The German company ZF (ZF Friedrichshafen AG) opened a factory of car, boat and rail components at the industrial zone in Pančevo today, where, as announced earlier, around 300 people will be employed initially.
EUR 100 million was invested in the construction of the factory in the first phase, and ZF has announced additional investments and the employment of more than 1,000 workers, as well as the construction of a scientific research center on 5,000 m2.
The German company had received over 9 ha of building land from the city of Pancevo without compensation, and the construction of the factory began in June 2018.
The opening of the factory was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who called the event important not just for Pancevo, Banat and Vojvodina, but for the entire Serbia.
He said that ZF would provide state-of-the-art production of components for the best cars, but also the formation of a science and development center, which will help keep professionals from leaving the country.
Vucic invited the German partners to bring more companies and suppliers to Serbia and said that, in the first five months of 2019, Serbia attracted 17% more direct foreign investments than in the same period last year.
According to him, German companies in Serbia employ around 58,000 people. He added that he believed that the number would be even greater in the future.
ZF, a leading car component manufacturer, employs more than 140,000 people in 230 locations in 40 countries, and its annual revenues amount to around EUR 36 billion.