Grundfos established factory in Serbia

Previous farmland in Indjija, 45km northeast of Belgrade was the venue of the day’s event of the cutting of the first turf.  At this site, a 25,000sqm factory will be ready for use within a year. The main speaker of the day, Serbian President Boris Tadic, was very pleased with Grundfos’ decision to build a factory.

- Grundfos is a company that produces energy-efficient products and values innovation highly and so we are warmly welcoming the company. We can learn a lot from Grundfos and it is very important for us to have good relations with Denmark, he said.

Part of the strategy
After the speeches, the spades were got out and the building project was officially opened. When the building activities really start, a Serbian contractor will be responsible for the project. Group Senior Vice President of Group Production, Knud Krægpøth said:

- The progress of the project has been positive and we have received great support from our many partners. With this factory we are close to the Central and East European markets which are very important for us. The factory will be LEED Gold certified, which is the second highest environmental certification within the building industry.

The first pump has already been produced in Serbia. About a year ago, Grundfos Serbia (GMS) rented production facilities in Nova Pazova, where the UP line from Bjerringbro was installed. At the moment GMS employs 46 staff and, with the establishment of the new factory, the number of staff is scheduled to be 350 by 2014.

The organisation is complete
With the big expansion predicted for the coming years, GMS General Manager, Jim Toft Nielsen is very pleased that the organisation is complete.

- We have a strong and very motivated and highly skilled team and so I am looking forward to seeing it expand. Our present staff will be ambassadors of the way in which we want to run the company, he said.

The highly skilled staff was one of the most important factors when the decision was made to establish production in Serbia. Production is running according to plans and before long, GMS will start a second shift.

- It was actually an advantage to start on a small scale because staff grew with the company and, once we move into the new premises, we shall have a strong platform to benefit from, he said.