Cylinders of Kruševac-based "Petoletka" in high demand in Europe

"Petoletka’s" factory "Cilindri" (Cylinders) plans export worth 4.2m EUR in 2007 and it is one of the most successful parts of former metal-processing giant. This factory produces hydraulic cylinders for energy sector, agriculture, mining and other fields of work.

- The factory’s main products are cylinders up to 11 m long, with diameter of up to 460 mm, but we can also produce cylinders of larger diameters and smaller lengths. Due to such capabilities, we export our products into more than 20 countries all over the world. We mostly export to the countries of EU, first of all, to Austria, Germany and Sweden. Of all other countries, the most significant partner is Russia - says Milen Terzić, the Manager of factory "PPT Cilindri".

Last year, the export plan was exceeded by 8% and the value of the exported goods surpassed 4m EUR, that is, about 80% of products ended on the most choosy world markets. The largest foreign-trade partners are two Austrian companies, "Palfinger" from Salzburg and "Noise Hydraulic" from Linz. Around 40% of total production of the factory, that is, one half of export goes to this Alps republic.

According to Terzić, Austrian companies ordered even larger quantities of cylinders for this year. Production for "Palfinger" started in mid-2006. Now the domestic company produces 20,000 cylinders per year and the join ambitions for the future are five times bigger.

The big deals with Russia are expected here and even larger quantities than in 2006 are announced. Also, the new business started – the repair of large cylinders for Russian hydroelectric power plants. Since Russians are the largest builders of hydroelectric power plants in the world, export will go through them to Vietnam, Egypt, Colombia, Malta, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan...

Due to increased volume of works, the factory hired 50 metal workers in 2006, and it will soon hire another 20.