Marjan Vujović, Director of company VTV "Makler" - "Elektroporcelan" successful in both local and foreign markets

New owner of Aranđelovac-based manufacturer of low-voltage and high-voltage insulators "Elektroporcelan", the consortium comprising Ukrainian company "Color S.I.M." and Belgrade-based companies VTV "Makler" and VTV "Insulators", will invest 1.5m EUR in reconstruction of facilities, new technologies, and education of the staff within the next four years.

The consortium bought "Elektroporcelan" for 350,000 EUR. In addition to minimum obligations, the buyer also accepted additional obligations from the social programme, which were suggested by the representative trade union of "Elektroporcelan".

In the interview for "eKapija", Marjan Vujović, the Director of company VTV "Makler“ from Belgrade, explains that the amount of money that will be invested in realization of the consortium's plans will be much higher than the one stated in the sales contract.

He says that the main goal of the new owners is to make it possible for stock company "Elektroporcelan", one of the most famous factories in Serbia, to start conquering both local and global market again.

Why have you decided to take over "Elektroporcelan"?

- We operate in the field of electric equipment for a long time, and we have estimated that the takeover of the Aranđelovac-based factory represents a good business move because "Elektroporcelan" is one of the leading manufacturers in Europe, it enjoys good reputation abroad, and it has the tradition spanning more than 50 years. Its products are well-known all around the world. Also, that factory has the potentials to become a serious competitor in global markets thanks to the quality of its products and the professionalism of its operations.

How does the situation in "Elektroporcelan" currently look like?

- We are lucky because the technology in production of electric insulators has not been changed significantly over the last few decades. The machines are, indeed, old, but they can still be used. "Elektroporcelan" currently uses only 3-4% of the factory's capacities, which we definitely want to change. The factory has about 350 employees at the moment.

Where will 1.5m EUR be invested?

- We are bound by the contract that we have signed with the Privatization Agency to invest 1.5m EUR in "Elektroporcelan" within the next four years. We now only plan to have the existing facilities in Aranđelovac reconstructed, to have the equipment modernized, and to invest in education of the staff. We will also introduce new technological lines. However, in order to fulfill these ambitious plans, we will definitely have to invest more money.

What are your plans?

- The opportunities are great, especially because the factory is situated in an exceptional location and because it has excellent infrastructure. The factory occupies approximately 74 ha of land. We plan to cover Serbia and regional markets in the first year and to permanently invest in the quality of products in order to be able to export 90% of production in five-year time. With the help of the foreign partner - company "Color S.I.M.", we will be exporting products to Ukraine and Russia, and we will also contact all the foreign partners with which "Elektroporcelan" cooperated in the 1980's.

VTV "Makler" - manufacturer of insulators and equipment for insulator chains

Company VTV "Makler" began to deal with trading in the field of electrical industry in 1996, and started modest production of glass cap insulators U40C. VTV "Makler" organized production of glass cap insulators U70B, U120B and U160B in 2000. From the very beginning, the strategic partner of company VTV "Makler" is Ukrainian Institute of Insulators Lvovski. Company VTV "Makler" and "Elektroporcelan" Aranđelovac are the only manufacturers of glass cap insulators in Serbia.

"Elektroporcelan"

Stock company "Elektroporcelan" in Aranđelovac is the manufacturer of insulators and electrical installation materials. The company's product portfolio includes about 2,000 different products, which are produced in two separated production units - factory of line insulators "ALI" and factory of electrical installation products "ELP". Basic available production capacities amount to about 3,400 tons, 1,800 tons of which in factory "ALI" and 1,600 tons in factory "ELP".

The company's headquarters is in Aranđelovac, the city with about 50,000 residents, in the central part of Serbia, which is about 75 km south of Belgrade. Production units of stock company "Elektroporcelan" are situated in the village of Bukovik, 3-4 km away from the center of the city of Aranđelovac, in the vicinity of the highway and the railway, and they are connected to the main gas pipeline in Serbia.