CORPORATE mr. Miro Vidošević, General Manager Magna Seating d.o.o.
Committed to Investing Long-term Magna Seating launched production in 2013 with around 400 workers. Today, with around 950 employees, this Canadian company is announcing the extension and further expansion of its existing plant in Odžaci by the end of 2016
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ith the full support of the local government, Magna Seating is dedicated to reducing the unemployment rate in Odžaci and the surrounding municipalities by supporting the local secondary school through the Dual Education programme, in order to obtain highly skilled and educated employees for further development ● Canadian company Magna Seating is among the world’s leaders in the production of complete solutions for seating and seating mechanisms for the global automotive industry. After two and a half years of operating in Serbia, how would you assess the effectiveness of your investments in Odžaci? - We are very satisfied to have been producing in Odžaci since 2013. Odžaci is a municipality with approximately 30,000 inhabitants. We have highly motivated and well educated employees working for us, which is fundamental for a successful investment. We have been able to achieve the targets which have been set by the company’s top management in Canada, such that we can announce an extension and the further expansion of our existing plant in Odžaci in 2017, as proof of our long-term plans in Odžaci.
jan and he is able to understand us as investors. Additionally, we receive strong support from the Vojvodina government and ministries in Belgrade. ● Odžaci is a town that only attracted minor investments for years. Which markets do you export your products to and who are your most esteemed clients? - At the moment this facility employs 950 people on an area of 4,000m2. We are working on producing seat covers that are shipped just-in-time to other Magna plants throughout Europe, where they are assembled on complete seats and then delivered just-in-sequence to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Our customers are located in Spain, Germany, the UK, the Czech Republic and France. All of our customers are a top priority for us, and only good quality and service contribute to keeping the business in Odžaci. As a result of this effort, we can announce that we will extend our existing facility in Odžaci to 10,000m2 and will hire additional people in the municipality.
The local government is supporting the investment as much as possible, as they recognised us as high priority in order to improve the standard of living in the Odžaci region
● Odžaci received one of the biggest investors in Vojvodina after several decades. How does cooperation with the local government function? - The local government is supporting the investment as much as possible, as they recognised us as high priority in order to improve the standard of living in the Odžaci region. That is because not only Magna is growing, but our suppliers in the region are also growing with us, which has a positive impact on the region as a whole. We have particularly good communication with government representatives. For example, they have been supporting our planning activities and accordingly adjusting their infrastructure in the Odžaci work zone, so that our business can continue in an optimised way. We are communicating directly and openly with Mayor Dušan Mari-
● Magna Seating launched production in 2013, with around 400 workers. However, today you employ over 900 people. Are you satisfied with the quality of your workforce and where do you recruit your workers? - The unemployment rate was very high when we started, which was actually an advantage for us in the initial phase, as we were able to hire the basic workers, as well as the indirect, administrational and management staff we needed. Now we are working on additionally reducing the unemployment rate in Odžaci and being recognised as responsible employer. The local government is supporting this, as we have the same target: a successful company, proving that Odžaci is the right place for investments, and satisfied employees. Starting from this year, we are going to support the local secondary school in a Dual Education programme. This will help us provide highly skilled and educated employees in Odžaci. ●
2016
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SECTOR IN SERBIA
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