Chimcomplex announces the return of Ștefan Vuza as CEO of the company, which has an ambitious plan to streamline and relaunch some product lines. Thus, Chimcomplex announces “the relocation of manufacturing lines of competitive products and the closure or relocation of energy-intensive ones to Asia and the launch of new chemical product lines”, according to a press release submitted to Energynomics.
The decision aims to directly coordinate the transformation process that Chimcomplex is going through and strengthen the company’s ability to navigate through an economic period characterized by intense pressures on competitiveness.
“The chemical industry in Europe is going through a recession generated by the energy policies imposed by Brussels, the poor functioning of the Green Deal and geopolitical tensions. Faced with these new realities, the large companies in the European chemical industry have chosen to close their production capacities one by one. Chimcomplex, a medium-sized company, has decided to relocate the manufacturing lines of competitive products and close or move the energy-intensive ones to Asia and launch new chemical product lines,” say company officials.
Energy-intensive chemical products are those that have over 60% gas and electricity in their cost structure – whose prices in Europe are over 300% higher than the energies and gas in the other economic blocs with which Europe directly competes (the USA, Arab countries, China and Asia).
“The rapid changes in Europe require immediate adaptation at the operational level. Over the past two years, Ștefan Vuza has analyzed the developments of the industry at the European level, in a constant dialogue with over 60 international leaders, specialists and representatives of the political environment from 21 countries. This stage has outlined the current transformation plan, which is now entering the execution phase,” the company’s press release states.
The planned programs aim to adjust production capacities, expand the “fine chemicals” segment and focus on new markets. The rapid reaction to change and the direct involvement of the leader significantly support the internal adaptation processes.
“We are entering the implementation phase of the plan prepared over the last two years. I am taking over the executive leadership to support the teams in the transformation process and to accelerate the implementation of the necessary measures. I have confidence in Chimcomplex’s potential and in the company’s ability to return to growth in a few months. If the liberal economic policy, present in Europe in recent decades, has been replaced by political interventionism, it is obvious that we must adapt. People seek predictability, but the new European realities require change, and those who adapt first can consolidate their position on the market. Now, very few people are able to implement change, and even less so if they do not have the leader by their side,” says Ștefan Vuza, President and CEO of Chimcomplex.
“The questionable decisions taken at the European level do not discourage me, but motivate me to act focused on real solutions, because I am trained, I will act without investing my time and energy in reacting. This has always made the difference between a CEO, such as those at multinationals and who make decisions such as closing capacities (264 chemical plants have closed in Europe this year), and an entrepreneur who has “his skin in the game” and is looking for real solutions and not just superficial ones, but for this he had to stay up hundreds of nights”, adds Vuza.
In 2022, as General Manager, Ștefan Vuza directed the company towards major investments to increase energy efficiency. These have consolidated Chimcomplex’s position as a national leader in hydrogen and green energy production, by building the largest cogeneration plant built in Romania in the last 13 years and the only trigeneration plant in the European chemical industry, both on the Râmnicu platform Vâlcea.
Chimcomplex is the main producer and supplier of vital chemicals in the region, specialized in polyols, sodium chlorides and oxo-alcohols. It is a strategic company for the Romanian economy, the largest chemical plant, with 2 industrial platforms in Onești and Râmnicu Vâlcea. Chimcomplex is a company with a 70-year tradition, which develops quality products for a better life and a sustainable future.
In 2024, Chimcomplex recorded a turnover of 1,495 million lei.
