Wooden holiday homes made in Sfântu Gheorghe

CASArbor organized on 20 September at the company's headquarters in Sfântu Gheorghe, Open evening. The event was aimed at presenting the company's new products - wooden holiday homes - with which it will participate in 3 international trade fairs. The fairs will take place in Montpellier and La Rochelle, France, in October and Padova, Italy, in November. The event was elegant and pleasant, with Dana Neagu, the firm's managing director, being the perfect host. The attraction of the evening, however, were the vacation homes with exotic names - Bora Bora, Solaro, Saint Amand, Cabane du Campeur - which we were able to see at length, both outside and inside, the houses fully equipped and decorated. To get an idea of them, watch the video at the end.

An enjoyable evening which gave us the opportunity to meet the artisans of the houses

Dana Neagu is a lively, witty lady. After 30 years living in Belgium, she expresses herself in a charming way, alternating between French and Romanian when she talks passionately about houses and the team that built them. The factory, a former large wood-processing combine in Sfântu-Gheorghe, came into the Romanian-Belgian couple's ownership just a few years ago. Since then, however, the place has started to change and develop, and is now very clean and tidy. It now produces holiday homes, furniture and carpentry. At one point I even wrote about a piece of machinery the factory has, an autoclave for impregnating wood used outdoors.

The team has grown recently and is already working on houses for campsites in France. Last year they also took part in trade fairs in Montpellier and La Rochelle, and the houses made in their factory in Sfantu Gheorghe were noticed by tourism representatives. Based on signed contracts, more than 20 holiday homes have been delivered so far this year. They probably could have delivered even more, but labor is a problem, like everywhere else in the country. In addition to the factory workers who produce the houses, CASArbor also has assembly teams at the customer's site, and the price of the houses includes the assembly.

We talked about all this with the production manager and others involved in the design and realization of the houses. The space in which the event took place allowed us to both socialize and preview some of the products and ways to insulate the houses.

Suitable holiday homes and campsites

4 houses of different types and sizes were presented. They are vacation homes specific to French, Belgian and Italian tourism, but less common in our country. Surprising, because they could even be placed on a piece of land in the countryside or in the mountains, being easy to realize and without big investments in foundations or other special works. With this in mind, Dana Neagu sent out invitations to all tourism representatives who have champingos or landscaped properties suitable for such cottages, but received no response. With the way these cottages look and the facilities included, I am sure that many people would like to spend a few days of vacation by the sea or in the mountains.

The price of the houses includes furniture, fittings and installation. For each one there are various options that can be added for a fee. The presentation was totally transparent, with the hosts displaying the prices for each variant and the upgrades that can be opted for and their price.

The smallest of the houses is Camper's Hut and brings "the spirit of camping in a cabin". It has a single 10 m² room and a 6.5 m² terrace. The house closely resembles those of the old American gold prospectors. It sleeps up to 4 people and costs €5,350.

The next largest is Solaro, with a room of 15.8 m² and terrace of 10 m². The house rests on 0.7 m high supporting pillars. It is designed for 2 people and costs €14,750.

The other 2 houses each have an interior of 35 m², the difference being made by the layout, the size of the terraces and the way they are divided. Bora Bora is built on 1 meter high supporting pillars, has a fully equipped kitchen, living room, 2 bedrooms, bathroom and separate toilet. The spacious terrace is 13.5 m². The house can accommodate up to 6-7 people and costs €27,950. Saint Amand is an "elegant, refined and bright" house. It has 2 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and separate entrance and a large shared living room. The terraces are of different widths and total another 35 m². It can accommodate 4 - 6 people and costs €43,500.

Well insulated and joined, they can be used all season

The houses have wood on the outside and inside, the wood used on the outside is autoclaved so that it is very strong. With the exception of the hut, the other houses have well insulated walls, roof and floors so that, with a heating source, they can be used in winter. A heating kit is available as an optional extra.

The interior wood and furnishings are very well finished and treated with colorless varnish for protection. The carpentry is made of wood on which, optionally, a double layer of glass (thermopane) can be fitted. The floor is made of OSBcovered with linoleum that imitates parquet flooring.

Kitchen facilities include a 4 ring hob, fridge, sink, stainless steel worktop, storage space. The living room sofas are mostly pull-out, so they can create extra sleeping space in addition to the bedrooms. Optional features include heating kit, extra layer of insulation, patio furniture, double glazing, linen patio curtains and much more.

CASArbor also has green ambitions

Dana Neagu speaks with love about wood. That is the very word - love. "Wood tells you everything you need to know about it, if you listen." At some point she wants to write about wood, about how much trees give us. She respects trees and that's why at CASArbor wood is not wasted.

Moreover, they have events where the whole day is dedicated to afforestation. It is an action organized by the company, to which collaborators, employees, their families are invited to come to the forest area near Sfântu Gheorghe, at Ojdula, to plant trees. More than 5000 trees are planted every year, and for 2020 the invitation has already been launched.

The evening spent in Sfântu Gheorghe was a win. I sat with people passionate about what they do, eager to do beautiful things and to share their achievements with others. I saw vacation homes made in Romania that will end up in campsites in Europe. I wish them every success at the 3 fairs they are going to attend and I look forward to meeting them again to find out how the houses have been received.