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EBRD lends to modernise Slovene nylon production
The Julon textile mill in Slovenia will benefit from a DM 32 million (ECU 17 million) loan signed today by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The project is to partially finance the privatisation, restructuring and modernisation of the company.
Olivier Descamps, Director of the Slovenia country team at the EBRD, said: “This loan will allow Julon to modernise and expand its nylon production processes. The restructuring and modernisation of the company will create a long-term competitive advantage that will enable Julon to become one of the most efficient and technologically advanced nylon producers in Europe.”
This is the second investment which the EBRD has made with the Bonazzi Group of Italy in the Slovenian textile industry. The first, made in Aquasava (Kranj) in 1994, has been successfully implemented. The Bonazzi Group is a private family-owned textile group, and the two investments in Slovenia are an integral part of its strategy for the future.
The EBRD loan to Julon is part of a DM 80 million (ECU 43 million) project to privatise and restructure the company. In the first phase, the Bonazzi Group acquired 57 per cent of Julon through a capital increase of DM 26 million (ECU 14 million) in March 1995. The funds were used to restructure the short-term debt on Julon’s balance sheet. The second phase, for which the EBRD will provide the long-term financing, will modernise the processes involved in nylon production.
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