Electric cars are the future of mobility, experts say, and in Timiș county there are companies that develop components for e-cars, including Tesla. In order to multiply their activity, large companies invest millions of euros in the development of production lines, and they procure their human resources especially from universities in the region.
The German concern Heraeus celebrates in 2023 the 10th year since it opened in Romania, near Timisoara, the first factory in Eastern Europe. The company mainly supplies components for electric cars.
“Timișoara was chosen because we have a very good university here, we have well-trained engineers in the automotive field and we have a very good logistical position. We invest a lot in the power electronics industry, we are suppliers specifically for electro-cars, we don’t necessarily appear as a listed supplier, but we are inside, we supply materials. When we say electric cars, we also include Tesla. We are one of the supplier for Tesla and we are proud of it. We invest a lot in the development of these materials, in the electronic industry and we have a project now, which is ongoing, Heraeus invests 15 million euros here in Timișoara in production lines alone, it is one of the biggest investments for Timișoara.”said Samuel Cireș, general manager of Heraeus Romania.
Battle for engineers trained in Timișoara
The company started 10 years ago with 77 employees. Today it has 350, and development plans are linked to attracting new specialists.
“We have a very healthy organic growth, we don’t need 100 people at once, in a month, but we hire them gradually through the programs we have with the university, with Liceul Azur, etc., we manage to link students to our company and graduates who later become our employees. For our engineers, the Polytechnic University is the main supplier. Only as chemical engineers, I give an example, we have more than 40 chemical engineers, all of them are graduates of the Polytechnic University Timisoara,” explained Samuel Cireș.
“In Romania we produce components for electric cars. What you see here is just the beginning. If I look in front of me, I see a lot of green fields. My expectation is that we will do another factory, a third factory, maybe a fourth. Because electric mobility will develop in Europe, it will become mandatory for all of us to drive electric cars and then we will need these components. And we produce them. I think Romania is a very good place. If we manage to get enough employees, then we will grow here.”, Klemens Brunner, president of Heraeus Electronics, also said.
And Continental makes components for the mobility of the future.
“The mobility of the future is very clearly moving more and more towards a car that is defined by software, functionality and electronics. It’s no longer just metal on wheels that goes, it’s more of a mobile phone that works, and that’s why we have a bunch of electronics in the car. How do we contribute? We make the same components; from Heraeus we get a lot of Soder Paste, a gold paste to use for soldering. And as we have seen, Heraeus has grown a lot in the last 10 years on this product.”said Christian von Albrichsfeld, general manager of Continental Romania.
On the other hand, the Polytechnic University is obliged by the market to develop in such a way that it can supply specialists for all the large companies in the region.
“There is a great need for engineers in the market. At Heraeus they need engineers from several faculties of the Polytechnic. What makes us happy is that they also need industrial chemistry and environmental engineering, a profession that has been on the decline in Romania for the last 30 years. We are happy because it helps us to develop the faculty in association with the companies in the field which are fewer. We are not dealing with what the market wants, there is a great need for engineering in Romania, but not only, at the global level, but we are trying to bring as many graduates as possible to the labor market and to be as productive as possible for the companies that hire . The battle for our graduates is high and at the present time and the income is commensurate. We try to develop as much as possible in collaboration with the companies because this has always happened in Timișoara.”said Florin Drăgan, rector of the Politehnica University.
And the development of peri-urban communes is accelerated by the presence of foreign companies in the area. For example, Heraeus is one of the main contributors to the budget of Giroculu, the richest commune in the county and with the largest number of inhabitants.
“The commune is the fourth richest locality in Romania. Through this industrial platform that we have, we are among the first in the area to create an industrial platform, we have attracted these investors. They are the main contributors to the local budget and thanks to them we have a generous budget. We want to expand this platform with clean industry so we can create jobs and bring money to the budget local.”, declared Dan Vîrtosu, the vice mayor of Giroc commune.
At Heraeus, 90% of what the employees produce at the factory near Timișoara is exported. Founded in 1660 in Hanau, Germany, the company is a world leader in technology and precious metals.
2023-07-08 04:17:00
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