Region on wheels - newly founded automobile cluster in Kragujevac represents a chance for 200 manufacturers of car parts

The Western Balkans Automotive Industry Excellence Center, which was opened on September 15, 2009, in Kragujevac, represents the chance for over 200 companies to appear in the global automobile market and find strategic partners through regional network. In addition to the headquarters in the capital city of Šumadija, there will also be corresponding centers in Zenica, Bar, Bitola and Tirane.

- The aim of the Center is to connect Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania into a large business network, and to make the companies from these countries the partners of large companies, such as "Fiat" in Kragujevac and "Volkswagen" in Bosnia and Herzegovina - said Dušan Puača, the President of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Kragujevac, which has been working on this project over the last three years.

The project is backed by the World Bank, as well as by the Association of European Chambers of Commerce with headquarters in Brussels, German Chamber of Commerce from Leipzig, Dutch aid organization SPARK, and SIEPA.

Ger Ziener, the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Leipzig and the Director of the project, pointed out that cooperation with Regional Chamber of Commerce Kragujevac had started in 2002, and added that Leipzig's experience in attracting investors would be very significant for the newly founded Center.

(Nebojša Simić and Gert Ziener)

- I hope that Kragujevac will have similar situation like Leipzig because we managed to attract three global brands - "BMW", "Volkswagen" and "Porsche". After Germany was united, de-industrialization took place, so that we had to fight for large investments once again. Opening of the "Porsche" unit led to creation of 2,000 jobs, while the "BMW" unit was put in operation in 2005 and resulted in employment of even more people. We created suitable business environment to attract large players. I can already see that Kragujevac is getting ready for similar scenario, and I must point out that this city used to be the center of automotive industry. It is very important for Kragujevac to have a large investor as "Fiat" - said Ziener.

He pointed out that the most significant step was creation of qualified manpower that can satisfy the needs of large investors.

- The Western Balkans Excellence Center should be the base for training and recruiting quality staff for automotive industry.

Nebojša Simić from Dutch organization SPARK expressed the hope that the Center in Kragujevac would achieve enviable success in field of automotive industry.

- SPARK is present in this part of the world for years, and it has invested significant funds and efforts in supporting local businesses. This is a very important project for automotive industry, and we gladly accepted to participate in it. The key elements for competitiveness are know-how and modern technology, and I have no doubts that the Western Balkans Excellence Center in Kragujevac will be an equal participant in global competition in field of automotive industry - said Simić.

(Mihailo Vesović)

The Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Mihailo Vesović, said that he belived that the newly founded Center would be the leader not only in the automotive industry in Serbia, but also in the whole region of the Western Balkans, and that the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia was pleased to cooperate with the Regional Chamber of Commerce Kragujevac and the City Administration.

Nebojša Zdravković, the Deputy Mayor of Kragujevac, said that the founding of the Center had come at the right moment because of the contract with "Fiat", and he expressed the hope that it would animate numerous manufacturers of components and automobile parts all around our country.

Predrag Lučić, the CEO of the Agency for Investment Promotion and Business Support in Central Serbia, explained that the aim of the Center was to increase the level of competitiveness of the countries in Western Balkans in the struggle for direct foreign investments, as well as to help launching of new types of services and cooperation.

- The activities that are encompassed by this project are, primarily, training of employees, work on innovations and marketing, and creation of professional network of manufacturers who will pursue quality standards. The key word in this project is synergy.