’s strong volume growth, as well as the increasing demand for mobile devices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Nokia selected Cluj as the location for the plant because of the county’s availability of skilled labour, its good inbound and outbound logistics connections, its overall efficiency, and the long industrial tradition in the area.

Nokia’s new is located about 400 km north-west of Bucharest. Construction will start this spring and production is expected to begin in the first half of next year. Nokia then foresees ramping up the factory gradually, recruiting approximately 500 employees there by the end of 2007. As part of the plans, Nokia is looking to establish an industrial village in the area, enabling a number of key suppliers and partners to locate their operations there.

Nokia continuously develops its global manufacturing network “to increase competitiveness and provide excellent logistics services for its customers.” Last year the company completed expansions at Reynosa in Mexico and Dongguan in China, while stepping up production at its Chennai plant in India. Nokia already has European production facilities, namely Bochum in Germany, Komárom in Hungary and Salo in Finland.

more info: www.nokia.com