Ceresit begins production of new generation facade plasters - Henkel commissions innovative RSD 60 million pallet packaging system in Indjija

Production of the latest generation of silicone-silicate (Si-Si) facade plasters has been commenced recently at the Henkel Ceresit powdery building glue and liquid plaster factory in Indjija, which is part of Henkel`s Adhesive Technologies division.

According to Jovan Sarenac, executive director of the Henkel Ceresit company, these plasters have so far been supplied from Henkel factories in the EU. Thanks to the application of new technologies in the production facility in Indjija, Si-Si plaster can be bought in Serbia as of this year at a 15 percent lower price than last year.

- With the start of the production of Si-Si plasters at the factory in Indjija, we have reduced the costs of transport and are now buying raw materials from local manufacturers and partners, thus cutting our costs by 15 percent, which is why we`ve decided to share these benefits with our clients - Sarenac explains to eKapija.

Ceresit`s silicone-silicate facade plasters represent an innovation of the latest generation because, as Henkel Ceresit Marketing Director Mislav Smolcic notes, they contribute to a greater energy efficiency of thermally insulated buildings, thus enabling energy savings of up to 40 percent. These products have an ETA certificate allowing them to be sold with a 15-year warranty, while BioProtect protects them from mold and mildew.

At yesterday`s press conference Smolcic also presented an innovative pallet packaging system called Ceresit Stretch Hood, in which Henkel Ceresit invested RSD 60 million last year.

- The Ceresit Stretch Hood system was put into operation early this year. It is a completely new way of packaging pallets that significantly reduces the possibility of pallets and products getting deformed in transport and ensures a safer storing in the open when it`s raining, snowing, etc. – Smolcic adds.

Aside from meeting environmental requirements and saving energy, this new packaging system also provides a greater safety at work. This investment has boosted the capacity of the Indjija-based factory by 20 percent.

A decade of doing business in Serbia

Last year Henkel celebrated the first decade of operations in Serbia to which it has so far contributed EUR 130 million. As Sarenac announces, the company wants to continue to invest in this area.

- South Balkan is a strategically very important market for us, which is why our investment teams assess opportunities to open a new factory here, and we hope that we will soon be able to announce a good news - Sarenac says and adds that the factory in Indjija is conceived as a regional center whose full capacity will be used to boost exports, which grew 40 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Exports currently account for 30 percent of the total production of Ceresit, which produces 120,000 tonnes per year in Serbia. The company covers the markets of former Yugoslavia, Albania as well as Poland and Western Europe, where there are about 23 million consumers.

- Bosnia-Herzegovina as a prospective location is very appealing because its ia large market, and so is Croatia in which we will definitely invest - Sarenac stresses and adds that Henkel has 32 factories and 9,000 employees in CEE countries.

This German company has a tradition spanning 137 years, it operates in more than hundred countries where it employs 47,000 people.

- The year behind us was extremely successful for Henkel on a global level as the sales hit a record high of EUR 16.5 billion and the operational profit was at EUR 2.3 billion in the fiscal year 2012 – Sarenac points out and adds that the company has been reporting growth for the fourth consecutive year despite the crisis.

Irina Milosevic