"Alveus" continues its "economy package" in 2009

Mr. Zoltan Pilecki is a country manager of "Alveus" Romania, which also operates on the markets of Bulgaria and of the Republic of Moldova. He was born in 1972, in Hunedoara. He has university degrees in Finance and Banking and speaks English, Hungarian and German. He is married and enjoys ski, hiking and music.

Cornelia Angelescu

"Alveus" Romania is the Romanian branch of Kovinoplastika Loz from Slovenia, a maker of kitchen sinks, plumbing fixtures and household appliances. "The company"s products entered Romania in 1995, and in 1999 the company had to open a branch in Bucharest, due to increasing demand. This is what encouraged the company to diversify its product portfolio and has helped it increase its market share", said Zoltan Pilecki, Country Manager of "Alveus" Romania.

In its ten years of operation in Romania, "Alveus" has continuously expanded its product portfolio. The first stainless steel sinks were joined by composite kitchen sinks, followed by kitchen taps, ovens and inset cooker/kitchen sink combinations. It has thus become of the main players on the Romanian kitchen sink market.

In 2008, "Alveus" Romania"s market share has reached 30% in turnover and 25% in volume. These numbers indicate that one in four sinks sold is produced by Alveus, as a testament to their ease of maintenance and price/quality ratio. The company"s turnover for 2008 exceeded 3.5 million Euros.

In 2009, "Alveus" launched the "Line" product range, which includes economy and medium priced products, with prices starting at 300 lei. The kitchen sinks in this range are practical and modern at the same time, with a minimalist style.

Zoltan Pilecki said: "We launched the "Line" product range, with the modern-day women in mind, who lead a fast paced life and need a more comfortable kitchen. Besides, it can be said that in many homes, the kitchen is like a second living room. The kitchen has turned into the stage of social life in modern household: it"s where people cook their food, and where they choose to have dinner and get together with friends".

Meanwhile the company will continue one of its projects which helped it succeed in the market - the economy package. It includes a sink, a stove, the cooker hood, which are all embeddable, at a recommended retail price of 1899 lei. Zoltan Pilecki added: "We have repositioned composite sinks, by cutting their price by as much as 15%, whereas their share in the total number of kitchen sinks sold continues to increase. In this respect, Romanian consumers are showing a behavior that matches that of the more mature Western Customers".

Slovenian company Kovinoplastika Loz d.d has been producing under the "Alveus" brand for 46 years. Its products are not only known on the Slovenian market, but also on the markets of Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Czech Republic and other countries. The company"s 2008 turnover exceeded EUR 50 million in 2008. The company has so far produced 13 million kitchen sinks and over several million gastronome pans.