Webasto Expands Plant in Romania

Webasto, the world market leader for roof systems, is developing its site in the Romanian city of Arad into the largest plant for sunroofs and panorama roofs in Europe. With this, the automotive supplier continues to consolidate its presence in Eastern Europe.

The inauguration of the third building phase, covering approximately 10,000 meters, took place on Wednesday, June 11, 2015. Total investments for the plant in Arad amount to about 65 million euros. Now that the expansion has been completed, the site encompasses a total of 26,000 square meters, equivalent to the area taken up by three and a half soccer fields.

“For a globally active company such as Webasto, the European market is still among its most important regions. The expansion of our plant in Arad is a clear indication of this” said Dr. Holger Engelmann, Chairman of the Management Board Webasto SE. “Arad is a key element in our global strategy of local presence on the ground, in close proximity to our customers.” Last year, in 2014, over half a million sunroofs and panorama roofs were produced in Arad. For the current year, we have projected close to 750,000 roofs for customers such as BMW or the VW Group.

In addition to Dr. Engelmann and Philipp Köhler, plant director of Webasto Arad, the inauguration was attended by numerous local politicians and the plant workforce. During the festivities, Mr. Köhler made a point of underscoring: “We are extremely proud that here in Arad we have created a plant of such great significance for Webasto. I would like to express my special thanks to all our employees, who with their commitment and qualification were instrumental in laying the foundation for this success.”

Webasto focuses on environmental protection and sustainability – this is also substantiated in the newly constructed building. For the first time, a Webasto production facility was equipped entirely with high-efficiency LED lighting. In addition, the new production hall has an active night-time cooling system. Thus, the resulting reduced energy requirements actively contributing to environmental protection.