-New facility to manufacture original equipment batteries for vehicles with Start/Stop technology and regenerative braking systems
-Total investment of 83.4 million Lei (approx. R252.4 million)
-Financial grant by Romanian Government of 32.8 million Lei (approx. R99.2 million)

Monday, 30 September 2013, Johannesburg – ROMBAT SA (ROMBAT) a 99.42% held subsidiary of JSE listed Metair Investments Limited and the leading lead-acid battery manufacturer in Romania, this weekend officially commissioned its new state of the art production facility in Bistrita, Romania.

Metair Managing Director Theo Loock commented: “We are very excited about this investment as it represents a significant shift in our focus on the aftermarket sector combined with a platform to inject our leading technology into a new market with enormous potential.

“Our investment considerations included finding a partner with exceptional production facilities, scale in supplying the aftermarket and OEM and who was located in a time zone manageable from South Africa.

“Romania proved a destination of choice given its proximity to Western Europe, the work-ethic of its people and the R99.2 million investment grant the Romanian Government was willing to invest in this facility.

“Metair brings the latest in Start/Stop battery technology to the table. Start/Stop technology batteries are increasingly becoming an OEM requirement and ROMBAT is ideally positioned to capitalise on this.

“We have a strong relationship with Dacia Renault, one of the fastest growing OEM brands in Europe, and have already commenced with the testing phase for some luxury German vehicle brands. We aim to start commercially supplying Start/Stop batteries in 2016.”

Both conventional and Start/Stop batteries can be produced at the facility with a production capacity of 500 000 to 600 000 batteries annually ensuring that ROMBAT is ready to meet the market’s future requirements.

The new facility has been technically designed to manufacture batteries that equip cars with Start/Stop technology and regenerative breaking systems. These systems will assist car manufacturers to meet globally increasingly stringent emission regulations such as the EU’s mandatory requirement of reducing CO2 emissions to 130g CO2/km by 2015.

Sustainability and environmental impact were important considerations in the design of the new facility. In addition to low emissions being well below the legal requirement, it is vertically integrated with its own recycling plant which recovers lead and polypropylene through the recycling of used automotive batteries, highlighting the exceptional environmental performance of the new facility. The introduction of new processes has resulted in significant yield gains in lead recycled.

“Metair’s strategic intent is to facilitate its penetration of the European battery market through the utilisation of the established “ROMBAT” brand and ROMBAT’s distribution network, experience, dominance and presence within Romania and recognised position within the overall European battery market.” Loock concluded.