PM visits factories in two settlements of Moldova

Prime Minister Vasile Tofan today paid a working visit to Falesti and Ungheni, where he visited three companies: the Idea Moda clothing factory, automotive wiring harness manufacturer Kab-lem, and Aedificator, an asphalt producer. The discussions with entrepreneurs focused on expanding production, securing a workforce and reducing the administrative burden.

“Moldova’s industry can compete in Europe through quality. I saw this today in factories working for Fiat, Mercedes, the Audi-Volkswagen Group and European fashion brands. When a garment sewn in Falesti reaches a store in Milan, and a wiring harness made in Ungheni goes into a European car, it shows what Moldova is capable of,” said Prime Minister Vasile Tofan.

Idea Moda is an Italian investment with 260 employees that produces more than 70 per cent of the trousers made by German brand MEYER and sold worldwide. The company’s founder, Dario Fasson, noted that Moldova cannot compete with Asia or the Maghreb countries in terms of price and volume, but it prevails through quality. The company is expanding production for new clients, including Moncler, and welcomes the new tax measures aimed at stimulating employment and investment, including the zero tax on reinvested profits. The company’s main challenge remains finding new employees.

Kab-lem produces wiring harnesses for Fiat, Peugeot, Chrysler, BMW and Audi and operates in a highly competitive environment, including competition from Tunisia, where wages are twice as low. Of the 6 million wiring harnesses produced last year, the company received only one complaint. However, company representatives pointed to bureaucratic difficulties: in order to work on Saturdays, each employee must submit an individual request, in accordance with the regulations currently in force.

“The quality, discipline and local engineering are outstanding. However, bureaucracy remains a problem. Of the four employees in human resources, three deal with reporting and paperwork. There is room for simplification here,” the prime minister said.

In Ungheni, Vasile Tofan visited Aedificator, a local company that operates a modern asphalt plant with a capacity of 160 tons per hour and a concrete plant whose capacity is set to quadruple to 120 cubic metres per hour. The company is preparing to invest in technologies for producing asphalt that is more resistant to freeze-thaw cycles and high summer temperatures, enabling the construction of more durable roads with lower maintenance costs.

According to the data presented, Moldova’s industry grew by 7.7 per cent this year. The prime minister described the result as a positive one, in the context of the difficult international economic situation and stressed the need to accelerate the pace of development.

“At all three companies, I met skilled people and entrepreneurs who want to invest. They need a well-trained workforce, good conditions for investment and less bureaucracy. This is where we must do our job. That is what we are working for: so that more and more good things are made here, at home,” the prime minister concluded.