Radosav Milenković, Director General of "Metalka Majur" – 12m EUR will be invested in cable factory, trial production starts in mid-November

Company "Metalka Majur" is building a cable factory that should be put into operation in 2009, while the trial production of copper wire should start in mid-November 2008. The facility, at 5,250 square meters, is in the vicinity of the railway station in Jagodina. Radosav Milenković, Director General of company "Metalka Majur", said in the interview for eKapija that about 12m EUR would be invested in the new production unit.

eKapija: Would you describe us the investment in the copper wire factory of "Metalka Majur"

- The factory for production of copper wire for cathodes and low-voltage cables is situated in Kablovska Street. It is the location where the unit for production of cable packaging for needs of HP Cable Industry Jagodina used to be. The building lot where the existing facility is situated has the surface of over 4 ha. The surface of production facilities is 4,400 square meters, while total surface of the facility is 5,250 square meters. This surface does not include the facilities of garage, mechanical workshop and storage space with accompanying warehouse. The location itself is in the vicinity of the railway station in Jagodina, less than 1 km away from the highway and about 300 meters away from the current primary production.

eKapija: Describe us the future production – new products in "Metalka’s" product portfolio

- Market approach to the project has clearly defined the production units and, depending on the investor’s interest, the business units will also be defined. It the attention is paid to production units, there is no doubt that the following market-oriented units can be recognized: production of copper wire of 8 mm, interesting to all manufacturers of cable products, copper wire of 1.0 – 3.57 mm and flexible non-insulated conductors of 0.5 - 95 square millimeters, insulated low-voltage conductors and cables of 0.5 – 95 square millimeters with maximum external radius of 30 mm, with PVC-based insulations, networked PE, HFFR material. Phase B includes production of PVC granules for production of conductors and cables, as well as for the needs of existing primary production of "Metalka Majur". Besides, this production phase will also satisfy the needs for PVC granules that are necessary for production of PVC kanalica and flexible installation tubing, which will be launched within a supplemental product portfolio of “Metalka”, all that for the sake of satisfaction of all market needs.

eKapija: When do you expect the facilities to be finished and when will the production start?

- Installation of infrastructural equipment is expected to be finished in September –October 2008, construction works (including internal organization of production and administrative space) will be completed prior to March 2009, installation of production equipment will be finished between mid-October 2008 and mid-April 2009, while the organization of production of PVC granules should be completed between December 2008 and July 2009 when the delivery and commencement of installation will follow and last for cca 45 days. Trial production (copper wire) starts in mid-November 2008 and, having in mind the type of product, that will also be the beginning of commercial production. As far as cable products are concerned, trial production will be realized at the beginning of January 2009, reduced production will start in March 2009, while the regular production of the entire projected assortment of cable products should start in mid-May 2009.

eKapija: Which are the companies that will deliver equipment and introduce new technology

- The equipment for production of copper wire was delivered by "Rautomead" from Scotland, while Italian “SAMP” delivered the cable production equipment. The equipment for production of copper wire is designed for the production of 500 tons of copper wire per month, while the monthly production capacity of the equipment for production of cable products is cca 1,200 tons (depending on the assortment of the demand at the time!). The process of selection of the supplier of equipment for winding and packing ready-made cable products is in the final phase. The equipment should be delivered in March and April 2009. The contract on supply of equipment for PVC granules should be signed in the period between October and December 2008, while the equipment is expected to be delivered in June and July 2009.

eKapija: Who are you going to procure the raw materials from?

- Procurement of primary raw materials for production is based on the delivery of copper cathodes from Mining Smelter Basin "Bor" if that company is in the situation to deliver requested quantities. If not, raw materials will be imported under optimal terms. The insulation materials will be imported from Macedonia and Italy until we start to produce them. Once that production starts, cca 80-85% of the needs for insulation materials will be satisfied. The rest of the needs will be satisfied from import.

eKapija: What does the infrastructure of future factory includes?

- Substation Budućnost 1 has been completely reconstructed and put into operation for the needs of the new factory, while the development of new substation Budućnost is in the final phase (95% of construction is completed, transformers are installed, low-voltage and high-voltage equipment will be installed in the 42nd week). The water recirculation system is in the final phase of development, as well as the emergency water supply system, whereas the system for supply of compressed air has been almost completely reconstructed.

eKapija: Additional investments?

- The additional investments include: procurement of forklifts for unloading of raw materials and loading of ready-made products, modernization of transportation means for delivery of products to buyers, environment protection at higher level than stipulated by the Law on security and health care, while the packaging will be produced in company "Budućnost", which is also majority owned by "Metalka – Majur".