New packaging production facility opened in Beohemija in Zrenjanin

The ceremony on the occasion of the opening of a facility within the production facility of Beohemija in Zrenjanin – a facility for the production of packaging, was held in the presence of the ambassador of the Czech Republic, Tomas Kuchta, and the mayor of Zrenjanin, Simo Salapura.

With the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the beginning of the operations of this facility was made official by Miroslav Mickovic, CEO Alpla Srbija, and Roman Kratochvil, CEO Beohemija and Business Partner CE Industries.

By signing a long-term partnership with the biggest world producer of packaging, the Austrian company ALPLA, the company Beohemija, the owner of the biggest brands in the segment of detergents, softeners and home cleaning products, Duel, Spin, Selection and Pompa, has confirmed its strategic, investment business model, as said on the website of the City of Zrenjanin.

By installing its assemblies within the production facility of Beohemija, this world giant will provide support to Beohemija and enable a quicker growth and development.

State-of-the-art machines and the leading trends in the production of packaging and packaging elements will no longer be a matter of external purchase, whereas the existing packaging lines will be considerably improved in terms of quality, primarily in the domain of capacity, it is added.

Roman Kratochvil said that, in the next few years, numerous changes would be visible, regarding both the products and the factory, and thanked the ambassador and the mayor for the support provided until then.

He pointed out that the investment would also contribute to environmental protection, as the packaging of a softener of 1.6 liters was made from 51 grams of plastic, whereas now, thanks to the technology, it would be made from only 6 grams of plastic.

Miroslav Mickovic said that it was an investment of slightly over a million euros and that, with the reduction of the weight, that is, with the new technology and the new line, they had gotten the opportunity to use lighter bottles, making for savings on an annual level and enabling Beohemija to emit around 95% less plastic on the market.

Peter Szuma, Board Member and FMCG Investment Director, emphasized his satisfaction with the progress of Beohemija’s business. Beohemija operates within the Czech CE Industries holding.

– With this strategic partnership and the investments in production facilities made so far, Beohemija justifies the plans of development and progress. We are satisfied with the trend of the growth of sales, which is the result of our investments, and new investments are planned as well, both in production facilities and in the domain of accepting new trends, preserving the environment and, of course, caring for the employees and the social community.

Ambassador Kuchta emphasized that the trade cooperation of the two countries increased with each year and that it now amounted to over EUR 2 billion and that he was happy to see the positive references that the investors who had already invested in Serbia transferred to other invertors interested in investing in Serbia.

– Beohemija is one of those good examples of how things should be done between two countries, two partners which have mutual respect. I am also glad that this factory is in Zrenjanin, and I know that this city is a city which has a bright future and potentials, good plans – the ambassador said and added that the construction of the highway would be a big contribution to other investors that would come to the city from the Czech Republic and then also reminded of the other big projects that were being realized.

– The living standard in Zrenjanin, thanks to our investors as well, is sure to be better. This opening of a new packaging line will also contribute to the development and increase of production, and as I’ve heard, there will be no loss of workers due to the robotization, because there are plenty of plans and the number of the employees will be maintained and increase, which is good news, and I wish to all the employees in Beohemija and the citizens of Zrenjanin for the cooperation to continue and for everybody to be happy – said the ambassador.

Mayor Simo Salapura said that the City of Zrenjanin liked big investments, such as Linglong, the construction of the highway and the construction of the waste water treatment plant, and especially when companies which already operated in the territory of the city made additional expansions and upgrades.

The secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Dragan Stevanovic, assessed the investment as a historic move for the company.

– In the past, you have gone through difficult times, but even with the unfair competition, you have managed to find your place and start moving up – Stevanovic said and pointed to the good cooperation of Serbia and the Czech Republic.

Beohemija doo Zrenjanin

Privredna komora Srbije

Ambasada Češke Republike u Beogradu

Grad Zrenjanin

Alpla doo Beograd

Beohemija Zrenjanin

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Business Partner CE Industries

Embassy of the Czech Republic

City of Zrenjanin

Alpla Srbija

Tomaš Kuchta

Simo Salapura

Miroslav Micković

Roman Kratochvil

Dragan Stevanović

Peter Szuma