Romania’s largest PVC processor TeraPlast (Bistrita; www.teraplast.ro) plans to strengthen its position in neighbouring Moldova by investing EUR 1.8 mn. The company is acquiring polyethylene pipe manufacturer Palplast (Calarasi, Moldova; www.palplast.md), which serves the domestic market with the output of two extrusion lines. Teraplast CEO Dorel Goia expects “considerable potential” from the acquisition.

The Teraplast group comprises five subsidiaries, which together generated a turnover of RON 320 mn (approx. EUR 65 mn) in the first six months of 2023. This is a decrease of 14% compared to the same period in 2022. 

The recycling division in particular struggled – the segment shrank by 45% in terms of revenue, which according to Goia was mainly due to aggressively priced imports from outside Europe. On balance, however, and with the help of the significantly better infrastructure business and the addition of film extrusion in 2022, Teraplast returned to profit after a decent second quarter. In total, the group processed around 37,000 t of plastics – PVC and polyethylene – in the first half of 2023. In line with the decline in sales, this is 14% less than in the first half of 2022.

The unchanged investments of RON 120 mn in 2023 are largely to be channelled into PE film extrusion. Teraplast invested RON 84 mn alone in stretch film production, which is due to start operations shortly. The remainder is earmarked for a photovoltaic system.