IG Bauerhin GmbH, a German maker of heaters for the auto industry, opened a new facility in Indjija, Serbia, to expand production.
The investment of 6 million euros ($8.35 million) will boost annual output by a third to 6 million car-seat heaters and also enable the possible transfer of some of Bauerhin’s production lines from Germany and other locations, said Nebojsa Dragicevic, Bauerhin’s local director.
Serbia has provided incentives worth more than 1.5 million euros to the Grundau-based manufacturer to help create 600 jobs, the country’s investment promotion agency said in an e-mail.
“Clients currently supplied from Serbia include Johnson Controls, Volkswagen and Opel, and if new products are added the list will grow” to include Bauerhin’s other buyers such as Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., Dragicevic said in a phone interview today.
Bauerhin started Serbian production in 2007 in a leased facility, then bought land where it developed the 8,000 square- meter (86,000 square feet) factory and where it plans to employ another 150, or twice as many if the product line is expanded, he said.
