GERMANY

• Coffee brand to set up retail cafes
  Coffee brand Tchibo plans to open its first shops in Romania by the end of the year in a concept combining non-food product sales, coffee merchandising and a coffee bar, Angelika Scholz, senior manager Corporate Communications at Tchibo told The Diplomat. Tchibo intends to enter more markets in eastern Europe, such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, at the same time as closing down its operations in France and the Netherlands.
• Car part maker heads to Satu Mare
  German steel and aluminium vehicle part producer Hay Automobiltechnik will invest up to 60 million Euro in a production site in Satu Mare county. In 2006 the company posted a total turnover of 220.4 million Euro and employs around 1,250 at two other plants in Bockenau and Bad Sobernheim, Germany.
• Budget retailer grows steadily
  Budget retailer Minimax Discount is opening two more stores in Titu, Dambovita county and in Turnu Magurele, Teleorman county, taking its total estate to 16. By the end of 2008, the company’s aim is to open 20 new stores in small cities like Brasov, Buzau, Navodari, Ovidiu and Petrosani. Every Minimax store requires an investment of up to 750,000 Euro.
• Discount operator in funding boost
  Pludi Market, the operator of Plus Discount stores and part of the German Tengelmann Group, is planning to increase its share capital with an additional 100 million Euro, boosted by major share holder Charlotte Verwaltungs-und Beteiligungs, company representatives told The Diplomat. Plus Discount includes 52 stores at present and intends to continue expanding in cities of over 20,000 inhabitants.
  

ITALY

• High street store plans 20-strong blitz
  Clothes store chain Steilmann Bukarest, owned by the Italian Miro Radici Group with activities in fashion, home linen and retail, will open 20 new stores by the end of this year. The company now has open 60 stores in Romania.
  

AUSTRIA

• Interiors retailer plans nine branches
  Furniture and interior design retailer Kika-Leiner will invest around 60 million Euro in opening its first store in Romania in West Parc Militari, on the Bucharest-Pitesti Motorway. The store will cover 27,000 sqm, offering furniture and interior design items. Kika will open another eight stores in the next five years in Romania, Paul Koch, managing director of Kika-Leiner Group, told Ziarul Financiar.
  

LEBANON

• Meat producer hots up logistics
  Meat producer Caroli Foods will invest five million Euro in building a new logistics centre in Pitesti for the end of 2008. With a total surface area of 3,000 sqm, the new centre will handle up to 130 tonnes of goods daily. Caroli Foods has a market share of 9.6 per cent and 1,300 employees.
  

RUSSIA

• Steel group buys wire producer
  Mining and steel company Mechel has bought out wire producer Ductil Steel, controlled by Cyprus registered Lakewind Limited, for 142 million Euro. Ductil Steel has two production facilities in Caras Severin county and Buzau. Mechel already has local operations in Targoviste, Dambovita County and Campia Turzii, Cluj County.
  

NETHERLANDS

• Joint venture to build power plant
  Dutch owner of aluminium producer Alro Slatina, Vimetco, and local agricultural group InterAgro have set up a joint venture to build a coal-fired power plant near Turnu Magurele, Teleorman county, alongside the Danube. The new company, TM Power, will construct and operate the plant with a capacity of a minimum of 1,000 MW. “We are confident that the project will take off this year and the first power will be available by the end of 2012,” said CEO of Vimetco Christian Wuest. The company does not rule out taking on a partner of a utility company at a later stage and, at that point, the size of the project could increase, a spokeswoman for Vimetco told The Diplomat. But at present the plan is designed to secure the electricity supply for Alro’s aluminium smelter in Slatina, where the company’s constant energy consumption amounts to approximately 450 MW electricity.
  

POLAND

• Legal group enters Bucharest market
  Law firm Lukowicz Swierzewski & Partners and consulting firm Trio Management have opened an office in Bucharest, as part of an expansion strategy in central and eastern Europe. The Bucharest office includes two lawyers and is run by Bogdan Cringureanu, focusing on providing legal services to companies investing in the CEE region.
  

SWITZERLAND

• Fashion store plans branch blitz
  Swiss fashion retailer Charles Voegele Group will open five stores in Romania in the second half of 2008. Each store will require an investment of around 312,000 Euro. Charles Voegele Group has 825 branches in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland.
• Waste turned to power in cement plants
  Construction material firm Holcim has invested six million Euro in waste management installations in its two cement plants in Alesd, Bihor county, and Campulung, Arges county. The investment was made in partnership with one of the group’s companies, Ecovalor, which specialises in creating electricity from waste. Both plants are able to convert rubbish including tyres, plastic, paper, leather, textiles and wood into electricity for the two cement plants.
  

USA

• Soft drinks firm boosts production
  Soft drinks producer Quadrant Amroq Beverages(QAB), part of Pepsi-brand manufacturer and distributor Pepsi Americas, will build a 100 million Euro plant on the outskirts of Bucharest due for completion by 2011. Pepsi Americas has one factory in Bucharest on Strada Viilor and a second in Covasna county.