Romania — Times are so hard in Romania that people joke they cannot afford to die carpenters are churning out cut-price coffins in a bid to beat the rising costs of death Ilie Troanca says he's beating the recession blues with bargain coffins that sell for around €100 ($136) in Transylvania but the coffins have only been on the market for a couple of months He has already attracted plenty of attention far beyond the Transylvanian city of Sibiu 300 kilometers (188 miles) northwest of Bucharest "I saw there was an opportunity and that we had unused space," said Troanca director of the Sibiu state timber and forest industry which oversees 180,000 hectares (445,000 acres) of oak The no-frills coffins sell for 350 to 450 lei (€82 to €106 or $112 to $145) plus 24 percent sales tax depending on the wood and the complexity of the design which has an aging population but where scarcely anyone is cremated Regular coffins can sell for hundreds or thousands of euros depending on how fancy they are families often have to pay bribes to graveyard caretakers to secure a decent burial site Long slices of wood from the trees that cover the Carpathian Mountains were stacked outside Troanca's workshop like bread sticks "This would have become firewood" if we hadn't used it It takes about one day to craft an inexpensive coffin before it is painted or lacquered "It's a good idea," said Sorin Ceausila a 42-year-old carpenter who was jobless before being hired to make bargain coffins "We all die and someone has to make the coffins." The company announces a major technology upgrade at its water bottling plant in Sibiu County shortly after it recently opened production in the new factory at Şeştina the group will bottle premium mineral water La Fântâna, leader on the B2B market of bottled water in Romania – a company owned by Swedish investment fund Oresa Ventures along with Romanian entrepreneur Cristian Amza – has inaugurated a fully automated bottling line at its factory in Tălmaciu, near Sibiu. The EUR 2M investment will streamline the bottling process of spring water in 19-litres containers (used with watercooler systems) and spring water in reusable 8-litre bottles The new production line is fully automated and eases the process by managing the loading and offloading containers The new bottling line leverages advanced technology such as a “sniffer” robot that checks each reusable bottle before it is washed and disinfected The “sniffer” can detect 19 foreign smells and has an infrared detection system capable of recognizing possible foreign bodies and cracks down to 0.4 millimetres in size reducing the human physical effort that this process previously required Instead of physically exhausting activities employees will take the task of overseeing the operational flow and preparing the loading and unloading of bottles “The investment at Tălmaciu is in line with the sustainable business decisions of La Fântâna more efficient production with similar energy consumption as well as a safe and more comfortable working environment for employees” ”This new line is an acquired objective in the group’s wider growth strategy that includes major investments in both people and technology in order to satisfy our customers’ expectations as well as talking in superlatives when referring to La Fântâna’s safety The bottling line provides the necessary production capacity La Fântâna is already market leader in B2B water services and continues to grow in the bottled water market for companies particularly in this timeframe defined by a return of water consumption to almost pre-pandemic volumes The company also entered the household consumer segment with dedicated products and services such as the reusable 8-litres bottle which La Fântâna delivers anywhere in the country with its own fleet upon ordering on the company’s online store We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used A mechanical engineer and garage manager in the Black Country has warned drivers of skipping scheduled car services amid Covid-19 General manager Valentin Talmaciu from Diesel Automotive in Oldbury said the independent company had seen a fall in appointments And the 32-year-old warned people cutting corners by ignoring the need for a check-up could have serious implications in the future for them The 32-year-old said: "Things have changed radically this year I don’t know whether it’s down to growing financial difficulties to the travel restrictions of lockdown or to general concern over Covid-19 – but while we’re usually busy with car inspections and scheduled services every day we’re down to just two or three services per week “That’s likely to have major implications for people further down the line not just in terms of reliability but also in terms of remedial cost and even safety if you take the same ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ approach to your tyres and your brakes a simple roadside breakdown could be the least of your troubles.” He added: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my career as a mechanical engineer it’s that repair bills are always higher than maintenance costs Mechanical systems aren’t like people - they never heal they deteriorate and they can easily give up when you need them most It comes after industry publication Fleetpoint showed more than half of the UK's motorists took advantage of the Government's MOT exemption to delay their MOT by six months And figures from online car maintenance hub BookMyGarage suggested almost a third of UK motorists also delayed their regular servicing schedule as a result of the pandemic Mr Talmaciu said it was no coincidence the start new trend has coincided with an increase in the number of people coming in for repairs and engine rebuilds He added: "You can encounter all sorts of problems if you don’t keep your servicing up to date – and we’re seeing evidence of that in the number of people who are having to come to us for extensive engine repairs I’m talking from camshaft rectifications to full engine rebuilds it tends to come at far greater cost than any savings they might have made by skipping a simple service." operates out of a 6,000 square foot premises based on the Imex Industrial Estate on Union Road French car equipment producer Faurecia announced it is investing EUR 12 million into a new automotive upholstery plant in Ramnicu Valcea will continue to grow with the creation of 600 new jobs by March 2016 The recruitment campaign in Ramnicu Valcea comes in line with the development planned for the factory here. By 2019, following two other phases of expansion of the production unit, the factory area will nearly double from 12,000 square meters to 22,000. have been chosen to develop the activity of the comfort and trim division for two main reasons Valcea offers well prepared local labor force the company already has a successful experience in local production since 2003 in factories in Talmaciu (car seats division) Craiova (emission control technologies) and Pitesti (interior systems) the group posted total turnover of EUR 18.8 million Faurecia had 100,000 employees in 34 countries Natalia Martian Faurecia opened in Ramnicu Valcea a plant for automotive seat covers that is expected to equip with upholsteries 280,000 cars in 2016 only alongside those in Talmaciu (Automotive Seating Craiova (Emissions Control Technologies) and Pitesti (Interior Systems) With a total surface of 12,000 square meters the plant features an ergonomic production area and employs 1,200 staff it produces textile and leather covers for some of the world’s largest automakers The fabrics used for more than 500 types of covers are mainly provided by local suppliers (75 percent) “Given the importance of our employees’ contribution to the growth of Faurecia Romania we are committed to offering them the best working conditions and specifically tailored qualification programs our resources are directed towards attracting and training new employees to ensure a sustainable long-term workforce to secure our future growth” Car parts maker Faurecia has opened officially the fifth factory from Romania the company owns now factories at Talmaciu The new factory has 14,000 square meters and produces components for board panels, door panels and the central console. „We are all here to celebrate this success of Faurecia in Romania but also the level of our global operations The factory that are opening officially today is one of most modern production units of our group but also due to the work conditions offered to our employees Currently we have 370 production operators we’ll reach 900 employees and 500 new jobs will be created,” said Jean-Michel Renaudie executive vice-president of Interior Systems providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.