Nokia to Start Production in Cluj
NineOClock, February 12, 2008
by Alexandra Spanu.

Nokia starts phone production in Cluj County

The Finnish company began yesterday to assemble the model 1200 for the markets from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

published in issue 4118 page 9 at 2008-02-12

Jucu – Nokia company began the production of mobile phones at the factory from Jucu, a commune in Cluj County. Present at the launching ceremony, Nokia Vice-President, Juha Putkiranta called the Ambassador of Finland in Romania, Tapio Saarela, on one of the phones made at Jucu, informs Mediafax.

Putkiranta declared that Cluj County was chosen for the Nokia factory because the labour is skilled and the area is close to the selling markets targeted by Nokia, namely Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

“We chose Jucu for its closeness to the selling markets, and also because in Cluj County there is an industrial tradition which helped us to select the employees. In the coming years, this area will change radically, becoming a technological area. Nokia is proud of being the engine of development in the zone,” said Putkiranta.

The same also stressed that the process was quick, the construction of the factory starting seven months before, and now the first phones are already produced. “The factory at Cluj will become an important segment of our global network of productive centers and will operate according to the same processes, quality requirements and standards which exist in all the Nokia factories,” added Juha Putkiranta.

In his turn, Nokia Romania manager, John Guerry, declared that 350 employees work now at Nokia, at both production and management levels. In the first stage of the production, Nokia will hire 500 persons at Cluj, while in 2009 the factory will have 3,500 employees. A worker from the Nokia factory from Cluj will be paid around RON 800 per month, and will receive a meal.

Nokia has already announced in 2007 that it would set up a mobile phone factory in Romania, the investment being estimated at EUR 60 M. The decision to locate a new Nokia factory in Romania is due to the increased request of mobile devices on the market from Eastern Europe and Africa. Cluj was chosen as a result of the availability of skilled labour, and also thanks to the possibility to build an industrial park to host Nokia suppliers and partners. The construction works began in July 2007, and the official inauguration of the factory is estimated to take place in the third quarter this year. According to the officials from Cluj, the agreement with Nokia has a validity of 30 years. During this period the investor will be exempted from the real estate tax.

The people of Jucu, celebrate, the germans continue protests

The arrival of the Finnish investor was felt also in the real estate domain, the price of the lands from Jucu being 60 times higher than two years ago, to EUR 120 per sq m, informs Rompres. If the affairs of the Romanians from Jucu have started to improve, the Germans continue to protest at Bochum, where Nokia decided to close down the plant and transfer its activity to Romania. Over 6,500 persons rallied on Sunday in a human chain to manifest their disapproval with Nokia’s decision. 2,300 workers will turn unemployed further to the closing of the factory. The authorities are trying now to exert pressure on Nokia to go back on its decision or to offer financial compensations. The meeting was attended by unionists, but also by politicians, among whom Norbert Lammert, Speaker of the German Parliament. However, according to The Money Channel, the German firms are also attracted by the countries from Eastern Europe and by China. A survey shows that one fifth of them have already relocated their activities, opting for the last 12 states that have joined the Union or for China.