♦ The company Triplast from Mureş county, established in 2002, reported last year business of 94.4 million lei (-24%) with almost 150 employees ♦ This year is also a complex one, as for all companies whose raw material is plastic – as a result of the war in the Middle East, prices increased by almost 100%.
Almost a quarter of a century ago, three entrepreneurs laid the foundations of a company that produced trash cans and Europubs in their hometown of Târgu-Mureş. About two years later, they refocused on channel homes, which they still make today, reaching a business of almost 100 million lei. «Triplast appeared in 2002. I had other entrepreneurial attempts before, but nothing comparable. I graduated in Economic Sciences from Cluj-Napoca and I always wanted to have my own business», recalls Kerekes Botond Geza, co-founder of Triplast. It originally started with two other partners, but one of them pulled out before production started, when they were still gathering information. Then another associate joined them. «Everything started with a factory visit in Italy. We wanted to gather information about rotary technology in plastics. We wanted to make certain items – sanitation products, that’s how we arrived at this technology.»
A portfolio change
They started with street trash cans, which were attached to poles or walls. There was a need in the market, says the entrepreneur. Then, they went to the Europubs of 120 and 240 liters, according to European standards. «We had seen these products abroad. Our market was in its infancy. The first Europubs were second-hand, imported. We then thought that there was room for locally manufactured items.» Meanwhile, the profile of Triplast has completely changed. «After a few years, we realized that our technology was not 100% appropriate for sanitation products, so we looked elsewhere.» This change was happening in 2003-2004. They have reached the sewerage and river water sector and now produce sewerage and water meter homes. «It turned out to be a very big market, so we continued on this path. When we started, not all of Romania had the necessary infrastructure for drinking water and sewage. Even now we are not where we should be, not far.»
The particularities of health
Triplast still has some activity in the area of sanitation, but it no longer produces Europubs and trash cans, but selective collectors (those larger igloos). «We reshaped ourselves along with the development of the market. And there is still room for development. We are many chapters behind the West. This is both a good and a bad thing.» The sanitation area is a separate one. Kerekes Botond Geza says that they, in business, see it as a bonus. «There are always tenders, but with a frequency that we don’t really know in advance. Everything is based on European funds, plus there are gaps, and big projects are much more difficult.» Thus, the basic production remains the part of channel homes. The company also has fondant caps in its portfolio, but it does not produce them, it imports them. There is no foundry for ductile iron in Romania, explains the entrepreneur. «On the caps side, we started producing, also plastic, channel caps. But there is a tonnage limit here. We decided to import cast iron caps because our customers asked us, they came as a complement to what we were already offering them.»
Focus on Romania
Given that it has large items in its portfolio, Triplast focuses its attention on the local market and the surroundings. «In this business, having high-volume products, we are limited by transport. If we deliver more than 800-1,000 kilometers, it is no longer profitable. Therefore, 90% of our production goes to the domestic market. Our clients are the executors of large infrastructure works», explains Kerekes Botond Geza. He is originally from Târgul Mureş, as are his business partners. Therefore, the decision to open a home business was natural. The geographical position in the heart of the country also helped. «Perhaps, if we had been in Bucharest, we would have grown faster, but I thought that in a smaller city we would have more time for us, for the family.» He considers that Târgu-Mureş has fallen behind. And he does not compare the city with Cluj, but with another smaller city, such as Bistriţa, which he believes has had a better evolution. «I think it is necessary to create a more advantageous environment for entrepreneurs. In the last 20 years, how many large companies came to Mures and reached 500 employees? Or how many companies opened and had such a good evolution as to reach this threshold? We have somewhere around 150-160.» The company Triplast reported last year business of 94.4 million lei (-24%) with almost 150 employees.
A difficult year
«In our business, there is still room for growth, but it will come from automation, not from hiring. There were years with massive fluctuations, or this was not favorable for business. Young people especially took the road abroad in large numbers. They didn’t really do their calculations, as if they wanted to escape from the country. There are few who returned.» This year is also a complex one, as for all companies whose raw material is plastic – as a result of the war in the Middle East, prices have increased by almost 100%. «The war in the Middle East didn’t help us. Prices went up by almost 100% and nothing depended on us. Now things seem to be settling down.» Triplast brings the raw material from Egypt and Turkey, but further, the suppliers get their crude oil from other countries, such as those from the Middle East. «In this context, we had to raise prices, but the price increases will also be seen in our profit. It is almost impossible to swallow something like that. However, I think that in hard times you have to resist, otherwise you disappear. Probably, 2026 will be a partial year of sacrifice. Things must calm down, however. We are optimistic for the future», concludes the entrepreneur. He was present in the Târgu-Mureş show. Business with local energy, a project of the Financial Newspaper supported by Banca Transilvania.