French real estate group Catinvest announces the largest transaction in the office leasing industry in the South of the country, strengthening ElectroPutere Parc's position as the main innovation and technology centre in Oltenia, with the 1,300 square metre expansion of the office space of Hella, the worldwide-renowned German automotive parts supplier and part of the global Forvia group, to an area of approximately 8,000 square metres. With the closing of the largest transaction in the office leasing industry in the southern part of the country, occupancy in Building A within the ElectroPutere Parc complex reaches 100%, as Catinvest continuously invests in creating productive and collaborative working environments for employees, providing facilities of the highest standards focusing on safety and flexibility.
At Hella’s design and development center in Craiova, efforts are underway to create solutions to enhance vehicles’ safety and comfort using state-of-the-art technologies. Approximately 600 employees are contributing to the design of the car of the future, all forming a dedicated team of engineers, programmers, and experts in cybersecurity and quality.
”A new test laboratory, the third on the site, will be built on the largest part of the office space extension in ElectroPutere Parc. This follows a new project in the Hella Technical Center Craiova portfolio, with a new generation of products that will replace the old fuse box in the machine with a fully electronic solution. This will be used in electric cars”, says Nicolae Neagu, Director of Hella Technical Center Craiova.
Operating in Romania since 2005, Hella now employs more than 5,000 workers in its five design and development centers in the country, an administrative center, and three production facilities in Timisoara, Arad, Lugoj, Craiova, Oradea, and Iasi. As a leading global supplier, Hella develops innovative technologies for electronics and lighting products, contributing to the growth of three major industry trends: electrification and energy management, safe autonomous driving, and the experience of a digitized and sustainable passenger compartment. Many of the products developed in the Romanian design centers, such as electronic components and systems, are then manufactured in the company’s facilities in the country and global network.
Craiova is becoming a more and more important center for IT developments, the main asset of the Capital of Oltenia being the well-trained IT and software workforce, alongside the presence of a competitive and stable business environment and the existence of an international airport. Besides Hella, companies such as Endava, Ubisoft, Continental and Operative also signed leases with the French real estate group Catinvest, which owns and manages ElectroPutere Parc.
Further development plans include additional retail, and other services such as co-working spaces and aparthotels with a total investment budget of more than 60 million euro over the next 2-3 years, contributing to the development of the region.
”At Catinvest, our goal is to continuously develop ElectroPutere Parc, providing residents and local businesses with an extremely well-positioned and highly accessible hub for professional and shopping activities, restaurants, and leisure. We are very proud that international IT companies such as Hella have chosen ElectroPutere Parc to locate their development centers in Craiova. I am convinced that the potential of ElectroPutere Parc as the main IT hub of the Oltenia region will grow in the near future and that is why we are already working on a new mixed-use building. By the end of 2025, ElectroPutere Parc will have around 99.000 square meters dedicated to retail, another 25.000 square meters dedicated to Class A Offices and a high end Aparthotel with 60 suites. Our goal is to continuously develop Electroputere Parc, solidifying our leading position in the region”, said Bertrand Catteau, CEO of Catinvest Group.
The French real estate group Catinvest also owns and manages several shopping centers in Romania - Carrefour Orhideea and Cora Pantelimon in Bucharest and Carrefour TOM in Constanta - as well as in Eastern Europe - Auchan Savoya Park in Budapest and Tesco Borska Pole in Plzen. Catinvest is also active in France in residential and shopping centers activities. In total, Catinvest owns and manages more than 525,000 square meters of space in France and Eastern Europe.
About Hella
Hella is a listed company operating under the Forvia umbrella brand. Within this group, Hella represents high performance in lighting and electronics technology in the automotive industry. At the same time, the company covers a broad portfolio of services and products for garages and automotive parts stores, as well as for special vehicle manufacturers through Business Group Lifecycle Solutions. Hella employs 36,000 workers in more than 125 locations worldwide and generated sales of around €6.2 billion in the first nine months of 2023.
About Forvia
Forvia combines the complementary technology and industrial advantages of Faurecia and Hella. With more than 300 industrial sites and 77 design and development centres, 150,000 employees, including 35,000 engineers in more than 40 countries, Forvia offers a unique and comprehensive approach to the challenges of today and tomorrow in the industry. Composed of six business groups with 24 product lines and a strong portfolio of more than 14,000 patents, Forvia prepares to become a focused innovation and integration partner for the world's leading carmakers, with the goal of contributing to the transformation of mobility through visionary projects.
