Italian cable and wires manufacturer La Triveneta Cavi has inaugurated a new factory in Moldova's Straseni industrial park, following a €24 million investment supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The new factory will produce low- and middle-voltage electrical cables for use in buildings, industrial processes, power distribution, telecommunications and data transmission.
The planned output capacity is 12,000 tonnes per year, EBRD said.The factory will initially employ 49 people, with a planned expansion of the workforce to above 200 employees.
Founded in 1965, La Triveneta Cavi has become one of the major players in the European market for low- and medium-voltage cables for industrial and home use, power distribution and renewable technologies, EBRD said.
The company’s expansion to Moldova represents its first investment outside Italy. To support the expansion, the EBRD extended a €6.2 million loan to the Moldovan subsidiary of La Triveneta Cavi in June 2015.
This loan to La Triveneta Cavi is EBRD’s third investment in Moldova’s cable sector.
The Bank had previously financed the expansion of the German automotive component supplier Draexlmaier and the construction of a greenfield plant by the Austrian automotive cables manufacturer Gebauer & Griller, both located in the Free Economic Zone of Bălți, the country’s second largest city, EBRD said.
“The Bank remains committed to supporting foreign investors creating local jobs and bringing new skills, technologies and innovation to the country” said Dimitri Gvindadze, head of the EBRD office in Chisinau.
“ Such investments enhance employment opportunities, strengthen economic resilience and anchor Moldova in regional logistical and supply chains” he added.
The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Moldova with over €1.1 billion of cumulative investment in over 110 projects in agribusiness, energy, the financial sector, infrastructure and manufacturing.