INTERVIEW Marian Bolboe, Fuerda Smartech Romania: “We are recruiting specialists for the new plant in Ghimbav-Brasov”
Petre Barac
Posted On June 17, 2024
“We consider that the market for smart air and lighting systems is directly linked with actual mobility trends. The market will request intelligent air and lighting systems. That means completely automated solutions for the products, new design and interconnected systems (including the driver, external environment and other traffic participants). In the next few years, the driver will be not only a user of the system but will be a part of the system,” Marian Bolboe, Plant Manager, Fuerda Smartech Romania told Automotive Today.
“The plant in Ghimbav – Brasov is designed to have a maximum capacity of 500 employees. Now we are in recruiting process for specialists in moulding, painting and assembly. We speak here about white collars and blue collars. Our plant will be highly automated, we search for very talented colleagues able to work with robots, to be able to program them, to communicate with another automated and intelligent subsystems.”
What is your long-term vision for Fuerda Smartech Romania? Where do you see the company in the next 5 to 10 years?
Our clear vision is to create a comfortable and safe interior space for passenger cars; that means to build a cutting-edge space with personality, assuring at the same time a green and safe environment.
Based on this vision, our strategy is shaped by a clear target for the European market: Fuerda will achieve in the next 5 years: top 3 Airvent supplier and top 5 lighting systems supplier.
In 5 years, our focus is to become one of the most desired employers on the local labour market
How does the Romanian plant fit into Fuerda Smartech’s global strategy?
Fuerda Smartech SRL is a key player in the global business strategy of Fuerda Group.
The Romanian plant was built to respond on highest level, on European automotive market requests, by offering Ambiental light and Air vents systems on highest quality and best price.
The company’s production strategy bears the imprint of Agility. It is no longer enough to offer a competitive loan and the required quality, but (on top) we must respond instantly to customer requests and changes on the market.
The quick reaction to any challenge that arises requires, in the first instance, the processing of unprecedented volumes of information in a short time. We are implementing a high level of digitization and automatization that helps us to respond well to all stakeholders’ request.
To ensure success, Fuerda Smartech SRL is built on a very experienced team with an average of over 15 years in the automotive industry, capable of acting very fast and in a professional way.
What are the key priorities for the plant in the coming years to achieve its strategic goals?
Start with last year we defined our key priorities and directions to achieve the “share market targets” based on our vision. The key priorities are in 4 main directions:
- Implement and maintain a high level of automatization and digitalization; this is a normal anticipation of the market request. We must be able to respond very fast and very stable to the actual demographic challenges and to be flexible in front of customer requests.
Fuerda Smartech is in a privileged situation to use new, automated equipment in accordance with the latest technologies on the market. Each piece of equipment is planned to include at least one robot, and the assembly cells are highly automated.
2. Continuous Innovation process, as I already mentioned under the sign of Agility, innovation is not about alignment with the customer requirements but is about anticipation of customer wishes and this is not possible without commitment of every employee.
3. Permanent development Know-how of our employees, a very high level of automatization and digitalization is not possible without high level of qualifications for our employees.
4. Social responsibility and Sustainability, we strongly believe that everything we do, we do for people (employees, their family and local community). All is about legacy for next generations, we can’t talk about durable business without this focus.
How do you see the market for smart air and lighting systems evolving in the next few years?
We consider that the market for smart air and lighting systems is directly linked with actual mobility trends.
The market will request intelligent air and lighting systems. That means completely automated solutions for the products, new design and interconnected systems (including the driver, external environment and other traffic participants). In the next few years, the driver will be not only a user of the system but will be a part of the system.
What trends in the automotive industry are currently influencing your product development and production strategies?
First megatrend that conduct Fuerda Group strategy to open a production facility in Europe-Romania is climate changes. Our assumption is to do everything to reduce carbon footprint including reduction of logistic chain, being in proximity of our European clients.
Urbanization, visible also in cities like Brasov, is a good advantage for us because Brasov area is very attractive for people, is a nice place to work and to live with family.
If we take into consideration the presence of a big talent supplier Transylvania University, Brasov area is attractive for future investment and new business, like Fuerda Smartech.
Digitalization/High level of connectivity and demographical changes are shaping Fuerda’s production strategy for next 10 years.
With the planned expansion, how many new jobs do you expect to create? What types of roles will these new jobs involve?
The plant in Ghimbav – Brasov, is designed to have a maximum capacity of 500 employees. Now we are in recruiting process for specialists in moulding, painting and assembly. We speak here about white collars and blue collars. Our plant will be highly automated, we search for very talented colleagues able to work with robots, to be able to program them, to communicate with another automated and intelligent subsystems.
This kind of skills will be a good advantage for every candidate, but most important for us is their visible proactive attitude and focus on personal development.
How do you address the challenge of attracting and retaining skilled labor in the region?
Fuerda Smartech Romania, facing the challenges of the dynamic labour market, has adopted a proactive strategy for attracting and retaining talent. The company has created a stimulating work environment, which favours professional and personal development, through continuous training programs and advancement opportunities. Benefit packages are designed to provide long-term incentives, there by strengthening employee engagement.
In the field of the production of air vents for the automotive industry, Fuerda Smartech Romania is looking to hire the most competent specialists in the engineering of plastic materials.
Through investments in branding and employee commitment, the company aims to increase its visibility and cultivate an environment where innovation and creativity are encouraged, ensuring that each team member feels valued and supported in their professional career.
Can you provide more details about the planned investments by 2026? What specific areas or projects will this investment target?
The level of investments in the factory in Ghimbav – Brasov until the end of 2024 (including the factory and the equipment needed for the current projects) amounts to 33 million euros and for the projects nominated with SOP 2025-2026, it will increase by another approximative 16 million euros.
Surface of the plant is 13,000 sqm and every centimeter is in accordance with legal requests and the highest standards in term of Safety and Environment protection.
Inside we’ll find a Logistic area, Molding area, Painting area and Assembly area.
All installed equipment’s and machines are new and automated, but the painting line (a full automated one) is the “diamond of the crown”, state of the art in worldwide painting technology.
The molding machines between 90 and 1350 tons (1k and 2K) and assembly lines are customized for different product and clients.
We are proud to say that we are nominated by the top OEMs in Europe VW, Audi, Mercedes, Renault, Stellantis, Jaguar-Land Rover, Tesla and the SOP is planned for this year.
What are the key factors driving the decision to expand the local plant?
There are many factors that driving the decision to expand the local plant, but I’ll highlight here only 3 of them:
- Clients, they always need a fair and performant supplier capable to assure always the requested Quality on the right time and competitive price
- Profitability of the business
- Abilities of the Fuerda Smartech team to anticipate and manage challenges
What are the challenges for the year 2024 and what could slow down or speed up the business development in Fuerda Smartech Romania?
We live the times where the dynamics of changes are at unprecedented levels, success and failure are separated by the power of reaction and the agility to face challenges.
Among the major challenges that could slow down the development of our business, I would mention only two major threats:
1. Global political instability creates immediate shock waves in the business environment; here we could include non-convergent local and regional development strategies.
2. Fiscal changes without consulting and agreement with the Romanian business environment could bring a phenomenon of unpredictability in the company and a decrease of stakeholders’ interest in future development.
When we look the other side of the coin, we have a new factory equipped according to the highest standards; we are a team with great experience in the automotive industry; we have the financial and material resources necessary to achieve the objectives; we know what needs to be done and how it needs to be done and our motivation to achieve success is very high.
We have all the necessary assets to accelerate the business growth process in Fuerda Smartech SRL from Ghimbav – Brasov.
