Automotive interior, trim and electrical supplier Dräxlmaier (Vilsbiburg / Germany, www.draexlmaier.de) is to construct a plant in Balti in the north of Moldova for the production of wiring harness systems. In the first stage, the company intends to invest EUR 3.5m in the recruitment and training of 300 specialists who will work in a leased production area prior to the completion of the plant. The new facility will accommodate 2,000 employees, with construction beginning in 2008.

All of the production output from the plant will be exported and the principal customer will be BMW. Dräxlmaier operates five plants in neighbouring Romania with a combined staff of 17,000. However, there are no plans to relocate these production sites to Moldova, according to a company spokesperson.