South-Eastern Europe, covered in Electromontaj power lines

The national grid for the transport and distribution of electricity has gone through several stages of development, but the biggest began 70 years ago, with the creation of the company known today as Electromontaj SA.

Set up in 1949, the Bucharest-based company built the biggest network for the transport and distribution of electricity in this part of Europe, then spread the electric network across the country and achieved the interconnection with energy systems in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe.

Over its 70 years of operation, Electromontaj SA has built 20 - 132 kV overhead lines (OHLs) with a total length 6.5 times the length of the Equator. In other words 260,000 kilometers of OHLs, and an additional 85,000 kilometers of underground cables, 12,000 kilometers of 220 - 400 kV OHTLs (Overhead Transmission Lines), 154 kilometers of 750 kV OHLs and many other energy related constructions.

The company's activity hasn't been confined to Romania, instead it has also participated in large scale energy projects in various areas of the world, with the most recent taking place in Africa, in Tanzania and Rwanda, in partnership with an Indian company.

Last year, Electromontaj had a turnover of 238.8 million lei, and a profit close to that of 2018, (8.6 million lei).

The company has projects in the Middle East and the Near East, as well as in Europe. For instance, Electromontaj SA has built half of Cyprus' electric grid, has an ongoing project in Bulgaria and is participating in two calls for bids in Macedonia and Albania for projects which are intended to interconnect the two Balkan-based countries to the European electrical power grid.

The company has successfully made the shortlist which the Dutch National Company will be working with in the coming years.

Given that Romania is facing a nationwide massive exodus of Romanian workers, Electromontaj SA has implemented a staff policy whereby future employees are offered an intensive training stage which will take six months. The people of Electromontaj have also resorted to hiring from outside Romania, and intend to launch a process to attract some of the Romanians living abroad. Even though wage expenses have increased, due to the application of Emergency Government Ordinance 114/2018, the positive effect made its presence felt in the increase in the number of employees last year, which had a beneficial effect on the company's activity.