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EBRD makes €17.5m equity investment in Polish white goods company
Equity capital to help finance €50.7m restructuring programme
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing
€17.5m equity capital to FagorMastercook (formerly Wrozamet), one of the
largest Polish producers of white goods, based in Wrocław. This facility will
be used towards the financing of a €50.7m restructuring and investment
programme.
FagorMastercook is a subsidiary of Fagor Electrodomésticos, the fifth largest
white goods producer in Europe and a member of the largest cooperative group
in the world, the Spanish-based Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa (MCC).
FagorMastercook, which currently leads the cookers market in Poland, is to
become Fagor’s industrial and commercial hub in Central Europe, serving the
entire European market.
Philippe Belot, Portfolio Manager for Central Europe, said that the equity
capital provided by the EBRD to FagorMastercook would strengthen its balance
sheet and support its restructuring. Within the next three years, the
facility will be transformed into a major white goods plant able to compete on
the European and global market, while creating 1,000 new jobs in the Wrocław
region.
Juan Andrés Joaristi of Fagor Electrodomésticos, said that the investment
programme in Wrocław includes a new washing machine and refrigerator plant as
well as the modernisation of the existing plant producing cookers. The
expanded facility will produce two million of household equipment goods
annually and be fully integrated into Fagor Electrodomésticos. It is an
integral part of Fagor’s strategy to improve competitiveness and conquer new
markets.
With roots dating back to 1946, Wrozamet started to manufacture coal and gas
cookers in 1962. When they acquired Wrozamet in 1999, Fagor Electrodomésticos
introduced quality assurance systems, further consolidating Wrozamet’s
dominance in the Polish market for cookers, and expanded its product range.
In 2006, the name Wrozamet was changed to FagorMastercook, a reference to the
group but also to Wrozamet’s leading brand for cookers in Poland.
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