December 12
Energotehnika Južna Bačka a. d., headquartered in Novi Sad, signed a contract with Valmont Industries Inc. from the United States, setting conditions to build a factory in Zrenjanin, in northeastern Serbia. The initial deal is worth EUR 5 million and the production facility, planned for a launch within two years, will hire 70 people, according to a report published on the portal of Radio 021.
Branimir Mijailović, chief executive of Energotehnika, said the contracts means a new page in the company’s operations. “Through direct negotiations with company Valmont which lasted for a year, we established cooperation with one of the leading producers in the area of utility poles for public lighting and power lines. With their investment, we won’t have to import, but we will only export,” he said. Mijailović stressed the signing of the contract will make Energotehnika’s export double to EUR 15 million.
Milan Kocourek, Valmont’s export sales executive for Central and Eastern Europe, underscored the deal means not only placement in Serbia, but also investment in production. The deal leads to the establishment of the company’s office for the Balkans and Serbia. Valmont, founded in 1946, has 110 production facilities. Energotehnika was founded in 1958. It was privatized in 2010. It builds medium and high voltage substations and overhead lines, with turnkey projects in renewable energy, heating plants and industry automation.
