Caravan maker Laika to open new plant in Tuscany on Friday

(AGI) Florence, Feb. 25 - The new plant that caravan and camper maker Laika will open on Friday in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Tuscany, has cost 40 million euros and will employ 289 workers, of which four out of every 10 are women. The Tuscany Region has contributed 3,400,000 euros to the new opening, a contribution to the development of new technologies that will be incorporated into the new range of motorhomes produced in the new plant. "These figures demonstrate that Tuscany is still interesting for investors, attracting manufacturers of high-quality products," said Tuscany President Enrico Rossi. "They show that development is possible in Italy and that there are foreign companies willing to invest, especially if the institutions are working rapidly and are able to provide clear information. We took up this challenge six years ago, creating an office in the Region dedicated to attracting investments by giving quick answers and solving problems." Tuscany has collected two billion euros in foreign investment over the last four years, a 25 percent increase compared to the first years of 2000 and a record, said Mr Rossi. In Europe, Tuscany is second only to Denmark's Copenhagen area, he added. Germany took a 15 percent share of the total volume of investments. "But Laika is not only an example of a major investment," Mr Rossi continued. "It also shows good practice on an institutional level, an exemplary system of relations between local institutions, trade unions, workers and the company in question with the region at the centre. This system has overcome the complexity of the initial stage of urban planning. Balanced solutions were found to problems that emerged once construction had started, including the discovery of archaeological remains." The president of Tuscany will attend the opening of the new plant in San Casciano on Friday morning. The Hymer group, the corporation that has owned the brand since 2000, announced the modern factory of 30,000 square meters could also produce other models. So far production has been spread over eight separated sites, a few kilometres from Siena, where Laika was founded in 1964 by a Tuscan, Giovanbattista Moscardini. At first only caravans were made and later also campers. The plants at the original sites have been torn down and a single cutting-edge building has replaced it. Work on the new factory in San Casciano in Val di Pesa began in 2014 and took just over one and a half years to complete. (AGI). .