Gorenje Group’s new laundry appliances plant in the city of Zajecar in Serbia was officially opened at a ceremony on March 3, 2012. The plant has been operational since late-2011 and is expected to produce 70,000 washing machines and 30,000 wash basins.
The new plant has 96 employees. The Serbian government is supporting the Gorenje investment with a grant of EUR 10,000 per employee.
Other Gorenje facilities in Serbia include a refrigerator-freezer plant in Valjevo, a water heater plant in Stara Pazova, a sales company in Belgrade, and a network of proprietary showrooms. It employs 1,100 people within Serbia.
Gorenje announced its investment plans in Zajecar a year ago. As ApplianceMagazine.com reported on January 27, 2011 (“Gorenje Expands Washer Production in Serbia), Gorenje planned to launch an assembly line for washing machines and dryers, produced for the Serbian and other Eastern European markets, as well as the plant for plastic bathroom washbasins.
Gorenje said in January 2011 that the new operations were expected to boost employment by about 300 within three years. Since then, however, the appliance maker has adjusted its corporate wide strategy on becoming more efficient. It is unknown if Zajecar’s growth is still expected to reach previous estimates.