Vučić: "The investment is 30 million euros worth" PHOTO/VIDEO
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić attends the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the Mühlbauer Group factory in Stara Pazova.
Source: B92.net
Vučić stated that the factory, which will deal with the development and assembly of batteries and fuel cells for electric vehicles, is a very significant investment by the German technology giant, which will develop new technology in Serbia that no one has in the world.
Vučić said that it is about fuel cells and reminded that Mühlbauer also produces chips for Elon Musk and other well-known companies in the world.
"This is a big thing for us that I didn't even understand how much it would mean to our country. What I saw inside - it's pure perfection of technology, it's something that no one else in the world has. Now they're building a new factory in this place. Fuel cells will mean a lot," said Vučić.
The president said that it is a new investment by Mühlbauer of 30 million euros and that 150 workers will be employed there, who will have an average salary of 900 euros. "Josef Mühlbauer started by himself from a shack and built an entire city in the Bavarian forest," said Vučić.
He says that previously there were only a few halls in Stara Pazova, while now not only an entire industrial park but also a city is being built there. He emphasized that with Germany today we have a 91.3 percent coverage of imports and exports to Germany, as well as a trade exchange of nine billion euros.
"Germany is our first foreign trade partner, 14 percent of our total exchange of goods is with Germany. 15.4 percent of our total exports go to Germany. Germany is the largest and most important partner in every sense. It is not always easy for us. We have to fulfill many things that are good for our country, and which the Germans expect us to do. But it brings us a huge benefit," said Vučić.
He pointed out that more than 80,000 people work in German companies in Serbia today.
"When I became prime minister, 17,000 people in Serbia worked in German companies. I think that speaks of the great things we have done. Here in Stara Pazova, there were 4,570 unemployed only 10 years ago, today only 900 people are unemployed. 10 years ago, we had exactly 2.4 billion in trade exchange with Germany, and in 2023, although we do not yet have the exact data for December, we expect that it was at the level of nine billion euros," said the President of Serbia.
He expressed the expectation that these numbers will grow and that Mühlbauer will continue investing in Serbia.
"The State of Serbia helped with 3.4 million euros of its subsidies. We are proud of that, we are ready to help much more. If you had asked for more money, we would have given you more money. Thank you for not asking for more money," Vucic said.
He also thanked the German ambassador, Anke Konrad, for the exceptional cooperation we have with the Federal Republic of Germany.
"I believe that there are still much bigger projects ahead of us. Based on the talks I had in Davos, I expect that we will do a lot more in the coming period, of mutual interest for Serbia and Germany, but also for the whole of Europe. Because the whole of Europe will have to worry about chips and security challenges," Vučić pointed out.
The investment is EUR 29.5 million worth
The investment in the new "Muehlbauer Automation" factory is 29.5 million euros worth. The factory will employ 150 new workers by the end of 2025.
The production of machines for the production of batteries and fuel cells, as well as complete production lines, is planned. The technological process is based on the assembly of individual parts (modules) into one complete production line, by manual work of employees using only hand tools.
The Mühlbauer Group was founded in 1981 and has since grown into a leading global manufacturer in the security sector, with 35 production and service locations worldwide. As stated on the website of this company, it specializes in innovative end-to-end ID solutions that focus on the production, personalization and issuance of secure identity cards and e-passports according to ICAO standards and has established itself as a competent partner dedicated to the implementation of security systems: systems access and border controls, vision inspection technologies and semiconductor applications.
Mühlbauer in Serbia is one of the most modern technology centers in Serbia, in Stara Pazova. The company currently employs around 200 experts from various fields and continuously invests in the latest technologies and innovative processes in order to improve its competences and provide optimized solutions for each customer, according to the company's website.
This German company owns factories in Germany, the USA, Malaysia and Slovakia, and their technology park in Stara Pazova is the first center of its kind in Europe, apart from its native Germany.
