BRIKSTON: Share of 17% on the local bricks market

The market share of the brick manufacturer Brikston Construction Solutions SA (formerly Ceramica SA - Iaşi) rose from 6% in 2008 to about 17% in the last year, while company sales were around 70.2 million lei in 2014. The company activates with the new name from February 2015, taking the brand name of the specific products. Launched in 2008, the brand Brikston tripled the company's sales in only four years. The decision to change name of the company and to put it in line with the brand was dictated by the need of a consistent communication to consumers about the brand identity. The launch of the brand was a strategic step because the society has gained the customers confidence, managing to conquer a strong position on the construction materials market. Also the brand Brikston has been an efficient instrument in the process of transforming a local company into a national competitor. Change of the name meets the expansion plans to exports and an unified identity of the company constitute a valuable asset. Year 2014 was the first period of growth in the construction materials market after the recession. At the macroeconomic level, the general trend was different compared to previous years. If in 2011-2012 were increasing engineering works, in the meanwhile residential constructions continued to decline, in 2014 the volume of residential construction increased compared to the previous year. The main factor which supported the revival was the reappearance of real estate developers and projects, even the investments are no longer at the level of 2007-2008. The funds are geared toward middle segment of the population that buys houses through the national program "Prima Casă". In 2014 the contractors were forced to adapt, and most of the residential projects focuses today on apartment compounds and/or villas with smaller areas and with a market value of about 60,000 euro, which constitutes the maximum limit of loans under this program.