Cento came to the UK minicoach conversion market in 2016, and it has seen modest success since then. Its new plant in Romania may be a catalyst for more to come here soon through an established dealer
The potential for Romanian company Cento to become a serious contender in the UK and Irish minicoach markets has grown with the opening of a new factory that is able to turn out up to 1,000 conversions per year at its Zalau headquarters.
Cento is active here via importer Vamplew Delta Services of Welshpool. Modest success has been the result; six Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based minicoaches have been delivered to the UK and two more at the factory in early March were due to have arrived by the end of the month.
The converter continues to see right-hand drive markets as viable export outlets. In 2017 it produced 217 minicoaches; 80% of those went to buyers outside Romania.
Cento has recently established itself in France and Italy, while Germany and Israel are the largest consumers of its products.
“We are now big enough and known well enough that we carefully select partners who prove that they can offer customers excellent aftersales service,” says Manager Sorin Campan.
For UK buyers, that backup is via overnight dispatch direct from the factory. In the future, parts may be held in the UK; some glass already is.
New factory, new hope
Cento works primarily with suppliers in Turkey, several of which were present at the opening of its new factory. It is an official van partner of Mercedes-Benz, and all of the Sprinters that is uses are supplied via the OEM’s Romanian subsidiary. As a result, right-hand drive examples come with a two-year manufacturer’s warranty that is increased to three years using Autoprotect.
The Zalau factory operates in stages. First, the base van is stripped. At the second step, welding, cutting and, when required, the addition of an extension occurs. Following that, the floor is added and painting is undertaken. Last of all, the interior is fitted out.
“This process-led method helps us to make good products with good build quality,” says Adrian Fagarasi. He founded Cento as an operator in 2002 and took it into minicoach conversion 10 years later as a result of dissatisfaction with the quality of existing products on the Romanian market.
“We started conversions with six people in a 200m2 factory. In 2013, we moved into a 1,200m2 building and now we are in our new 5,000m2 plant. We quickly learned about export markets and they now account for the majority of our business.”
Local knowledge
In all of the countries that Cento exports to, it uses local dealers. Vamplew Delta Services continues to import small numbers of conversions, but Director Jonathan Vamplew is working to establish a supply arrangement with an established dealer.
“All Cento Sprinters are built to one standard. The customer then uses a configurator to choose options, all of which are subject to the COC that the minicoaches are built in compliance with,” he says.
Every Cento product is available in right-hand drive, and the two such minicoaches at the factory in March are high-specification examples.
Both are extended models with the standard raised rear floor to give a large drop boot, and each has 22 seats.
Saloon air-conditioning is fitted as standard, but Jonathan explains that auxiliary heating has been found to be unnecessary in the UK climate thanks to extensive body insulation.
A potential addition to the right-hand drive line-up is a cost-effective 22-seat standard-length school minibus. Seat pitch and dimensions mean that it is best suited only to the carriage of children, but with a sliding side door, net price in the UK will be £47,000.
What’s coming next?
There can be no doubt that Cento is serious about becoming one of Europe’s major minicoach converters.
It already has a significant presence in the demanding German market and a look at its new factory demonstrates that potential for 1,000 vehicles per year is not idle talk.
A further insight into the pace of its development is given by Rolf Rosenbal, MD Vans of Mercedes-Benz Romania. “Cento has grown from being a client of ours to a partner, and I congratulate it on that,” he says.
It’s unlikely that Sprinter conversions will make up 100% of future production as Cento looks towards the magic four-figure number.
Thoughts are already turning to a coachbuilt body on the new Sprinter, and a larger vehicle is likely to be developed too, Sorin explains.
“With the new factory, we now have the space to build larger vehicles. We are already working on one project and we want to offer a midicoach with around 30 seats.
“When we entered the minicoach market, we did so solely to provide for our own fleet. With our new factory, we are now in the position to mount a serious challenge across Europe. And that is what we intend to do.”
