Metalac plans to increase export by 15% in 2011 - Company in Ukraine as of April 1

Dragoljub Vukadinovic, the CEO of Gornji Milanovac-based Metalac, stated that that company was planning to increase the export by 5 to 15% in 2011, which should compensate for the domestic sales stagnation caused by illiquidity and a drop in salaries.

Mr. Vukadinovic told Tanjug that Metalac's operations in the region were stable and that it registered the biggest sales growth in the western market, Russia and other countries of former Soviet Union.

- We plan to increase the value of export to nearly EUR 20 million this year, which was also the value of the goods we exported in 2008 - said Metalac CEO.

According to Mr. Vukadinovic, Metalac registered between 9 and 15% larger production in 2010, depending on the product range, but operations in 2011 are expected to be much more difficult.

We are entering this year with much caution and effort, while our primary goal for this year is to make it no worse than the previous one, Mr. Vukadinovic explained.

He warned of a constant drop in salaries in our country, reminding that the average salary amounted to EUR 430 two years ago, while now it amounts to EUR 320, and "if the value of Euro continues to fluctuate, salaries in RSD will remain the same, meaning that the average salary in Serbia may drop below EUR 300".

Vukadinovic stressed that his company had been successfully coping with the crisis so far, partially owing to a big significance it attributed to the personnel policy - selection, education and specialist education of experts, especially those in managerial positions in the company.