2019 RETROSPECTIVE – Investments in INDUSTRY most interesting to eKapija users

In 2019, the Financial Times put Serbia first on the list of countries with the highest amount of foreign direct investments relative to the GDP in the world, with an index of 11.92 points, which is 1.33 index points more than a year before. The country attracted 107 FDI projects in 2018, which is 26 more than in 2017, a growth of nearly one third.

Car components, food and tobacco, textile and real estate were the leading sectors. Together, they made up 54% of the total foreign investments.

Last year, there was a lot of talk about the opening of Volkswagen factories in Serbia and the countries of the region. Although the investment has not been confirmed, other German investments did arrive to Serbia and proved to be very popular among our readers.

We present the projects that marked the industry sector in 2019, attracting the most public attention.

Tafe factory of IMT tractors Jarkovac

The symbol of the Serbian farming mechanization, IMT, is now owned by the Indian group Tafe, which produces 150,000 tractors a year and which has announced that the production of IMT tractors at the factory in Jarkovac near Zrenjanin should begin in early 2020.

The tractor components are coming from India for the time being, and once the facility is modernized, it will assemble Tafe tractors of 80 to 100 horsepower.

Shandong Linglong tire factory Zrenjanin

The foundation stone for the construction of the Chinese factory Shandong Linglong, which will produce 13 million tires a year, according to the announcements, was laid down on March 30 in Zrenjanin. As announced, the factory will employ 1,200 workers, and EUR 800 million is to be invested in it.



Adient car seat and interior factories Loznica and Kragujevac

The German-Austrian consortium Wacker Neuson and the American company Adient, which operates as part of Johnson Controls, have announced the construction of new facilities in Kragujevac, where more than 300 workers will be employed. The two companies paid around RSD 700 million for 14 hectares of land at the exit from the town toward Batocina.

Except in Kragujevac, the American-Belgian company Adient started building a car seat cover facility in Loznica on May 31. The city gave a 4.3-ha parcel in the Industrial Zone Sepak to the company for free. A facility in which EUR 20 million is to be invested will be built there, which eKapija has already written about. Let us remind that the decision was made by the members of the Town Parliament on February 10, after the Government of Serbia approved the draft agreement.

Refrion cooling and ventilation equipment factory Sabac

Another Italian factory, Refrion, opened in Sabac in October 2019. The company produces cooling and ventilation equipment, and all the products are exported to the European Union. David Tomasin, the general manager of the new factory, also announced an expansion of the production.

ZF car part factory Pancevo

The German company ZF Friedrichshafen AG opened a car, boat and train component plant in the industrial zone in Pancevo in June 2019, where, as announced previously, around 300 people will work initially. An amount of EUR 100 million was invested in the construction of the factory in the first phase, and ZF also announced additional investments and the employment of more than 1,000 workers, as well as the construction of a scientific research center on 5,000 m2.

(New factory in Pancevo)

The German company got over 9 ha of building land from the city of Pancevo without compensation, and the construction of the factory began in June 2018.

MTU Aero Engines in Serbia

A large new factory of aircraft software components and engines in Serbia will be opened by the Munich-based company MTU. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic emphasized after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy and MTU Aero Engines AG that a modern air industry company had arrived to Serbia and that one third of all aircraft in the world contained components produced by the company. As announced at the time, the production will probably start in Stara Pazova.

Michael Schreyögg, a member of the MTU board, announced the plan whereby the company would start operating in Serbia in 2020, employing around 400 people.

PKC car wiring systems factory Smederevo

PKC, a manufacturer of wiring systems for the automotive industry, started building new facilities in the Smederevo industrial zone in late October 2019, which is an investment that should lead to the employment of another 1,200 people in the upcoming years.



As announced earlier, PKC plans to invest EUR 20 million in the purchase and infrastructural equipping of the land and the purchase and reconstruction of the existing hall and the construction of a new part.

Kite – John Deere distribution centers in Serbia

The company KITE DOO bought two hectares of building land in the Industrial Zone North in Sremska Mitrovica, where they plan to build a distribution center for agricultural mechanization and auxiliary goods. According to the announcements, the contractor will be selected in early 2020, when the construction of the distribution center is also supposed to start.

The distribution center in Sremska Mitrovica will feature a large sales space for agricultural mechanization, spare parts, oils and lubricants, as well as auxiliary goods for agronomy, service shops and a showroom.

KITE DOO is the official importer of the farming mechanization produced by John Deere, one of the best known producers in the world.

Serbian-Chinese industrial park Borca

The minister without a portfolio in charge of innovations and technological development, Nenad Popovic, announced in early November 2019, that the construction of an industrial park in the Belgrade neighborhood of Borca should begin in late March 2020.



Let us remind that, in early October 2019, in a summary procedure, the Commission for Protection of Competition approved the founding of a joint LLC by the Republic of Serbia and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) in the Republic of Serbia for the purpose of the construction of an industrial park on the north coast of the Danube in Belgrade.

Minister Popovic previously said that it would be the most modern industrial-technological park in this part of Europe.

The notarization of the agreement on the construction of the industrial park in Borca was signed in November by Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali and Zhang Xiaoyuan, the director of the Serbian branch of CRBC. The agreement was signed in Beijing the previous year, the ministry reminded in a statement. The park will employ 15,000 people, and the total investment is EUR 247 million. It will take up 320 hectares and be built right next to the Mihajlo Pupin bridge.

Teknia car part factory Kragujevac

The construction of a new factory of the Spanish car part manufacturer Teknia, worth EUR 3 million, began in Kragujevac in June 2019, and the works are expected to be completed in February 2020.


Take a look at the full list of investments in the INDUSTRY category and compare it to your opinions, expectations and estimates.

We also invite you to take a look at the investments which marked 2019 in the fields of ECOLOGY, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD INDUSTRY, TRADE CENTERS, SPORTS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND IT, REAL ESTATE (RESIDENTIAL AND OFFICE SPACE), TOURISM, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION and PUBLIC UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY.

eKapija.com Beograd

IMT d.o.o. Beograd

Linglong International Europe d.o.o. Zrenjanin

Shandong Linglong Tyre Co.,Ltd.

Wacker Neuson Kragujevac d.o.o. Kragujevac

Kite doo Novi Sad

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo nauke, tehnološkog razvoja i inovacija Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg

ZF Friedrichshafen AG Beograd

Adient Seating doo Kragujevac

REFRION REFRIGERATION Doo

MTU Aero Engines AG

PKC Wiring Systems Smederevo

Teknia KG d.o.o. Kragujevac

China Road and Bridge Corporation Serbia ogranak Beograd

Tafe factory IMT

Johnson Controls

John Deere

David Tomasin

Nenad Popović

Siniša Mali

Zhang Xiaoyuan

Industrial Zone Šepak

tractor factory

tractors

production of tractors

tractor assembly

Jarkovac

tires

production of tires

car seats

car seat covers

cooling equipment

ventilation equipment

construction of scientific research center

software factory

air engine components

air engines

wiring systems for automotive industry

wiring systems factory

distribution center for agricultural mechanization

industrial park in Borca

Chinese industrial park

Serbian Chinese industrial park

car parts

car part factory

production of car parts

Financial Times

foreign direct investments