The Finnish manufacturer of cable sets for commercial vehicles, the PKC Group, will invest around 8.5 million euro over the next three years in expanding the production in Smederevo, where they have been working since 2011. This investment will help in employing 1,500 workers, and by the end of this year 500 jobs will be opened, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said at the foundation laying ceremony.
The Finnish investor has been present in the Serbian market for three years and is satisfied with the business conditions, as testified by the decision to expand the business. Last year the PKC Group leased another hall in Smederevo, and the new investments have been arranged. At today’s ceremony of laying foundation for the new production plant of 19 thousand square meters, Vucic has thanked the Fin partners for their hard work and meeting all their contractual obligations. Serbia will also meet its obligations toward investors punctually, thus showing itself as a reliable and serious partner and a country worth investing in.
So far there have been 100 workers in the plant of the PKC in Smederevo, but by the end of this year there will be jobs for 500 people. However, with the completion of the entire investment, the Finnish company will be employing around 1,500 workers. Vucic has asked the investors to do their work well and within the deadlines, so that the production may start before the year ends.
“I am sure this successful investment will also attract other foreign companies to open the new plants in Serbia,” the Prime Minister stated. The only way to reduce the unemployment is to open new working places, which is the burning problem in our country. It will contribute to the more balanced regional development and better living standard for the citizens, he noted.
Vucic and Finnish Ambassador Pekka Orpana have announced that next week Serbia will host the delegation of the Fin truck manufacturer SISU, which is interested in the “Automobile Factory Priboj – FAP”. Solving the problem of the long-term unprofitable FAP company and starting the production would be of immense importance for Serbia, The Prime Minister said, adding that in this case there is the problem of mortgage creditors. The Serbian Government will do everything to have SISU come and work in our country, thus preserving the working places. In the former SFR Yugoslavia, FAP was synonymous with good quality trucks.
Ambassador Pekka Orpana has pointed that SISU is a renowned company that makes sophisticated and specialized trucks, and they saw good business opportunity in Serbia, as well as qualified workforce in Priboj. The Finnish investors would bring both knowledge and technology, thus ensuring the successful and profitable business. The Serbian Government and SISU have singed the memorandum of understanding, and the production in FAP should start by the end of the year. It should lead to employment for 600 workers and income for the state treasury.
Source Radio Srbija
