Romanian state-owned petrochemicals group Oltchim (Rîmnicu Vîlcea; www.oltchim.ro) plans to sell PVC window profiles manufacturer Ramplast (Rîmnicu Vîlcea; www.ramplast.ro) and several other core assets unrelated to plastics at an open auction. According to press reports, the group hopes to realise EUR 8m from the sale, with the proceeds to be invested in operations of Petrochemical Arges (formerly Arpechim), acquired from Petrom in early 2010 – see Plasteurope.com of 05.01.2010. An open bidding tender for Ramplast is to start at EUR 7.4m. No date has been set for the auction.

Ramplast has capacity to produce 20,000 t/y of PVC profiles and the company’s window division is capable of installing 10,000 units annually. Products are distributed mainly in the Romanian market. At the end of 2009, Oltchim management said it planned to add 15 extrusion units to its machinery park within the next three years, but is believed to have lacked funding for the investment up to now.