Since 2022, when it became part of the international Kuhn Group, Kuhn Romania has continued its development on the local market by strengthening and expanding its team, introducing new machinery and equipment, and increasing sales, especially of large-capacity Komatsu earthmoving machines, reaching a market share of 32% in the segment of large equipment (construction and mining).
“Romanian market is starting to mature, and the indicator of this growth is the decreasing demand for backhoe loaders, which are preferred by developing countries. Last year, for the first time in history, Mini and Midi excavators surpassed backhoe loaders – 1051 vs 940. This is a signal that the market is starting to mature, placing greater emphasis on productivity, lower maintenance and operating costs, and faster execution speeds. We believe that this growth trend will continue steadily in the coming years,” said Răzvan Marcu, Managing Director Kuhn Romania.
This year, Kuhn Romania will introduce the first modern material handling equipment in Romania, weighing approximately 200 tons. “In two weeks, we will begin assembling two material handling machines in the Port of Constanța. We will deliver seven such pieces of equipment between 2024 and 2026,” stated Răzvan Marcu.
Prior to the acquisition by Kuhn Holding, the company MARCOM RMC’94 SRL had a business volume of €41,300,000. After the acquisition, in February 2022, the company followed an upward trend, with the business volume reaching €55,200,000 by the end of the year, an increase of 33% compared to the previous year. In 2023, there was a 75% increase, reaching €96,100,000.
“In 2023, the turnover was largely driven by the activation of European funds. Half of what was sold last year in Romania was due to these funds. In 2024, these tend toward zero, meaning the market will decline. For this year, we estimate a decrease in business volume by approximately 15%, generated by what I mentioned earlier,” said Răzvan Marcu.
Despite the less favorable economic context, the company’s policy is to continue investing in people and territorial development. “We have two investment directions: (1) developing the team through new hires – since the beginning of 2024, we have increased the number of colleagues by over 20%; (2) territorial logistics development by constructing two regional headquarters in Turda and Timișoara (estimated deadline in 2024-2025), in the Moldova region (estimated deadline in 2025), and a new central headquarters in Bucharest (estimated completion in 2025-2026). All these investments will reach approximately €15 million,” stated Răzvan Marcu.
“This year, as in recent years, the biggest challenge is the lack of specialists in the field. It is, in fact, a problem faced by many companies operating in technical fields and is the consequence of the lack of technical/mechanical schools. For this reason, the number of service engineers in Romania is very low, and young people who want to get hired prefer office work over fieldwork. Another major challenge is the still underdeveloped infrastructure in certain areas, which makes response and intervention times slower. And, as I mentioned earlier, the lack of European funds and limited financing for specialized companies,” stated the Managing Director, Kuhn Romania.
