RADU TIMIS President of Cris-Tim Group

Starting from scratch, Cris-Tim group has now secured a large share of the market

Family-owned cold-cuts producer Cris-Tim is an example of what can happen when opportunities arise, and are seized. Established by Radu Timis and his wife Cristina in 1995, the company is now Romania’s leading manufacturer of meat products. In what has been a crowded market, Cris-Tim has carved itself a hefty slice, becoming a household name across the country and securing a 23 percent market share.

After the revolution in 1989, Timis and his wife followed the path of thousands of other Romanians in setting up businesses in a new market economy. They initially worked out of a small corner-store selling salami manufactured elsewhere. After noticing the poor quality of the meat, Radu decided to start up his own production facility. “Within a year we had a small shop that processed two tons of meat per day,” he says. Following the purchase of a second factory, Radu and his wife finally found the ideal spot of about 20,000 sqm and started producing 160 tons per day. Output is expected to rise sharply within the next two to three years.

Mr. Timis has invested hundreds of thousands of euros in the factory and staff training. “Now our factory is the best in Romania, as it has very high standards and is equipped with the latest technology.” He adds that the company is aiming to secure 30 percent of the market by 2010 and hopes to start exporting to other European Union countries within two years. The company is also angling for a 20-25 percent increase in sales – double the market rate.

In the meantime, the meat production sector has started to consolidate, with expected growth at 10 percent for 2007 against 20 percent registered in 2006, when it reached nearly €800 million ($1.08 billion). This is in large part due to new E.U. regulations governing hygiene and safety regulations that will force many non-compliant firms to shut down. This will work to Cris-Tim’s benefit as it was the first company within the country’s meat processing industry to receive the ISO 9002 and 9001 quality certificates, meaning, in simpler terms, a stamp of approval that its entire production structure is up to par with E.U.-required food regulations.

But for Mr. Timis, the most important aspect of his business is the brand name. “Cris-Tim is a well-known brand in Romania after Dacia and Petrom. Primarily, Cris-Tim stands for quality. This is how the company is perceived: quality and tradition.”