EBRD supports SC Donasid SA
€10 million loan to help increase steel production at Calarasi plant

London, United Kingdom – The EBRD is lending S.C. Donasid S.A. €10 million to help complete restructuring at its plant in Calarasi, south-east Romania. The loan will finance mainly technological upgrades that will help increase production of steel billets from a current 300,000 tons per year to its full potential of 450,000 tons. Steel billets produced and sold by the company are used for the production of seamless steel pipes.

Hildegard Gacek, EBRD Director for Romania, said the Bank’s loan would help restructure Donasid to turn it into a successful industrial enterprise. With a number of industrial restructurings and privatisations remaining in the country, the loan should demonstrate to other investors the successful role the EBRD can play as a partner, said Mrs Gacek.

Established in 2003, Donasid was acquired in 2005 by Tenaris S.A. – a Luxembourg based company that is the world’s leading manufacturer of seamless tubular products and services for the oil and gas industry. The company is also a leading supplier of tubular products and services used in power plants and in specialized industrial and automotive applications. Initial investments by Tenaris helped restart the plant in 2006 to produce its current quantity of steel billets. The EBRD loan will help significantly increase that capacity.

The steel billets produced by Donasid will be mostly delivered to TenarisSilcotub, another Tenaris production unit located in Zalau, and will be used in the production of its high-quality seamless steel pipes.

Paolo Bassetti, Executive Vice President of Tenaris’ operations in Romania, said the EBRD loan is important in helping Tenaris realise its strategy to increase production of steel billets that will in turn help produce more seamless steel pipes at Silcotub. This will enable Tenaris continue to be a global player in the production of steel pipes, said Mr Bassetti.

To date the EBRD has invested over €3.2 billion in Romania through more than 110 projects. In addition, the Bank has mobilised more than €6 billion investments in the country from its partners.