Siemens to double number of workers in Serbia - 10th anniversary of Subotica-based wind turbine plant celebrated

(Photo: Suzana Obradović)

Siemens plans to hire 90 workers in Subotica by end-September. This company has also announced that it will triple the number of employees and open a new production facility within the next five years. People at the Siemens factory in Subotica promise that the production will be doubled by 2016, and they should also soon start cooperation with the local manufacturers of 80 components that have been imported so far.

Siemens Serbia CEO Tihomir Rajlic said at yesterday's celebration of the tenth anniversary of Subotica-based wind turbine plant that they employed a total of 700 workers at the moment, 86 of whom were engineers.

- In ten years we've managed to make Siemens a synonym for successful production in the field of renewable energy sources in Serbia as well. We started off with 10 workers, while today, after we hired about 230 people this year, the Siemens team in Serbia consists of about 700 employees trained to use modern technologies. The plan is to double the number of employees over the next five years. We are going to open a new plant to produce electric motors for railway vehicles. It is a completely different technology and requires a completely different knowledge/skill set- said Rajlic.

When they first started, they were making cutting-edge technologies for renewables around the world in a 150 square meter space, while today their production facilities cover a sufrace area of 30,000 square meters. This company has so far invested over EUR 23 million primarily in production development.

(Photo: Suzana Obradović)

When asked by eKapija where the announced EUR 10 million investment would be made within the next three years, the CEO of Siemens said that that money would be spent on a new production space, expansion of the impregnation unit, as well as on the technological improvement of current production.

During these ten years, the factory in Subotica has produced 15.065 wind generators. People at Siemens proudly point out that every fourth windmill in Europe is equipped with a generator made in Subotica.

Since its establishment, Subotica-based Siemens has been significantly increasing its exports every year. With EUR 1.28 million exports in 2003, the factory ranked 308th on the list of top exporters. Today they are among the top 10 exporters in Serbia. The company expects the sales to reach EUR 156 million this year.

- Half of the generators produced in Serbia are exported to the European Union and the rest to the USA. We plan to double our exports to about EUR 300 million in 2016 - said the CEO of Siemens Serbia.

(Photo: Suzana Obradović)

Siemens seeks suppliers of parts in Serbia

Siemens should organize a trade fair for future suppliers in late October to offer local enterpreneurs a chance to produce certain components for wind generators that are currently imported.

- The trade fair in Subotica will feature presentations on the benefits and terms of cooperation with Siemens as well as meetings with future, prospective local partners. We will offer SMEs to supply 80 components to our factory – Rajlic said and added that that job was worth RSD 1 billion annually.

The companies that have so far produced and delivered tools and machines to the factory in Subotica are: Linde viljuskari, Alatplast, Lindemann, Rotel, SZR Su-met, Sualati, Tehnoserv, SZR Kaltes.

All tools and machines in the factory in Subotica are designed by its engineers, which has saved this company a total of EUR 2.383 million during these ten years of operations. Although it is not part of business plans and priority goals, the factory in Subotica now exports these machines to Germany and China to be used by the local subsidiaries of Siemens.

(guests from the ministry and Subotica on a tour of the factory)

State and local government supports Siemens in Subotica

Celebration of the tenth anniversary of Siemens' operations in Subotica was also attended by Serbian Minister of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection Zorana Mihajlovic.

When asked when the wind generator in the first windmill in Serbia could be put into operation, the CEO of Siemens said that that mostly depended on investors, adding that his company was ready for cooperation. The minister replied that the first windmill in Serbia would definitely be produced in the factory in Subotica.

Suzana Obradovic