Spain's Roca Group to invest €70 million in Kazakh factory
The global leader in design, production and distribution of bathroom space products, which first began in Barcelona in 1917, announced the move as part of their plans to expand in Central Asia.
Roca CEO Albert Magrans gave an exclusive interview to Euronews, commenting the investment decision.
Q: Tell us about Roca Group's decision to invest in Kazakhstan. What does the project entail?
A: The project is the construction of an industrial park in Kyzylorda (a city in the south of Kazakhstan). We call it an industrial park because it will be composed of several production units, including a factory. The construction is expected to last between one and a half to two years, from the ground up until completion.
We will have a furniture assembly plant and installation system unit, together with the production of acrylic and composite bath and shower tiles. This project is about delivering to the market complete solutions for the bathroom.
The total investment is going to be €70 million—in terms of job creation, we're talking about 300 people.
Q:What drove your decision to build this factory in Kazakhstan in particular?
A: Some markets are not delivering the growth that they were supposed to deliver. So, we were very keen to analyse potential areas where this growth is going to be important. We took a lot of care to analyse Kazakhstan as a country, as a potential market, not only Kazakhstan itself, but also the possibility to build a regional hub for all the Central Asian countries.
It's a country with a huge potential for growth in an area where Roca Group was not directly present. We have been present through exports, but it's not the same.
The growth of Kazakhstan is going to be very important in the next year—that was a fundamental factor because like any company we need to have a strong demand for our products.
Q: It was announced last year that Kazakhstan is offering you access to raw materials. Why is it important and did it play a role in choosing the location?
In the case of ceramic production, which is going to be the flagship of this industrial project, we are talking about basic ceramic components like clay, feldspar, and cowling. It is very important to be close to the mines because of transportation costs. Also, we have certain specifications for materials in our production.
So, as part of the analysis of where to put the factory, we were recommended the Kyzylorda region by the authorities [because of the] access to raw materials, very good infrastructure, connection to the main cities, and a pool of talent.
Engineers came here, spent a lot of time testing materials and sending samples to the central labs.
Q: One of the company's key values is sustainable production. How do you make sure that your production practices are sustainable and will continue to be in Kazakhstan?
A: We are very proud to say that Roca Group was awarded EcoVadis Platinum status back in January. This is the highest recognition for sustainability.
Just to give you an idea, only 1% of the 150,000 audited companies are platinum rated. We are very proud of this achievement. It signals how important sustainability is for us.
And, of course, as the project in Kazakhstan will be the newest, we will deploy the most advanced technology and most advanced sustainability standards to it.
The new factory will deploy the latest generation of equipment that can recycle all the inputs, like water, for instance. It will be a net zero factory in all elements. When it comes to electricity generation, we will use the entire roof space to install solar panels.
It's also our responsibility to bring sustainability to our supply chain network to become a more sustainable ecosystem.
Q:Do you think that opening a factory in Kazakhstan is a gateway for more Spanish companies to be represented in the country in the future?
A: Absolutely. Spain is a very dynamic country, we have one of the highest growth rates in the world. There are a lot of competitive Spanish companies, which for sure will be looking at this business case, and we would be more than happy to use this as a way to convince them to come to Kazakhstan.
Q: Roca Group closed its production in Russia in 2022. Is the new industrial park in Kazakhstan a relocation or a new business venture?
A: It's a total separate issue. Our intention is to find growth for the company and we are always looking for opportunities to materialise this potential growth. In this case, it's strictly about Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region, where we have little coverage.
Q: Do you hope to reach to China through Central Asian production later?
We have been represented in the Chinese market for many years. We have several factories, but the majority of what we do in China stays in China. There are some exports, but not a lot.
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